A Busy Woman’s Wardrobe Edit
Today’s edition will help you simplify your closet without sacrificing style, and - as always - has great suggestions for what to watch, listen to, and read this week.
I’m here to tell you there is nothing quite like using the momentum of a new year to set yourself up for an effective and efficient 2024. This applies to our closets! Editing your wardrobe will save you hours and will ensure you look and feel goddamn fantastic every day.
For a woman who is known to wear wool socks with Birkenstocks, I get a fair amount of emails, texts, and DMs regarding style asks. My answers are usually something to do with the following:
a) figure out your desired aesthetic, and b) manage your closet accordingly.
As a mother, I’ve landed on relatively uniform-style of dressing: denim, sweater or tshirt+blazer combo, great shoes, great bag, simple and high quality accessories. In this, I am nailing my preferred aesthetic: “unpolished classic”. Having a broader labelling of my approach to style has helped me simplify getting dressed which, frankly, is a task I don’t have a lot of time for.
I’m a systems girlie, so here are the steps to take to achieve the result you want: never ever having to say “I have nothing to wear!” ever again. For those that have already nailed this, your favourite recommendations for what to watch, listen to, and read are a short scroll down!
A guide to wardrobe editing for the busy woman (or man, tbh):
Step 1: as with all projects, figure out the desired end state. What do you want to achieve? What’s the goal? Pick a direction by ripping out magazine photos, making a Pinterest board, or grabbing screenshots to add to a folder.
Don’t be afraid to spend time on this step! This will help you decipher between what’s a dream and what’s reality, and identify what you’ll actually have on rotation. Send me your inspo!!
Step 2: try *everything* in your wardrobe on. Seriously, do it. Give yourself an hour or so and get a full length mirror. What feels good? What fits well?
Keep the following:
If you love the item *and* it fits within your ideal style direction from step one
If you love it and it doesn’t meet the style criteria, tuck it away for safe keeping. My guess is it’ll sit there for another year, *but* I’m not opposed to high quality or nostalgic keepsakes if there is a decent chance they’ll come back into the rotation.
It’s too big but you love it (but promise me you’ll go get it tailored immediately!)
Donate or sell the following:
It’s meh and you haven’t worn it in over a year
You don’t like it
It’s too small but you love it (I’m so sorry, this one hurts)
Not sure? Send me photos or make a girls’ night of it, SATC style.
Step 3: curate your pieces and create outfits. Review your design direction from step 1, and find old photos of yourself that you know you looked fantastic. This is where you ‘find your style’. My advice is to keep your basics like t-shirts, tanks, sweaters, and trousers neutral to maximize their wear. In terms of curating, an easy approach is to think ‘tonal’…browns, tans, and greens are generally good together, or black, greys, whites work too. Blues, greys, whites, etc. Playing with colours is beyond me, but again - go back to your vision board and spot the patterns.
There are literally entire books like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion that walk through how neutral basics create a great base to any dashing outfit.
Step 4: we wear what we can see, so think and organize seasonally! Help yourself out by grabbing a big rubbermaid bin for storing and swapping seasonal wear. If you live in the northern hemisphere, you do not need your linen pants or silk shorts visible in February.
Step 5: fill in the gaps. Get yourself some measuring tape and get your body measurements. This isn’t about how big or small you are, it’s about making sure you get clothes that fit! This is, honestly, the biggest hack to looking good. Be thoughtful about adding things to your wardrobe. Is there an outfit you love on your design board but you’re missing the blazer? Spend time finding the right options to complete the dream. It’s like a little puzzle. Happy to help anytime!
Bonus Step 6 (for the overachievers in the class): take photos of outfits, whether it’s a mirror selfie, the outfit + accessories laid out on your bed, or cute little polaroids. Save these in an album so you can refer back to them for quick and easy dressing that you know will result in an absolute smash.
As you can tell by my list of favourite things, I’ll sit and chat about this stuff all day.