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Shopping your closet?

agrace

I hear about this from time to time and I'll admit it always annoys me b/c it initially made no sense. Mostly b/c I pretty much have a very good handle on exactly what is in my closet (it's small for one thing, not a walk in, and doesn't handle much at all). But I will admit that I do store about 2 boxes worth of clothing in those plastic bins with lids. Well, recently I was sorting through them, trying to decide what to give/ sell/ donate. I ended up finding a couple pieces that I have incorporated back into my wardrobe and worn quite a bit.

So for me, this worked (but it wasn't exactly my closet
Does this work for you? Does the phrase even make sense to you?

General

26 replies

Latest reply was from tarzy

Bianca

Veteran

It's not a phrase I'm likely to use. Like you, I feel that I know what I have, and usually purge the older stuff that isn't my size, taste, etc. I guess occasionally I'll find a closet orphan that is rescued....but that's about it!

agrace

Bianca - that's why it always annoyed me. I just don't really get it. Maybe it could be called 'rescue your orphans' instead.

April

Veteran

I think of shopping your closet as looking at your wardrobe with a fresh eye and creating new combinations, so that you get "new" outfits without actually buying anything.

I'm pretty bad at this and would LOVE a stylist to go through my closet with me and re-envision everything in it.

Bianca

Veteran

April, I can see your point too. Sometimes you can weave in old outfits to making them look new and trendy without spending more money. I sometimes do this when I get inspiration from magazines, catalogs, tv, and other people. But like AGrace, said maybe it seems more like rescuing your orphans.

April a little over a year ago I went to my library and took out a few books on fashion/appearances. It really helped me pair up some combos I wouldn't have otherwise imagined. Much cheaper than hiring a stylist...FREE!

Kristine

Veteran

I think it does make sense, but I know what you mean about being annoying (as if you have a warehouse full of clothing). But lately I find myself wearing new outfits out of clothing I've had for years. And I don't have a large wardrobe, so it's not the number of clothes, it's the way I'm seeing them.

So I think all it means is to take a fresh look at your closet and try new combinations. Sometimes the creativity flows and it seems like there's an infinite variety of ways I could put things together. Sometimes I can't get myself out the door because I can't find anything!

Louise

Veteran

Here's a blog post about it http://youlookfab.com/2006/07/.....wn-closet/ I think shopping your closet is more about having a tidy closet almost like a shop where things are neatly accessable with nothing that doesn't fit or flatter x

Anonymous

Shopping your closet refers to looking at the stuff you currently have with a new eye....as opposed to shopping in a store. I have had many instances where a friend will look at my old, tired stuff and see new ways to wear it and thus keeping me out of the stores.

Maya

Veteran

I don't think it means discovering anything new. It just means refreshing what you have, finding new outfit combinations, ways to use orphans, etc. It makes you feel as though you just bought a whole new outfit without leaving your home or spending any money.

Lisa

Veteran

I second Louise's and Maya's comments.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I have a small closet/wardrobe, too. But occasionally, I will pull everything out and spend an afternoon trying different combinations together/tidy it up (usually at the beginning of a new season). I will keep a list of what I liked together, or take pictures. It just helps me to really make use of all of my pieces and not get stuck in a rut. It also helps me to see gaps that need filling. This is how I think of shopping my closet.

tarzy

Veteran

Ha! I agree! I've always been annoyed by this phrase. Mostly because the "Sales Associate" who lives in my closet is absolutely no help. She seems to stock my closet with things that I don't like, and then makes me feel guilty when I try to get rid of anything. I've been trying to fire her recently, but she's quite stubborn.

April

Veteran

LOL, Tara!

She needs to be canned, for sure.

bj1111

Veteran

tarzy--i think you should have a stern talking to to the sales associate in MY closet.

you know, for the first time, i feel that i'm successfully integrating what's already in my closet with the new stuff that i've bought. this is due primarily to a shift in shopping mindset that had been evolving, but crystallized over the months that i've lurked on this site.

i would buy things on sale "settling" because they were cheaper that the items i truly desired, resulting in so many orphans that my closet doubled as a foster home for unloved sales stock. last fall, i reversed the process and selected items i really loved then tried to fit those items into my budget. i've worn those items to death--martin skinnys in grey and black at full price, david kahn jeans from a nordstrom sale, no-iron dress shirts at brooks bros for end of season colors, etc, etc...

