Have you ever looked into your closet full of clothes and felt like you had nothing to wear? If you answered yes, you're not alone. The average person experiences ‘wardrobe panic’ 36 times a year because they feel they have nothing to wear. Every piece of clothing you buy has a cost to you and an environmental cost to the planet, so you should be getting a lot of wear out of it. We want to help you with that so we put together 7 tips to help you get more out of your closet.
Getting rid of clothing can be hard. Sure, there will always be the possibility that the perfect occasion to wear that dress will arise (even though it hasn’t in two years), but is that a good enough reason to keep it? One trick to help decide whether you should keep an item is to keep track of what you’re wearing using hangers. Start with all your hangers facing one direction. As you hang clothing you’ve worn back up in your closet, make sure the hanger now faces the opposite direction. At the end of 6 months you’ll be able to see what clothes you haven’t worn a single time. These are the pieces you should consider parting with. Of course there will be seasonal clothing that hasn’t been worn, so we recommend doing this exercise for the following 6 months to get the full picture of what you wear all year round.
Basics are the building blocks of your wardrobe and shouldn’t be underestimated. If you’re having trouble building outfits, it might just be because you don’t have the right basics for your style to build off of. Once you have your basics down, you’ll always have outfit options you can turn to in a rush. For inspo on styling basics, read our “How to Wear 6 Basics Without Looking Boring” blog post!
Versatile pieces are almost as important as basics when it comes to getting the most out of your wardrobe. Versatile pieces are a good place to invest in your wardrobe because they can take the place of multiple styles in your wardrobe. For example, our Everyday Twist Top can be worn 5+ ways, yet it’s only one item in your wardrobe.
Accessories are a great way to change up your style without buying more clothes. Those basics we talked about earlier? Pair them with some statement jewelry or a purse with a print to create a new look.
One reason you may only be wearing a small portion of your wardrobe is because of how your clothes are displayed. There is truth to the saying “out of sight, out of mind”. For the clothing you’re folding, we recommend folding them so they stand upright rather than stacked on top of each other. Tidying queen Marie Kondo has an entire method to this type of folding you can checkout here. Trust us, once your pants are beautifully folded upright, you won’t want to go back.
The longer you wear your clothes, the more you’re getting out of them. Investing in well-made clothing is of course one way to get more wear out of clothing before the end of its life cycle. But how you take care of your clothing is also a huge factor in how long it will last. For tips on how to best care for your clothing, read our “5 Tips for Longer-Lasting Clothes” blog post.
Revamping clothing can be a fun way to extend the life of your favourite pieces. That faded black tank top you have? Bring it back to its former glory with some black fabric dye and a few hours of your time. Pinterest and Youtube have become great resources for creative ways to transform old clothing.