Tag: fashion

Organize Your Closet Week: the “Three Month” Question and Your Habits

Show of hands, who has a huge closet with unlimited space?  AND can always find what they’re looking for and look fabulous?

Well, if your hand is still up, this article may not be for you.  For the rest of us, though… we with small closets and no build-out option, or who aren’t effortlessly stylish… this article is for you.  (A caveat – I am not the person to give fashion advice.)

Today is the first day of Spring, and this is National Organize Your Closets Week.  Let’s spend time in our closets so they will serve us well!

First, grab 2 garbage bags – one for wire hangers to go back to the cleaners, and one for actual rubbish – and fill them up! Next, bundle up the dirty laundry and get it out of your way.

If your space is limited and the closet is looking crowded, make some decisions.  For example, yesterday I started swapping out cold weather clothes for some lighter fabrics and lighter colors.  Let’s face it –  we are probably ready to move into Spring, even if the weather isn’t ready!

“Three Months” is 1 Season.  I kept repeating “Three Months.”   Think about it – a season lasts three (ish) months.  Here in Chicago, the weather can change 30 degrees in a few hours, but Spring is Spring.  I have dark, heavy clothes that I won’t wear again until Fall, regardless of how cold the weather gets.  If I need to make room in my closet, I can hang just the items I’ll wear in the next three months, storing colder weather clothes and really hot weather clothes on a high shelf or under the bed.

“Three Months” is 1 size.  “Three Months” also works for sizes. I have clients with multiple sizes of clothes cluttering their closets.  Again, ask the “three month” question.  Do the math – a healthy weight loss strategy suggests losing a pound a week.  In three months, that would be an amazing 12 pounds!  12 Pounds may move you up or down one size from your current size, but only one. If you want to keep your much-smaller clothes, go for it, but don’t store them in your closet if you don’t have room.  And purge the too-big stuff, so you’re not tempted to backslide!

“Three Months” also works if stuff just isn’t working.  I re-tried a few items that I didn’t wear at all this winter, and nope – I just don’t like them anymore.  Gone, gone, gone.

Ok!  With these decisions made, I bet your closet is feeling more spacious! Let’s set it up to work for us!

Think about your habits:

Start with what you use every day.  My day- to-day clothes, sturdy pieces for working with clients and running around, are straightforward and conveniently stored (first thing I see when I open my closet).  Think Levi’s and Land End. I know, not exciting.  I told you not to take fashion advice from me.  But they work.

What isn’t working?  Where I stumble is getting ready for presentations and professional music events (did you know?  I’m also a liturgical musician).  Short of Garanimals for adults, I need to organize my closet to make the matching of neutral, professional skirts with a layer, a jacket or sweater and probably a scarf.

Solve the Problem. To help me put together outfits, I grouped my items by category (skirts and pants, jackets, sweaters, shells, etc.) then by color.  I hung up my favorite drapey sweaters instead of folding them up so I can find them quicker.   And I brought the Fabulous to the front to make them easier to see. Meaning:  Fellas?  Ties.  Ladies? Scarves.

Finally, I’ve been pondering how to remember a great outfit when I manage to put one together, for reference when I am looking for inspiration.  Smartphone? Print them? IPad? Still thinking about that one.

Spend some quality time in your closet this week, make some space and then make the closet work for you!

To:

Receive more ideas and suggestions like these;
Book time with me in person or virtually;
Arrange a presentation for your upcoming event; or
Discover the benefits of Organizational Coaching;

Please contact me.

Call / text 708.790.1940
Online at  http://peaceofmindpo.com
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My Shopping trip with Tamika Maria Price, Wardrobe Consultant!

My new favorite jacket

My new favorite jacket

Thursday morning, 9 am:  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am really excited to go shopping with Tamika Maria Price (http://www.tamikamariaprice.com/  and http://www.alinechicago.com/) at Macy’s!  I’m never excited to shop, but I am today!

9:45 am:  Driving out to meet Tamika, I realize the unfamiliar feeling in my stomach is Fear. About shopping!  Silly right?  Every day, I do things that frighten others.  Public speaking, singing in public for hundreds?  Bring it on.  Bugs, spiders, wild animals – eh, no biggies.  Leading groups, starting a business, parenting sons and teenagers?  Tough some days, but not scary.  Shopping for clothes for me?  Terrifying.

Why?  My fears include spending too much money; not finding what I want and wasting time; not knowing if I’m buying the right clothes or styles or colors or sizes; being frivolous, spending time and money on me instead of others.

12:30 pm:  I had nothing to fear!  It was great to shop with someone who knows what she is doing!  Tamika worked the sales, came with coupons, helped me find my style, knew my colors and took care of me!  I have 17 awesome items plus accessories, and here is what I learned:

1.  Try Multiple Sizes.  I tried on 3 different sizes of clothes, depending on the type of item and the designer.   Thankfully, my shopping consultant planned for this, because I would not have.  And it’s not just because I am a petite on the bottom, and regular sized on top, it’s because each designer is just a little different.  The pair of jeans I bought – I tried on 3 pair, in two different colors.  I liked the indigo in one color, but the same size in a maroon was too big.  Go figure.Hmmmm, which fabulous new sweater to wear today?

2.  Break Your Own Rules.  I operate under certain rules when it comes to clothes and shopping, and I am not even aware of those rules most days.  What colors go with other colors, what shoe color or accessories go with certain items, etc.  Tamika helped me examine those rules while we worked together, and stretch my comfort zone just a little. 

3.  Go ahead and shop once in a while.  And shop multiple stores.   As we walked to our second stop, Tamika asked me where I usually go to shop.  I looked at her blankly, because there is no “usually go to shop”.  I shop when I have to, and I shop on-line with a few retailers whose sizing I can rely on, like Eddie Bauer and Coldwater Creek.  The problem with that?  All my clothes come from the same two stores, which gets a little predictable and boring.   I will still rely on my favorites, but I will also go in person to shop at least once a season, to try stuff on and see what’s available.

New shirt, earrings and necklace.

4.  Buy a few new things every season to keep your wardrobe and style fresh.  I wore an ensemble this past Sunday: my new favorite white-with-black-stripe shirt and new statement necklace with a slim black skirt, black cami and sandals I already had.  A couple of new pieces updated the whole look.  Looking great doesn’t have to break the bank.

5.  Stay focused, and shop with a list.  Go with a plan and a list.  You never know what you may end up with otherwise!  But of course, when a really great sweater presents itself, fabulous and on sale, consider going off the list just a little, and try it on!

And for the best shopping trip ever, take Tamika with you!!!