Each day during this cold, mostly grey month of January, Valet have brought us a new tip, trick or tool to ensure that 2009 is the year we up your game on the looking-good and living-well front...as well as providing inspiration for the odd post or two (my favourite being our personal uniform post). On day twenty eight the chaps at Valet have reminded me of the need to both purge and organise my wardrobe. Susie is constantly picking my clothes off the back of chairs and rehanging them within the wrinkle free safe haven which she goes on to inform me is called 'the wardrobe' before muttering more words under her breath. I am guilty of preferring to have my clothes close to hand rather than hanging in a wardrobe. My method of getting dressed in the morning doesn't even require the opening of a door or drawer because I have what I need on the back of my trusty chair...Of course, I do have a wardrobe and it is full of clothes but I just prefer to have my favourite pieces out on show...much to the bemusement and annoyance of Susie...Through a combination of this nagging and the looming threat coming from EJ (who takes a great amount of glee from informing me that she is going to rummage through my wardrobe in a mere two weeks time) it is about time that I spent an afternoon folding, ironing, arranging and charity shop bagging. Upon looking through our archive it came to my attention that it was about this time last year that we dedicated a post to salvaging wardrobes...a lot has changed over the course of the last year and it is certainly time to attack that wardrobe of mine all over again.
The Valet advice is threefold:
1) Take a visual survey and pull out the pieces you haven't worn in the past year. If it doesn't fit or you don't plan on wearing in the next couple of months, toss it.
I certainly need to do this and think a small bag at the very least will be dropped off at a nearby Charity Shop next week..
2) Look at your shoes. Dump the beat up sneakers you don't even wear to the gym, and take worn-out wing tips to be resoled. Now might be a good time to replace affordable standbys. I have at least pair of shoes which needs to be resoled, new year, new sole.
3) If there are seasonal items you'd like to keep, but are done wearing, take them to the cleaner and have them boxed for storage.
Is anyone this organised? This might be a step too far for me...
Methinks it is time to grow up and after purging my wardrobe, I will continue the pursuit of building the perfect wardrobe. I have been inspired by reading the E. Tautz website (after being pointed in it's direction by A Continuous Lean). This of course will not entail me taking hold of a hammer and a bag of nails but instead will require the thoughtful and measured collection of sartorial pieces...given the current world situation, I think it is the perfect time to advocate astute shopping. It is time to treat the wardrobe as more than a mere piece of furniture which I barely use. I will leave you with inspiring words from E. Tautz and I will purge the wardrobe...mañana.
The art of wardrobe building is not fast or haphazard; instead it is developed and nurtured over time. A mans wardrobe may rather eloquently tell the story of his life less ordinary.
The Valet advice is threefold:
1) Take a visual survey and pull out the pieces you haven't worn in the past year. If it doesn't fit or you don't plan on wearing in the next couple of months, toss it.
I certainly need to do this and think a small bag at the very least will be dropped off at a nearby Charity Shop next week..
2) Look at your shoes. Dump the beat up sneakers you don't even wear to the gym, and take worn-out wing tips to be resoled. Now might be a good time to replace affordable standbys. I have at least pair of shoes which needs to be resoled, new year, new sole.
3) If there are seasonal items you'd like to keep, but are done wearing, take them to the cleaner and have them boxed for storage.
Is anyone this organised? This might be a step too far for me...
Methinks it is time to grow up and after purging my wardrobe, I will continue the pursuit of building the perfect wardrobe. I have been inspired by reading the E. Tautz website (after being pointed in it's direction by A Continuous Lean). This of course will not entail me taking hold of a hammer and a bag of nails but instead will require the thoughtful and measured collection of sartorial pieces...given the current world situation, I think it is the perfect time to advocate astute shopping. It is time to treat the wardrobe as more than a mere piece of furniture which I barely use. I will leave you with inspiring words from E. Tautz and I will purge the wardrobe...mañana.
The art of wardrobe building is not fast or haphazard; instead it is developed and nurtured over time. A mans wardrobe may rather eloquently tell the story of his life less ordinary.
10 comments:
have you ever thought about doing a clothes swap steve? interesting idea
I would consider it...It would be great if I could choose the person I'd be swapping with...
look no further! it could work
Ha, I see the makings of an interesting experiment. I am game.
My wardobe certainly needs a sort out...
I too am partial to a chair. Current outfit/the next days goes on it, along with the interchangeable belt etc.
Unfortunately in our flat, despite my investing heavily in a MASSIVE ikea wardrobe and chest of drawers, we still don't have enough room for all our clothes. I say "our" clothes... I actually have half the hanging space and ONE drawer, Is has 9 drawers and hanging space, and we still don't have room. I am impressed at Susie's insistence on hanging things up though. Maybe next time Is leaves something lying around I can say "but Susie Bubble says you should hang all your clothes up in the wardrobe!" ?
Oh forgot to mention, we do have summer clothes boxed away too! More out of necessity than anything else.
The idea of "building your wardrobe" reminds me of a set of guidelines I read in an old tailors book, about the minimum number of suits a man should have, I'll see if I can find it and post it.
I keep clothes for the season in my closet (being an old house it is rather a small closet). The clothes for the other three seasons are in a cedar chest and a box in the attic. I really don't like getting rid of clothes and it's kind of fun getting a whole "new" wardrobe every season.
This sounds hard for me since I hoard clothes... I can't imagine living up to something like weeding out some stuff from my wardrobe and saying farewell to them. It's a rather very distant thought. In the end, it's no wonder I alwaaaaaaaaaays worry about storage space but I'm not complaining because I do want more clothes.
Yes, some of us *do* store away clothes that are out of season. This same someone still has a massive suitcase filled with clothes I no longer wear but won't chuck on the bedroom floor so I won't say anything more.
(except this: bring on the wardrobe!)
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