Examiner 3: How to avoid the old "closet full of clothes, nothing to wear" conundrum

[breakinglight11]

The eternal conundrum— a closet full of clothes, and nothing to wear. Have you ever found yourself in this position, staring down a full-to-bursting wardrobe and still despairing of finding anything in it that would make you look and feel good?

Go through all your clothing and try everything on. Do you like what you see? Do you feel comfortable, put together, stylish, the way you want your clothes to make you feel? If the answer to these questions is no, then that piece has no place in your wardrobe. The overall quality of your everyday look will increase dramatically if you get rid of everything except what you really like. Why should you wear garments that are uncomfortable, ill-fitting, unflattering, or just plain doesn’t make you feel good when you wear it? If these pieces are still in decent condition, donate them to your local thrift store. If not, throw them away or banish them to the rag bag. If you haven’t touched something in six months, there’s probably a reason, and usually that reason is because you don’t feel good wearing it.

Of course, sometimes it’s because the garment isn’t seasonally appropriate. Boston seasons are pretty strongly defined, which means the heavy knits that were a necessity in the winter are just going to be cluttering up your drawers in the summer. In that case, pack up your off-season garments in a plastic tub or other protective container and store them somewhere where they won’t get in your way until you need them again. That way they won’t distract you from the seasonally appropriate clothes you actually want to wear.

When you pare down your wardrobe to only the pieces that fit and flatter, you will love how much easier it becomes to assemble outfits every morning, and how much better you’ll feel about the outfits you make. So what if you end up wearing the same pair of black pants or favored jeans two or three times a week? Nobody gives a prize for the biggest wardrobe. People notice far more when you look fantastic in an outfit that fits and flatters than whether or not you’re wearing the same pieces a little more often. Think of how much better you’ll feel when you know that every outfit you wear is an outfit that really suits you.