shopping your closet Archives - Northern California Style

It’s time for the first Signature Style post of 2022 with my compatriots, Cindy and Sarah and we decided to begin with a post that encourages you to look in your own closet before you buy anything this year. As Sarah, who came up with the idea, says can you ‘relove’ what you already own? I think we all need to try and on today’s blog are ideas on how.

A lot of us are addicted to shopping, to that high we get from a new item, but we can retrain ourselves to stop looking at stores and online ads for inspiration. We can look right in our own closets if we spend some time seeing what we own and what we can do with it.

I know I’ve said this before, but the best way to prevent yourself from buying what you don’t need is know your closet. That means spending a couple hours taking the closet apart every season, (that’s 4xs a year), clean it out, straighten and organize by type and then color. Try on every sweater and pair of jeans and shoes, dress and coat. Lay out the hanging pieces on your bed and then look at each and every one.

If you’re able and have the space, store some of your out of season clothes in another closet or space, so you can see only what you are able to wear now. A crammed closet isn’t conducive to shopping it, and I like my clothes to have space to breathe.

Think of your closet as your own personal boutique and make it appealing.

Start arranging your closet to be attractive and inspiring. Make it smell pretty with sachets or a candle (unlit). If you have the space hang cool art, wallpaper it or create an inspiration board. Then get it curated by season.

Go through your jewelry, shoes and accessories and select things that will work for that season.

Right now in winter, I like to have my sweaters folded neatly by color, and put coordinating accessories in same tones near them just as a shop would. What I see when I walk into my winter closet now is coats, jackets, leather bags, scarves and sweaters and boots. In spring and summer, I have blouses, sundresses, woven bags, sandals and short

If you can’t see things, you won’t wear them. You can’t have everything out at once, so each season pretend you’re a buyer for boutique and select accesories for this particular time of year. An example is my crystals and colored stone earrings have been on my tray for the holidays and in summer I’ll drape my Hawaiian pearls on a cord on my small mirror and have my vintage white Chanel enamel earrings and colorful clip ons from my grandmother on my tray.

I’ll pull out all my flat sandals and slides and put them in cute baskets in warm season. Now they are away and boots, sneakers and loafers are on the shelves. Another idea is to pull forgotten scarves out of a basket and pair each one with a jacket or coat by wrapping them around the hanger with it. You can do the same with necklaces if it helps you to remember to use them.

When you like an outfit, snap a photo and save it on your phone

Take a photo when you leave the house in something you like or in a look you’ve pulled together when going through the closet. Then group them on your phone as work outfits, date night, evening look, or weekend, travel, etc. You’d be surprised how you can forget pieces you own, and looks you’ve worn. When you’re feeling uninspired, look at that album.

For example this is one on my phone with outfits so I can remember what worked and what is in the closet.

Try new ways to wear what you own..

Take jeans and denim and update them by cutting the hem yourself with sharp scissors and chalk. There are many tutorials online. Hello new fringy cropped that look like expensive brands. Mending jeans and adding stitching and patches has become a look. This book is a good one for unique jean hacks.
Sweaters have so much potential. Turn a sweater backwards for a sexy back v neck. Wear one as a scarf around the neck, or draped on your shoulders as a pop of color or and tied around the waist of a dress. I also love layering my sweaters and try them with different blouses you own to see which ones work well together.
Dresses don’t need to sit out winter. Wear your dresses layered over jeans or leggings. Play around with the proportions and see which jeans work best. Try a sweater over your dresses or a long sleeve top under a spaghetti strap type. Add sneakers to dresses to update them, (preferably not the ones you hike or run in.)
Pull apart 2 piece outfits like a suit or a skirt and matching top and wear the pieces separately. You’ll have exponentially more outfits and looks.
Don’t let your evening wear be just for night and gather dust. Bring these fancy pieces down to earth by pairing them with everyday items. Try a sequin top for day with denim, chandelier earrings with a sweatshirt, a velvet dress over skinny jeans with flats, a black dress worn over leggings with a leather or denim jacket.
Dress down your ‘work’ or tailored pieces. Start wearing your blazers and jackets out as your daily topper. How many of us have beautiful jackets that never get worn? I use my jackets all the time and love them with a t-shirt or a sweatshirt to dress them down. I like them in winter with a big scarf wrapped over them for warmth and in summer over sundresses. Tailored skirts and slacks look fresh with a sweatshirt or a big oversized sweater, or white sneakers with and a t-shirt.
Use your bags in new ways. Straw bags tend to be summer things, but Jane Birkin wore her woven totes with fur (or faux preferably), and people like my friend Contessa use their all year long. Leather bags can be changed up by switching your straps. So many have removable straps, or options to add a shoulder strap so look at what can be converted to a cross-body if you want. Guitar style straps here at Madewell, and some of the coolest ones here on Etsy. Older bags are more chic now than new, as seen by the huge market for vintage bags. If you are so lucky to have saved older bags start wearing them again! Or as we talked about in this recent post, take a load off and start using a canvas tote you might already have, like all the cool kids.

