Wardrobe voyage guide: Sorting through your wardrobe
Are you still there? We are ready to share the wardrobe voyage guide part 4. You've done all the work beforehand, using our 3 other guides, and we are ready to start acting on what we've learned. Do you need clarification, or are you in doubt about the previous three steps? You find them here: 1. the journal, 2. The analysis, and 3. The reflection.
Now that you're ready for the 4th step, you're about to step into your wardrobe and look at every piece of clothing you own. First, you have to clear out your closet. I'll give you this guide to follow. I've built the guide from the method I used to clean my closet.
First and foremost, I think the clothes in our closet must be "active clothes". By that, I mean clothes that get used. However, our wardrobe is often full of clothes that aren't used (inactive clothing) for various reasons. This exercise is about clearing, sorting through, and recreating your existing wardrobe.
Fourth step: Sorting your closet
It would be best to start emptying your whole wardrobe by putting it in a pile with a category. You can have a lot of different piles, or you can have a few; it all depends on your wardrobe. Before you start, consider what categories you'll have so everything is ready when you begin. You need a plan. It will make it easier, and you can handle it and don't get too overwhelmed. This part of the guide will help you be more conscious about WHAT you have in your wardrobe, WHY you have it, and what role it plays. Try to think about the last 3 steps of the wardrobe voyage into your sorting.
My piles of categories were this:
Favourite clothing: the most active clothes in your wardrobe. This should be easy and straightforward.
Clothes you want but don't use: these can be nostalgic clothes with a special memory. There can be many reasons you have these pieces in your wardrobe. But you need to put it in one pile and reflect on it.
Clothes you need to find out if you fit: I have a lot of clothes in this category. I've saved a lot of clothes for when "I'll lose those 5 kilos". You need to look at it and be realistic: is it realistic that I lose weight and will fit into this, or is this just serving me low self-esteem and making me feel guilty?
Clothes with purpose: Training clothes, gardening clothes, pyjamas etc. You need to keep clothes that you use in a specific situation even though you don't use them daily.
The "Non-fit" category: clothes that don't fit into your categories but you still have. Consider if it's your style if it doesn't match anything else or have a category to fit into.
Maybe you'll need more categories – perhaps fewer. For example, some people will need a pile for "party clothing" if you're the kind of person who has dresses you would only wear on special occasions (I wear all my clothes equally. I don't have dresses for special events, I dress up and down with accessories). Maybe you'll also need a pile of beautiful clothes for the eye, but it's uncomfortable to wear. Or some third thing. It depends on your wardrobe and what pieces you have the most of. Try to think of what categories fit into your life and your needs for clothing.
You need to try everything on when you've sorted all your clothing into piles! You must be realistic, kind, and honest; will you lose weight? Would you wear this dress to a special occasion, or is it too uncomfortable? Will you really wear this shirt with this print?
When you try your clothes on, ask yourself these questions while you sort them into new categories:
Save: This category is for all the clothing you use and work for you and your wardrobe. This should be easy because you already know you use it.
Get rid of it (for example, give it to friends and family or a charity shop). This is the clothing you know you will not use or have much of. A piece many people have is a white T-shirt. You often have 5 white t-shirts, but do you really need that many? And don't you make it into "at-home clothing" because you also need to feel good in what you're wearing at home and at all times!
Do something about it and then keep: This is my favourite category because you get challenged to use your imagination to solve a problem. It might be a dress that you don't fit over the hips: cut it short and make it into a blouse. Or you don't like the neckline; can you change the neckline so you will use it again? I did this to almost all necklines in my wardrobe because I learned from the reflection part of my wardrobe voyage that I like and feel most comfortable in v-necks. Or you may need to add pockets to your skirts or pants because you don't use pants without that. It's all about thinking of how to use a piece of clothing and turn it into something you love.
Needs a matching partner: I have so many beautiful pieces of clothing, but I don't use them because something is missing. And when I did this myself, I found out that many of my pieces were missing the perfect match. For instance, I had this very, very beautiful skirt. I love it into pieces! But every time I put it on, I took it off because I could not find a matching top in my wardrobe. This skirt needs a partner before I will use it. It's okay to think of your wardrobe into outfits; in that way, you often will use your clothes even more. So my job is to make a blouse that will work perfectly with this skirt and match a few other things in my wardrobe. You may have pieces like this too.
While you're sorting through your clothes, try to ask yourself the questions: what makes me wear this particular piece? What about a piece of clothing that makes me want to wear it? What are your priorities for clothing? Is the essential part the visuals? Or is it the fit or how comfortable it is?
I have significant power and drive to wear my clothes because I sew them myself. It's the clothes that I use time and energy on that I want to wear the most. And it's also the clothing I have the longest in my wardrobe. So the whole point of making this wardrobe voyage guide in parts for you is to make you conscious about the clothes you want to wear for the longest time possible. Through this guide, we build a wardrobe for life and not just for a week, a month or a season. Another thing that makes me want to wear my clothes is styling and accessories, so I need to make them a priority in my wardrobe also when I sort my wardrobe.
Consider it as your wardrobe is curated instead of just easy-to-get-into. It's a collection of gems. Every piece is picked or made carefully. Based on YOU and not trends. Your style and personal preferences are in focus in this guide. We are building a lifelong wardrobe you can keep building on and a wardrobe you love! No matter if it's pyjamas, suits and/or dresses that make your heart beat quicker.
