What's in a wardrobe

Yes, granted, this may seem like a silly question. But, what do you consider a wardrobe? Possibly somewhere you keep things that you put on everyday? Obviously I hear you say!

But my point is, we don't just put clothes on. We put shoes on, we put accessories on and we put make up on. I'd love to say that I have a wardrobe for each, alas not. My cupboard under the stairs is my shoes wardrobe (with a slight overspill under my bed!) and my make up wardrobe is my make up bag and bathroom cabinet. My accessories are a jewellery box and also a very handy hanger with see through pockets in my wardrobe.

We need to consider these all as wardrobes. They all need TLC and sometimes updating. Make-up has use by dates, shoes may need cleaning, repairing or throwing out, costume jewellery may lose it's shine or may have been a trend 10 years ago but is absolutely not anymore!

There will be more in-depth posts on these but here are some top tips for these various "wardrobes"

Clothes

Are you a chucker outer or a hoarder? If you know your colour and style then everything will work together, but not all people are suited to a capsule wardrobe. This said, there are only 7 days in a week! Every time you wear an outfit, turn the hanger round when you put it back in the wardrobe. After 6 months have a look at what hasn't been worn and why. If you have clothes that you don't fit into or you no longer wear as they don't suit your lifestyle, then get them out of the wardrobe! If you can't bear to part with them then pack them away otherwise give them to friends or to charity. When you choose your outfit, you want to be choosing it from a wardrobe where everything fits. Don't have clothes living rent free in your wardrobe if they're not earning their keep!

Shoes

Make sure they're clean, polished and don't need re-healing. There's nothing worse than choosing an outfit only to find that the pair of shoes that are the perfect match aren't worthy of seeing daylight! Do all your shoes work with your clothes. It's also possible to dye shoes. I've had many a client that have real successes. More cost effective and sustainable than buying a new pair. Try Tarrago or TRG.

Make - Up

The majority of make up now has sell by dates. Keep those in mind, especially eye make up. If lipsticks have a stale smell to them they could be ready for the bin. Invest in good brushes and make sure that they're cleaned regularly.

Accessories

Depending on your clothing personality, jewellery will vary greatly. As a gamine, I have small scale, generally silver and gold and not much costume jewellery. If you have romantic in your personality, you will tend to have larger scale with lots of sparkle...and generally lots and lots of jewellery!

It may sound daft, but make sure you can see it! Whether it be a jewellery box, necklace tree, if you can't see it you'll forget about it! Keep an eye out for costume jewellery as this can tarnish and then look cheap. For silver and gold jewellery, this can also become tarnished. Keep a polishing cloth or cleaning dip at the ready.

Keep an eye out for further blogs which will cover these in more depth.