Maximizing Your Wardrobe
By Fran DeNunzio
When getting dressed in the morning, I often find myself thinking “I have no clothes to wear.” That statement couldn’t be further from the truth because I actually have a closet full of clothes that I can wear. I frequently hear my roommates and friends say the same thing, that they don’t know what to wear or have no clothes when in reality they have an abundance of clothes they can put together for an outfit. I think there are a few reasons we encounter this thinking. The first reason is that I think it’s easy to get tired of the clothes you have when you continue to wear them in the same way for a long time. After a while, you are going to get bored with your outfits. The second reason is that I think we often lack the needed inspiration to put together an outfit that satisfies what we are looking for! Sometimes we just have no idea what we want to wear and don’t know how to style the clothes we already own. Lastly, I think our closets can be more disorganized than we think they are, which can hinder your ability to assess what clothes you have and what clothes work together well.
Below are some suggestions on how to troubleshoot this mindset so that you can make the most of your wardrobe. Learning to utilize fully the clothes you already own is much more sustainable than buying new clothes when you feel bored with what’s in your closet. I hope that by implementing some of these steps, you can look at the clothes in front of you and feel inspired when putting together your outfit for the day.
Separate your clothes based on season. Remove the clothes from your closet that no longer fit with the weather. Having out-of-season clothes in your closet takes up space and distracts you from the clothes that are actually an option for you to wear.
Organize your closet based on the type of clothing. Dividing your wardrobe based on the article of clothing allows you to see what clothing choices you have in each category in your closet. This will make it easier for you to visualize your clothing options which will help you remember what you own and what you haven’t worn recently.
Try to rotate your clothing often. Like I said earlier, you are more likely to get bored with your clothing when you wear certain pieces of clothing or outfits often. In order to make the most out of your wardrobe, you need to make sure you are switching up what you are wearing. This will also make putting your outfits together fun as it allows you to be more creative and try new combinations of your clothes. The more you practice this, the more inspired you will be to create different outfits that illustrate the uniqueness of your style and wardrobe.
Utilize Pinterest to find outfit inspiration. Whenever I need help with figuring out how to style certain pieces of clothing or if I just feel like I need a push with my outfit creativity, I always turn to Pinterest. Make a “style” board on Pinterest and save posts with outfits that you like or that you would like to emulate so that you can refer to these posts when you are putting together an outfit and need some inspiration on how to best style your clothing.
Try on different outfits in your free time and take pictures of them. By doing this, you will be able to see which tops pair well with which bottoms and what outfit combinations you like. It will help you learn how to style different clothes so that you aren’t always wearing them in the same way. Take pictures of these outfits, and add them to an album in your camera roll so that you can reference them if you feel stuck on what to wear. This method will also make it easier for you to rotate outfits and pieces of clothing. Having a variety of outfits to wear on the daily makes it much easier to utilize more articles of clothing in your closet.
