DivaDebbi's Suggestions for Closet Cleaning;The Bi-annual Change

Please tell me I am not alone in having an overwhelming sense of dread I have about having to switch  my closet over from fall/winter to spring/summer.  Ugggh! 

It's a two pronged problem.  First I have to look at all the things that are in my current closet that I didn't wear this winter and then I am going to look at all the things in my summer closet that I didn't wear last summer, but for some inexplicable reason, held onto anyway.

Why is it so difficult to purge?  As a former Personal Shopper,  and now Co-Owner of Mary Jane Denzer in White Plains, I will sometimes visit clients closets to help them edit them.  No doubt about it, it's a lot easier to tell someone else, "it's got to go", then self impose the same stringent guidelines. 

It's much less painful to pitch trendy, less expensive items, purchased knowing they have limited shelf life, then designer duds that simply no longer feel current. For sure, the latter are the ones that ping pong back and forth, season after season.

Here are my best suggestions for getting the job done:

1) Put your label blindfold on. I know, how hard it is to part with expensive, designer clothes...but trust me, that red Valentino coat dress with the Amazonian shoulder pads, is not on the fashion horizon...it has got to go. Ditto for high waisted, slim cut pants with pleats, shapeless charmeuse blouses and pinstriped power suits with mid thigh grazing jackets...Fini.

2) There are exceptions...evening gowns generally have a timelessness to them, as well as some cocktail dresses. Dolce & Gabanna sheath dresses have a long shelf life  because they rarely change their cuts, however, you have to do your part by still being able to fit in them. A few sentimental favorites; the dress you were proposed to in, the dress you wore to your child's first communion or Bar Mitzvah can be placed (way) back in your cedar closet. The only items that have life long reprieve, are those from the house of Chanel or Pucci. This is in the Bible.

3) Clothes that have yellowed, faded or pilled go in a Hefty. If you have gained or lost weight, be judicious about what you alter. Alterations are time consuming and expensive. You will never put 4/5 altered garments on your body, ever again.

4) Don't fall into the trap of thinking that some trend in your closet is going to resurface. When it does, your daughter should be in it and the current designers will have changed some slight component anyway to render it impossible, (if it were a car, it would be the engine).

5) You really, really, will never remember, miss, wish for, or think about any item, (including shoes), that you get rid of, that hasn't had an outing in 3 or 4 seasons. Scouts Honor.

6) After a good purge and it will make the task of reorganizing your closet for the new season, almost bearable. You will feel positively giddy with relief.

7) Someone will be happy to have your cast offs, (my lovely housekeeper cuts a mean figure in Armani) or if it is being donated, you are entitled to a tax receipt.

8) Check through pockets before donating or discarding. Occasionally you will be rewarded with a $20 or a long lost earring. The proverbial "silver lining".
 
O.K., I'm feeling a little more motivated.  I can do this!  All I have to do his heed my own advice...again.
 
Happy sorting.
 
xox,
DD