Closet Chronicles: Assess the Damage

Well, it wasn’t easy, but I faced the depths of my closet and emerged a new woman. After really looking through everything, I’d estimate that within a standard month I wear about 25% of my shoes, 20% of my clothing, 5% of my accessories, and 1% of my jewelry.

And this is coming from a fashion blogger.

So, without further adieu, here’s what I own and wear often:

If you’re noticing a theme of flannel, grandpa cardigans, romantic tunics, lace-up boots, and sequins, I’d say that you’re dead-on (what does that make me- Colonel Ethel of the Disco?). How did this happen?

I gave it some thought, and here’s what’s up (hey, I can’t let my therapist skills totally atrophy). I’m reasonably confident with my body, but my two areas of insecurity are my upper arms and my midsection (more insidiously known as love handles, saddlebags, or muffin top). To conceal these areas, I tend to wear tight pants topped with something that skims over the midsection and hits at the low hip, therefore avoiding the midsection area altogether. Hence, my tunic-and-leggings uniform.

Next, the unappreciated and underutilized parts of my closet:

In this category, I’m seeing a lot of clothing that fits close to the hip and isn’t covered by a concealing drapey layer. The pencil skirts, close-fitting dresses, and flared jeans of yesteryear have been sitting and gathering dust. I unintentionally eschewed all aspects of my classic/preppy past as I embraced my edgy/romantic/grunge/mod/godknowswhat new style.

Finally, I started thinking about what my closet is lacking. Tunics make me happy, but what about something with an empire waist? I love things that flare out at the hips, so what about some skater skirts- even a leather one? I love my leggings, so why don’t I go for some skinny jeans in different colors? Let’s add in some super-long skirts while we’re at it! And why the hell am I so afraid of wearing jewelry? Huh?!

Tune in (is that what you do? I suppose…) next week to see the closet version of Survivor, where the long-neglected clothes make their plea for salvation. I can reintegrate some things into my wardrobe, but others are going to have to go to that big donation box in the sky. It can be sad to give away once-loved objects, but the payoff of having a closet full of clothes that are really you is well worth it. I’m excited to see where this goes!

Are you in closet-cleaning mode right now? What patterns or fashion ruts have you noticed?