Closet edit part 1 - jeans - YouLookFab Forum

Today I started a big closet edit project to prepare for my new job with business casual dress code - in addition to the usual edit process, I also want to reevaluate items I own in the light of the dress code change and reorganize my closet to reflect that ( e.g. take majority of the jeans of the hangers and fold on the shelves instead, leave the nice ones hanging at the back of the closet, put Sloan pants at the front). In order to be very thorough, I decided to try one every single piece on, which will make the whole process time consuming - I hope to finish by the time NAS starts. I am giving everything a one year trial to see whether it works for my new situation or not.

Today I tackled jeans and pants - this post will describe the jeans, and I'll report on the pants in couple of days. I am going to report everything in terms of percentages. About 65 % of my jeans are premium, while 35% are from regular mass retailer stores (e.g. BR, J.Crew, Gap etc) - I hope to eventually reach this kind of distribution with my pants, too. I ended up dividing my jeans in 4 groups.

Group 1 (38%) - "nice jeans" appropriate for office on casual Fridays, that is for smart casual dress code. This means uniform dark wash, white, colored, coated etc. There are 2 subgroups here: A. (27%) - both trendy and modern classic cuts in dark wash, white, black and grey. Lots are trouser jeans/flares that may need extra hemming as I can not wear 3" wedges anymore. I have a nice white jean collection that feels pretty complete (Angie's influence ) B. (11%) - colored and coated older skinny jeans - with lower rise, longer length and a lot are a little tight - I suspect I'll decide to get rid of majority of these by the end of the trial year, or upgrade to a better cut and fit if I keep reaching for a particular pair.
Group 2 (32%) - trendy jeans not appropriate for office due to either the wash or having raw hem ( which I arbitrarily decided is not office appropriate). A small subgroup (6%) could be made office appropriate if the raw hem is properly hemmed - I definitely plan to do that for my Current&Elliot cropped straight white jeans. In general, I need to try and wear the heck out of this group on my non-office days and occasions.
Group 3 (10%) - modern classics - simple skinny/straight jeans ( and one BF pair) usually worn for messy errands and comfort.
Group 4 (20%) - jeans to consign/donate for various reasons.

There are also two pairs of white skinny jeans in the holding zone that unfortunately got rust stains from a rusty drying rack - I need to try get the stains out and if not successful, get rid of the jeans.

My jeans shopping is going to slow down a lot. I plan to add one new pair per season at most, and that only if there is something new that really appeals to me, especially if office appropriate. The only exception would be an upgrade described in group 1. I hope to have my jeans collection down to half of it's current size in a year - I am getting rid of 20% now and hope to decide on the remaining 30% throughout the upcoming year. I have had a hectic and super stressful year where I wasn't eating, sleeping or exercising properly and as result gained about a half of pant/jean size. Lots of my jeans and pants are fitting a little tight these days. I hope to take better care of myself in the upcoming year as I settle into my new job and see what happens to my weight. If it goes back to the old one - great, otherwise I will get rid of all the "little tight" bottoms.

8 years ago

skylurker

Veteran

A one year trial is a good idea, to understand your new environment rules.
For instance my office is casual but conservative. So tired, washed out jeans are no problem, but fashiony thinks like coated jeans and undone hems would attract jokes.
Then there's the temperature of the place : heating, a/c...
So yeah, wait and see is a good idea.
I don't wear denim to work anymore, and I'm down to six pairs - 3 cropped, 3 full-length. That's enough (for me).

Anonymous

A big category for you to tackle. It makes a lot of sense to rearrange your closet to suit the new job. Plus, giving yourself time will generally reveal what you are reaching for going forward.

Emily K

(website)

I am fascinated by what you've written because I am always curious about the wardrobes of others--how big...how many pieces...how'd they figure that out...how big the closet, etc.? Your re-org of the space seems so smart! And I do agree about the unhemmed jeans being a little casual for the office. You never know, though--wait and see is a good strategy since the environment is new to you.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

You are WISE and soooo savvy with your wardrobe and style, Tanya. Can I clone you?

Your strategy sounds sensible, thorough and manageable. A year is a good amount of time to test IT ALL.

It's an excellent idea to try everything on because you need to develop a current opinion about each item before you can decide what to do with it. Perhaps you'll edit more than 20%?

And good job on the white jeans collection!

Sal

I think your approach makes a lot of sense- I hope Day One of the job has gone well!!

Suz

This sounds like an excellent plan, Tanya. I really think that testing things out in the next year is smart. You just have no idea what your new needs might be.....I hope you enjoy the first day on the job!

DonnaF

Sounds like a good plan. I think there are special products for removing rust stains on fabric but I've never had occasion to use any. Last year, I got motor oily gutter water splashed on my white jeans, and laundry treatments didn't do a thing. Outside in the sun didn't work until May/June because earlier in the year the sun wasn't strong enough. They are fine now after close to a week of sun.

I love the way you think. Categories. Percentages. Concrete, well-formed plan. And I'll bet you stick to those plans.

Tanya

Thank you for your input everyone, it is much appreciated.

I am glad that everyone agree that waiting for about a year on most things makes sense. Closet reorganization is going well but slow - trying everything on certainly slows everything down, but also improves the editing process - I like a lot less things on me that I do just looking at them.

Angie, I am sure I will edit out much more than 20% of my jeans as the year goes on, 20% was what was immediately clear that need to go.

DonnaF, thank you so much for that info on rust stain removal products - I did not know they existed! I order one of Amazon and hope it will work.

First day at new job was fine - lots of orientation and pretty boring. I have neither a computer nor a badge yet, so there isn't much I can do other than sit at my desk and read stuff. I am keeping a little diary in my notebook of outfits other women at similar or higher positions are wearing so that I can analyze it for trends over the weekend. I saw quite a few dresses on my first day which made me very happy.

Dresses would not make me happy.

Nice Tanya!
I like how you've analyzed things in terms of percentages, and your little note book idea.

Lisa

A good plan, and as you edit you can make room for new things for your new dress code, yay!

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