TammyB, I am one with what most would consider a very large wardrobe, but over the past five years, by taking multiple steps, I have pared it down so it now all fits into my closet and a bureau, plus a mud hall closet for winter coats and boots. Admittedly, my closet is giant.....15 feet deep! In the past, my clothes spilled out of my closet and into under the bed containers, the guest room closet, and the front hall storage closet as well. I have more than cut my wardrobe in half.
I wrote a recent post about the evolution of my style. The steps I took to really understand what I enjoy wearing and what makes up my signature style paired with a well defined color palette have helped. I think in terms of seasonal capsules because I also live in a four season climate and have need for both a professional and more casual wardrobe for each season. I have sorted out about how much time I spend in various activities and am trying to make my wardrobe reflect those proportions. So, for example, I have a formal wear capsule, but in the past, I loved to purchase formal dresses but did not have as much need for them as their numbers. I have therefore significantly decreased the size of my formal wear capsule.
I enjoy variety, and do not repeat outfits frequently. A couple years ago, I realized that I could go an entire season without repeating wears of not only an outfit, but the garments for that season.. That felt too extreme and extravagant. I can tolerate some repetition and decided on a very generous 3 weeks rotation of outfits, so that I would need minimum 15 professional outfits for a season, and fewer casual and loungewear options for weekends and holidays. I did a calculation of wardrobe size made up of the items of clothing I would use each season based on this assessment across the four seasons, and came up with something like 250 not counting accessories or gear. I am sure I have a larger number than that, because I have a surplus of jeans that I am working through....they fit, and I like them, but I have more than I need. I also have a huge collection of warm winter sweaters. I am slowly trying to build my wardrobe out of pieces that have more cross seasonal potential, but I have space for my sweaters, and love them, so they stay.
I have confidence I could shrink my wardrobe further, and eliminate many more items in much the way Gaylene described. For one, I have duplicates of similar items like grey cashmere turtlenecks. However, I might have 9 of them and maybe 3 of them are perfect and 6 are very good. If I eliminated those 6 I would cut my wardrobe down significantly, etc. In the past, the idea of eliminating items like that would have felt overwhelming. The reason I could proceed now is due to solid confidence in my personal sense of style. In fact, the the best advice is probably to develop your signature style. Marie Kondo can only go so far if you are left with a closet full of wonderful but disconnected items. You also need to know your basics, essentials, statements and wildcards. These are specific terms Angie has defined in her blog, Know your colors and neutrals. Do a full closet edit. Make sure everything truly fits and is flattering. Keep only what is in good repair. Keep only what you really wear. Make sure shoes fit and are functional in the wardrobe and not sitting collecting dust. Do not keep too many items just in case it may come back in style, etc. Angie’s posts on closet edits are very helpful.
There is a way to pass on anything you are not using anymore to good homes where it will be appreciated. Good luck!
