Now you know what to wear to a special event.
The next step is to find it, so first of all, let’s check your wardrobe,
there could be hidden treasure…
In ‘What to wear to a special event part 1’ we asked, “What sort of special event is it?” and if you’ve received a ‘proper invitation’ then we’ve already discussed exactly what to wear. In Part 2 we looked at the colours to wear if you haven’t received such an informative missive. In Part 3 we looked at how to dress for your personality type. Now you know what to wear. The next step is to find it.
Hidden treasure
First of all, check your own extensive wardrobe and see whether you haven’t already got something appropriate for this special event:
- If you have already sorted out the contents of your wardrobe, then you’ll already know exactly what you’ve got in there
- If not, this could be the perfect opportunity to take the whole thing apart and discover some forgotten hidden treasure
I can’t tell you how many times when weeding out a client’s wardrobe, we have often found exactly what we’ve been looking for hiding at the back, under something else or in a sorry heap on the floor. So before you consider spending a single cent on a new outfit for this special event, let’s look first at how to clear up, clean out, sort out, weed out your wardrobe.
We’ll do this in 2 steps.
Step 1: Weed-out Your Own Wardrobe
I strongly recommend locking yourself in your bedroom with a bottle of your favourite tipple and plan to go nowhere for the next couple of hours. And remember, your true friends cannot be objective about you so don’t ask for their advice. If in doubt, trust your own judgement or call in expert help from another image professional – that’s what I do!
The first step is to make three piles of clothes:
- clothes you only wear once a year (taffeta ballgown, bikini, etc.)
- clothes you haven’t worn for more than a year
- everything else
Don’t worry about whether the colours or styles are right at this point. Just make your decision based solely on the three criteria above. Here’s how to deal with those three piles of clothes.
1. Special items
Go through those items that you only wear once a year and ask yourself this question, “Will I definitely need this again this year?” and be honest with yourself. Only keep them if the answer is absolutely yes. If not, add them to the pile that you haven’t worn for more than a year.
2. Items for removal
The second pile of clothes that you haven’t worn for more than a year should be considered as being destined for removal. We’ll come back to these later.
3. Items to keep
Now it’s time to concentrate on the clothes that you actually wear. Put these items back into your wardrobe, checking each one first for stains, missing buttons, loose threads, etc. Any that fall short of the highest standards should be put aside into a fourth pile for cleaning or mending. Do not put these back into the wardrobe until they are mended or clean.
Hang all your:
- jackets next to each other, separating them from the matching skirt and/or trousers
- skirts next to each other
- blouses next to each other
- and repeat this with trousers, jumpers, etc.
You will have so much more to wear.
It is amazing how many people only ever wear suit items that were bought together or bought to match. If you have the right mix of colours in your wardrobe, many of your skirts and/or trousers will go with a variety of your jackets and cardigans and shrugs and blouses that could be easily used as cover-ups.
In a nutshell, if everything in your wardrobe matches you, then each piece will match each other!
You have so many more outfits in your wardrobe than you can possibly imagine.
To complete Step 1:
- bundle the clothes for removal into bin liners or carrier bags, ready for disposal and hide them in a cupboard – don’t get rid of them just yet
- separate out those items that need repair and put those with stains into the wash basket
Take a break
Before launching into Step 2 of your wardrobe weed-out, I would recommend a recess. You will probably have been in there for far longer than anticipated and be in urgent need of a lie-down in a darkened room. Step 2 of this mission will require more liquid intake, more time to yourself, and more energy.
In ‘What to wear part 5’ we’ll look at Step 2 – how to have a wardrobe that works for every occasion.
Personal Shopping & Wardrobe is my online course that will show you how to earn a great income while learning more about sorting your own wardrobe out. The course shows you step by step how to:
- take your friends/clients on personal shopping trips
- plan a wardrobe that works for every occasion
Article links:
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six