Welcome to my five favourite ways to arrange your wardrobe, inclusive of (very) interesting metaphors, insistent honesty and sooo many tips! The strategy you implement can be as simple or complex as you like, I recommend combining two techniques (to organise your first organisation…) after two, it tends to get difficult to maintain or perhaps even remember what you were supposed to be doing - trust me I’ve tried! It’s not impossible but depends on which techniques you choose to combine.
To realise your own style you must first have a little chat with yourself (Yay coffee break!) ask yourself questions and be very honest. How do you get dressed? What kind of clothes to you frequently wear? Where are your clothes stored? Is there a reason you use your current organisation style - even if that is having no technique at all!
Then, as much as I am against fitting into boxes. Here are five descriptions, for you to try to find one you feel you could best squeeze yourself into…
CLOTHING BY OCCASION
The split personality
This is perfect for those of you whose work clothes differ dramatically from those that you wear in your down time. Divide your wardrobe into ‘work you’ and ‘downtime you’. This firstly visually reduces the amount of clothes you have to process and secondly provides an excellent base for being combined with another technique, as each side can be further arranged whilst being kept separate. If the clothes will still be sharing one bay, use something definitive to divide the sections so you don’t have to do the work every time you put something away. Hanging some scent pouches (homemade?) on a hanger or the rail is an easy way of doing so, plus your clothes will smell fabulous!
CLOTHING BY COLOUR
The A E S T H E T I C
You guessed it, You arrange your wardrobe by colour (Mind, Blown) The way you perceive the order of colours in your closet is your business, because it depends what hues have the majority. This is always a go-to if you use a rail to house your garments as they become a display and it is therefore, even more important that your organising method is also beautiful, to further enhance your space. Here are two examples of how that may differ -
Example 1: Tonal - You have lots of neutral tones. Perhaps you run black, grey, white ….then ecru, beige, chocolate… Then terracotta, dusky pink and nude. Keep any brighter colours last in their own mini rainbow.
Example 2: Rainbow Child - Your wardrobe if full of colour, run it like the rainbow. Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, followed by Black Grey White…
CLOTHING BY CATEGORY
The burrito counter
This works for most people. The majority of us tend to choose one piece of clothing first, and then a second piece and so on until they have an outfit that looks and feels good. So this process is about dividing your garments into their type, to streamline the latter process. You end up with a strategy that could be likened to ordering a Burrito or Build a bear, Black beans or pinto beans? Does your bear wear socks? You are your perfect burrito, freshly made each morning.
You could make this technique as simple as Tops, Bottoms, Dresses… or combine it perfectly with 'Clothing by Warmth' below.
CLOTHING BY WARMTH
The Staircase
The weather severely affects what most of us wear, so by going to the extra level of detail in organising by the warmth of your clothes, you can visually skip straight to a section that will give you what you need. Like finding your prince without kissing any frogs first? - ok you may still have to once or twice, but a lot less!
Another Important aspect is that you can actually SEE what you have, a skirt isn't hidden between the floaty sleeve of a batwing top or a strappy top swamped by the teddybear coat next to it. You definitely won’t be forgetting about something you love.
Start with vest tops, add T-shirts, then long sleeved Tees, then shirts, light knitwear, heavy knits, jackets then coats. Second are the bottom halves, Skirts in length order, then shorts to longer trouser. And of course Dresses.
CLOTHING BY OUTFIT
The Zombie
For my readers that are deep down no fuss, straight forward people. Over the Summer I was working with this technique myself, it took time (We had a lot of it), and now that we have moved into Autumn I need to re-evaluate again for this to be effective, but I think it is a great method for those constantly on the go. Inspired by the ‘Great Tech Minds’ that decidedly wear a black polo neck and trousers everyday, or something to that effect. This lack of choice gives them the time to focus their energy on the important things...like advancing technology (and plaguing Humanity) but I digress.
The premise is each hanger contains one outfit. You try different combinations in your wardrobe or choose existing go-to outfits to make sure when you grab a hanger in the morning you won’t need to change 3 times when you realise it doesn’t work. You can plan the outfits to be as minimal or extravagant as you like and still wear something new most days. Most importantly even if you woke up as a braindead zombie and got dressed, you'd still look put together.
FINAL NOTE
How you Hang and store your clothes matters.
Organising your clothes isn’t just about the practicality and ease of getting dressed in the morning. It is about seeing what you have, so you can be a more conscious shopper. Treating what you do have with value and purpose, because you understand why and when you wear it.
Have you ever visited a relatively expensive store and realised that their SALE section looks no different to that of any cheaper high street brand, it’s because the perceived value of the items has still dramatically decreased. Not only down to price but how the clothes are presented to you, no longer curated or organised or styled! When something falls off the hanger it is no longer worth picking up, fighting a lace dress free from whatever it is caught on like it wasn’t once worth the delicate touch of a £300 designer piece.
Value is perceived differently to every one of us. How garments are presented to you affects how you treat them and subsequently how they make you feel. So if you want to feel beautiful when you get dressed in the morning, organise your closet, treat it with purpose and perhaps (I recommend!) buy new hangers, a whole set, preferably wooden? They are more eco-friendly, stronger, last longer and feel substantial and valuable. Present your wardrobe in a way that insights respect for everything in there and feel encouraged to dress with purpose and clarity.
S Loan x
