One thing that I am still uncomfortable admitting to others is my passion for clothes. Various shapes, colors, materials... I can't imagine how some of my friends can live with few basic T-shirts and a pair of jeans, or go wearing this same clothes to work for few days in a row (that's what my husband sometimes does...) - this way of living is definitely not for me! I need clothes to suit my mood. But, to paraphrase the famous thought from "Spiderman", with many clothes comes great headache. That's why I decided to share my thoughts on how to (try) balance wardrobe's content and passion for shopping.
1. One in - one out. I am an impulsive buyer. Usually, this leads to a bunch of clothes that hang in my closet sometimes still with the price tags on and, believe me, this view brings only misery. Trying to do something about clothes that I intended to wear while buying, but never actually did, I decided, that taking something out of the closet is the price that I'll have to pay for every new purchase. This way I will resell, give or throw away clothes that I don't intend to wear and make some room for new ones. For me it's a win.
2. Minimize your shopping list. The best way is to go shopping with a list of necessary items. If you're not the fan of lists, just think of a certain sum that you can spend this month on new clothes (this last one has one flow, though: if you're a fan of second hand shops, you can buy a huuuuge pile of clothes for, let's say, 50 € a month, so your dedicated sum must correlate with the prices of the shop). Few months ago, I went to the second hand shops almost every day and spent a good deal of my salary in there (these shops are quite pricey in Lithuania). But one day, after another "I have nothing to wear" round and after checking my bank account balance I was struck by the obvious: I'm spending too much money on clothes in general and that I prefer quantity over quality. So, after this enlightenment, I decided to buy from one to three clothes a month and search for quality items. Believe me, it's easier than it seems.
3. Think about your wardrobe while buying. If you are guaranteed that this skirt has a match in your closet, you must buy it! But if it just looks pretty or interesting, or it's the situation of "maybe one day I would be invited to my friend's birthday and I could wear this" - then you definitely don't need it. Discuss each item in your head, hear all the cons that your conscience wants to say about that dress that you picked up. Even though it sounds crazy, it really helps to chill the "love from the first sight" for another pair of jeans. Also, you already know, don't buy anything that is too big or too small for you - it will just collect the dust in your closet.
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| Two bags of clothes that I am ready to part with |
4. Less sentiments. Don't keep clothes just for sentiments (except your wedding dress if you want to) - it suffocates you emotionally and takes all the free space that you could use for new clothes that fit you now, not five years ago. If you can't throw away that sweater that reminds you of your first kiss with your husband - put it in the wardrobe at your parent's house or pack into box and store it somewhere else, but not in your main closet.
5. Seasons belong in your closet too. Many stylists say that you have to change your wardrobe's content according to the season. I was ignorant of this "rule" for quite a while and my coats hanged next to my dresses, which gave the impression that I have nothing to wear - all clothes seemed to be from other seasons. Since I have quite small wardrobe in general (and I have to share it with my husband), I pack all clothes from other seasons into non transparent bags and hang them in the most far corner of my closet. This way I can't see all the fluffy winter coats, autumn dresses, etc. What I have before my eyes is my current season's wardrobe and it really eases my ritual of getting dressed every morning.
I hope that my thoughts were useful to you! I'm still trying to find the balance between the urge to buy "lots of nice stuff" and the rational feeling of "I'll just buy what I need the most". I hope that one day I'll manage to share with you the ultimate-super-awesome guide on how to buy lot's of clothes and keep your wardrobe uncrowded, but it's definitely not this year!
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