Spend a few hours playing dress up.

For fun, I thought I’d show you what looks I created with a old Equipment dress that has been sitting in the closet for a few years. I love this dress, but don’t have many opportunities to wear it, so I thought I’d show you looks I pulled together using other closet pieces, over blue jeans, grey skinny jeans, with leggings and with different boots. I also I tried an oversized sweater over it, a velvet bomber, and a moto jacket. I used bags I’ve had and it was fun to see all the options I hadn’t even thought of.

For Inspiration go to Street Style Instagram accounts or Pinterest.

I still read magazines, but I don’t think I’ve found an outfit I wanted to copy from one of them in years. Everything is so fantasy driven now. I do however find a lot to inspire me on Instagram and specifically for me, street style accounts where real people are snapped in various cities of the world. These people will give you ideas on how to style what you already own. Screenshot looks and out them in an album on the phone to refer back to.

Some of my favorites are

Photos below from the Street Style Global Instagram..

Pinterest is another place to find looks to love and I have been saving my own favorites under Jeans Love, The California Look, Style, Fall and Winter Style, and Spring/Summer Wardrobe.

I also love the Parisian Chic Look Book which has tons of ideas of how to add style to your wardrobe basics…

Also inspiring is Classic Style and How Not to Wear Black. Love all three so much.

Another fun idea is to do a wardrobe swap party with a group of friends. Everyone brings 5 or so pieces that are nice that they no longer wear and they are hung or displayed on tables or racks. You draw numbers and everyone takes turns selecting pieces. It is a great way to keep clothes in the cycle, not the landfill and pass something nice onto another.

Having too much is as bad as not enough. If you’ve paid a lot for something, and have a hard time parting with it, but will never wear it, as Marie Kondo says, be thankful for it and pass it on to another who can enjoy it. Don’t let things sit when others could be using them. Dress for Success in San Jose is a great place to help women who are trying to succeed in the world and can use those items that are gathering dust.

When you are ready to shop again, get to know consignment and thrift stores near you. It’s a great place to sell some of what you no longer want and also find unique and better quality things for a song. Make a commitment to bring only better quality items into your wardrobe this year. Save for the good stuff as I talked about in this post, or find them through thrift and consignment. Stop going for the quick high at places like Target if you can. I’ve yet to have a cheap item stand the test of time – trend wise or wear wise, but I’ve been grateful I saved for better items that still look good, even cooler, year after year and give whole wardrobe an upgrade.

If you find a consignment shop you like, the best thing to do is be a regular. That way you see when the better things come in and can grab them. In the Bay Area, my favorites are Crossroads Trading (the Blossom Hill location) and Filmore & Fifth in Palo Alto. Other options abound online too now.

I can’t wait to read Cindy and Sarah’s blogs today about shopping the closet. Stop by their blogs at:

Cindy Hattersley

Sarah London Style

Thanks for reading and please share below your thoughts on shopping your closet.

Kim

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Lovely October is here and it’s feeling little cooler here in Northern California!! I have actually begun thinking about fall clothing and shopping.

I have a weakness for tweed jackets and distressed jeans and this combo at J.Crew got me excited! I bought both since they were my style and I know I’ll wear them for years. Jacket is no longer online, but you can catch it in stores on sale now I believe.

These necklaces were lovely and on sale.

I am also crazy about these these D’Orsay suede flats in this grey taupe. I could see them going with almost everything and dressed up or down. I’m hoping to add them to my fall shoes this year.

However, I swore to not add a single thing until I went through the old closet. That means trying on pants, skirts, and everything again. Looking over what was worn or not in the past year, seeing what could be revived, and also pitching what was just done. Ugh a lot of work, but so worth doing. This prevents you from buying the same things again you already have and helps you find what you may have forgotten about!

After purging and making a list of what I could add, I purposely rearranged the closet to seem more like a boutique.

First, you’ll notice this closet TINY. It’s not a big walk-in like most Californians have. When we moved closer to town, we gave up our big master bedroom for this older ranch home and now have a small master. This closer was nicely done with a organizer, so I made it work and downsized what I owned which was actually a good thing.

Now I try to treat it like a small jewel box and have all my prettiest things out where I can see them and wear them. I added a few photos, jewelry, some good smelling lavender sachets from France and even a fun rug. You can do the same and it will inspire you to keep the closet neater as well.

