Style Therapy: Should It Stay Or Should It Go?

Hi friends! It’s time for another edition of Style Therapy Thursday! This week’s topic? Should it Stay or Should it Go? (If you’re not singing The Clash now are you even alive?)

This is the toughest thing for most of my clients. Could be emotional, could also be the money you spent on said item but either way if it’s in your closet and you aren’t wearing it, it needs to be examined. Do you think of your closet as a dark hole where you shove things you don’t want to deal with? Let’s retrain our brains to think of your closet as an active workspace. Oh, a boutique even. Everything should WORK for you and make you feel confident and fabulous.

Here’s a list of 5 questions to ask yourself:

1. More of a statement really, but if it has stains, rips, pills, it has to go. NO exceptions. Sorry friends.
2. Does it fit? It MUST fit your current body to stay. If it’s too small but you really want to revisit down the road, cool. Let’s find a storage solution that’s out of your workspace. If it’s too big, find yourself a good tailor or time to say goodbye.
3. Do you wear it? If you can’t remember the last time you did, it’s time to part ways. The two of you will always have memories and hopefully an old photo or two. If it hasn’t been on your body in a long time but you want to keep it, do the hanger trick. Turn all your hangers hooks backward and then every time you wear something, turn the hanger around. You’ll see what you wear quickly. Having a closet full of things you don’t want to wear isn’t serving you.
4. Does this work with my lifestyle right now? Recently became a mom? Working remotely? I think we both know you’re not going to need those suits for park playdates. I get it friends. I used to work in fashion and my wardrobe was filled with heels, and dry clean only fabrics. When I decided to stay home with my boys, I needed a machine washable wardrobe that still made me feel chic but would work with my life. It was incredibly hard for me to let those items go. I felt like I was saying goodbye to a part of myself. Have a little ceremony to say goodbye or whatever you need to do to find peace in the decision and then let them go. Deep breaths.
5. Do you love it? There are the items that you are obsessed with and will plan outfits around just for an excuse to wear, and then there are functional items you throw on and know you’ll look put together. The bulk of your closet should be the later. What about an item you love, but don’t get to wear often. Ideally, you’ll wear it more often but it can stay. Maybe we store it elsewhere or maybe you create a section of your closet (if you have the space) for these types of items. See? I’m a very reasonable stylist. HAHA.

There you have it. Hope you found this helpful! The key to success is being honest with yourself and letting go of things. Need someone to hold your hand? Push you a bit? I would love nothing more than to have a farewell ceremony for your clothes. I’ll even bring the wine and dessert.

Xoxo,

Jess