warning--overlap with the accounting thread...so look away. i've spent so much over the last year (i'm gagging on how much i can't even say it out loud). BUT, like kate, i have few regrets with this bunch. way fewer than i've had in years past. so much so that as a serial returner, i can't find more than a handful that i won't welcome into my closet.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I scour catalog and fashion mags (like the new J. Crew)! Most of the time when I see something I like I do a mental check and sure enough! I often have something already quite similar to the pieces in the spread I like. That's when I shop my closet. I try to re-create some of these exciting new ideas using the things I already have. Sometimes it doesn't work out because getting a look pitch perfect requires some specific thing that I don't have, but many times it does work out and keeps me falling in love with things I already own.

Tara

(website)

Veteran

This thread makes me so excited! Maybe the term" shop your closet" is a bit silly, but I guess it's kinda relevant.

I did an impromptu closet purge last night and was ruthless - anything I have not worn for ages or went against my newly found sense of style (e.g. too old, dowdy or boring looking) went straight into bags for the charity shop.

I have kept about 10-12 items in a "second chance" section of my closet. If I can successfully work them into at least 2 combinations and feel fab, and they flatter me, they stay. Otherwise, they're out!

@chewyspaghetti/Khris, I really like your idea and try to aim to do that myself once in awhile.

Isabel

Veteran

I used to find that term very funny.....then it started to make sense, or I lost sense ( I am not sure which).

ANyway, I tend to look at it in this way : when I see a silhouette/outfit I like, I look through my closet to see if there is any way to combine existing pieces in new ways that might come close. I have found that I don't have al ot of stuff, but I do have a little something of everything and I have been surprised at how versatile my stuff really is !

So I am totally with Jenava on this one - except that she sounds more stylish !!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

This is a fabulous phrase and it makes complete sense to me. I have trouble understanding what it annoys people. I must be missing something.

There isn't a closet I haven't seen. From the biggest and most luxurious to the most dysfunctional of them all. People often forget what they have - fact. Battle to put things together - fact. There is often a lot to be shopped in one's closet before you spend a cent - another fact. Hence the phrase. Hope that offers a little more perspective.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I wish I had worked on my outfit program...the one where you enter all your clothes in detail and it suggests outfit for you to try...maybe this summer I'll get back to that! Virtual closet shopping, if you will...

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

Isabel, I WISH I could be considered stylish...I try, but I don't feel I deserve that title quite yet.

Sparky

Veteran

I don't mind the phrase. Like Louise and Maya, I understand it to mean looking at what's in my closet with new eyes and a fresh perspective. There are many times I open the closet door and feel like I don't have a thing to wear. And that the only solution would be to have new clothes. But really I don't need new stuff. I just need to look differently at what I have, and try to approach my closet like it's a rack of brand new items. I can easily get stuck in a rut wearing just a few pieces of my wardrobe at a time, and the phrase reminds me to take a step back and look again at my closet.

Jenava

(website)

Veteran

I often challenge myself to make an outfit using one of the items at the far end of the bar. (-: If I can't, then out it goes!

taylor

Veteran

As soon as winter starts I am like a kid in my closet...Ooh yay I forgot about this, or I can't wait to wear this jacket with my new boots etc. I go through this in Spring and Fall too. So essentially i do shop my closet at the start of each season and shop it to mix with my new pieces.

AJ

Veteran

I enjoy that phrase! I'm with the others in that I don't think it means you don't know what items you have, but to see them with new possibilities. I think also, if you can come up with a system where your accessories are easily seen and accessible, this will also help you see more mix and match potentials.

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

I completely understand what the phrase means and I am often making new discoveries in my really tiny wardrobe, but I don't think that I would use it myself.

BTW - I am an advocate of having wardrobes in two countries

I got to shop from my wardrobe in New Zealand when I went home. When we moved we only took a suitcase of clothes, so I couldn't take everything I owned. I came back to the UK with what used to be my favourite jacket and also a skirt I completely forgot about. I also managed to pick a scarf and a black top out of my Mum's.

April

Veteran

Hee hee -- is there anyone out there who *wouldn't* love the chance to shop Taylor's closet?

tarzy

Veteran

April - ha! I certainly would! Next best thing - shopping WITH Taylor!