On top I have my blouses, which are some of my best pieces (yes I do like prints), and those are all on wood hangers. I try to organize by tones- navy, blues, pinks, blacks, browns and warmer colors. It’s nice having your newest pieces out in front so you will see them.

Right now I have just put away many of my sandals and have my fall and winter shoes out.

I used some of my birthday money to buy this amazingly soft sweater and Toile sweatpants. I put them out on a shelf, so I can see them and think about ways to wear them.

Being a Californian, jeans are what I wear the most and they take up less space folded. I have two stacks- light and dark. This little bowl with a few green bracelets reminds me to wear them and the dog holds some of my other favorite pieces. I always love the pretty bowls Anthro has for bracelets and odd bits.

Then I have fall dresses and sweaters and jackets.

This bottom row hold casual tops like denim, button-ups and Ts.

A little tray is a nice touch to hold special pieces you wear daily. I LOVE this Liberty hankie from my friend Jeanne and it makes me happy to see it there.

Other shelves hold my lace tops that are too old and fragile to hang, more handbags (I keep them forever) and my treasured Panama hat from Montecristi Hat Company. I did find this fun Garcons-Filles sweater at Madewell on sale. Super cute and soft.

Coats and Jackets are up higher and in front now that it’s getting cooler.

It looks like I have a lot of clothes, but I honestly have a lot I have saved over the years. I try my best to buy quality things and love nothing better than taking old pieces out and wearing them in new ways. Some of my things are 30 years old! I keep though only things I do wear. If I don’t wear it, it goes no matter how nice it is, or how much it cost originally. I just don’t want an archive, nor do I have the space.

I still had a a plethora of scarves collected over many years as well as jewelry and so I decided to use our armoire that previously held a television. It also has had incarnations as a chest for my linens.

I added a small cork board to the back to make an inspiration board for the season. I thought it might be fun to see and get ideas when getting dressed. I tore some of my favorites I saved.

Hmm, looking at this I’m all over the place, but basically I was going for a hippie bohemian feel with a little Ralph Lauren thrown in. That sounds contradictory, but what can I say? It’s me and I’m eclectic? 😀

Scarves I folded on the top by color. I used some of my favorite trays from around the house to put the things I’m wearing currently and that work for fall. I also put a Volcano candle from Anthropologie in there. The smell is divine and you needn’t ever light it. A few of my favorite clutches I added as well.

I used an old glass pedestal dish for my wood and leather pieces. That turtle I treasure. I bought it on the street in Fiji almost 20 years ago and wear it on a cord.

I’m also wearing a lot of bangles in gold right now. There’s a very old Dior piece, Alex and Ani bangles from a dear friend, and collected bits from here and there. These earrings were also a gift and my favorites as well as the tennis pendant, Harlow star necklace and the gold J. Crew necklace -a recent find on sale here. I thought the warm chestnut color of the alternating stones would be a good compliment to my new jacket and other autumn shades.

This old silver candy dish of my grandmother’s holds my silver bits. In here is a glass cameo from another grandmother that I treasure. I like the tarnish on this dish and do not polish it.

Scarves are so addicting!! I need to see what I have so I do not buy more!

This little carved dog was found at my grandmother’s house as a little girl. I believe it’s from a trip to Japan that my grandfather took. As a child it was my Barbie’s dog. I love having it around for sentimental reasons so stuck in in my armoire. Adding bits like this make it a joyful and personal space.

It takes some time to make your closet pretty, but once you start treating it like a boutique you will look forward to shopping your closet each morning. Some people even have the space to paper their walls and add chandeliers! How lovely would that be?

One thing that I did not mention is that my husband does not occupy this space. When I saw how tiny this was, I kicked him out to another closet in our spare room and he was kind enough to acquiesce. If your are able to do so, it’s nice to have your own little world in some part of the home. I live with three men, so this is my little luxury since they take over the rest of the home!

I know Jenna Lyons and many others even have turned rooms into closets…(Hey a good thing about empty nesting?!) Pottery Barn knew this and now sells the goods to create such a fabulous space! Ahh, a girl can dream!!

With wardrobes in mind, I’ve gotta share my latest read, I’ll Drink to That, a wonderful bio of 86 year old Betty Halbreich, Bergdorf Goodmans’ personal shopper for 40 years. It takes you from her meticulous childhood closets filled with stacks of ribbon tied, fresh white nightgowns, to her life’s therapy -creating wardrobes for the famous and often crazy clients. Loads of fun and it gets you thinking about clothing and how what you choose to wear changes your outlook on life and so much else.