The In-Person Closet Edit

Wondering what an in-person closet edit looks like? It will be a little bit different for everyone depending on the size of your closet, how much is in it and how willing you are to part with pieces that need to go. But fear not; my goal is not to purge your entire closet! My goal is for you to be able to easily see what’s in your closet, confidently dress yourself for the day (or night) and ultimately feel good in your clothing. I recently edited a client’s closet and thought it would be helpful to share a full picture of what the process entails.

First, my client pulled everything (yes, everything) from her closet before I arrived at her house. This isn’t required but it allowed us to get started quickly, going through every single item in her closet, one-by-one. She had a great mindset and was really ready to let go of a lot which made the process go smoothly. Still, we talked through several pieces to determine whether or not they were worthy of a spot in her closet; we talked about quality, how often she reached for the item and most importantly, how she felt when she wore it.

Throughout this process we were able to quickly pinpoint a few patterns. First, there was a specific type of item she gravitated towards—and bought a lot of—but she didn’t actually like the items or wear them frequently. In this case, the item was a knit top with a bold, colorful print. Because she didn’t reach for these tops often when she got dressed, it was easy for her to part with them.

Second, we noticed duplicates. She had chambray tops in countless styles and sleeve lengths, and a lot of leopard print, too. Variety is the spice of life but not when it never makes its way out of your closet. We talked through which of those pieces she really liked and eliminated the rest. Identifying these patterns was a takeaway for her in terms of what to avoid doing when shopping moving forward.

I also created some new-to-her looks with pieces of clothing that she already owned. I paired things in ways she had never thought about wearing them to add some variety to her wardrobe without the need to buy more pieces. This is one of the ways a personal stylist can really help expand your wardrobe with what’s already in your closet.

In total, we spent about three hours together, whittling down her closet to approximately 130 clothing items. This is a client who likes to shop and who likes variety, so the total number of pieces remaining looks different for everyone depending on preferences and lifestyle. I photographed each item and shared the photos with her virtually. Within a week of our time together, I created a virtual lookbook which included outfit combinations (from pieces she currently owns) for the upcoming spring/summer season. I also put together a linked shopping list so she could easily find the few pieces that she needed to add to her closet.

With the closet edit, we cleared up a lot of space in my client’s closet so that she could easily see what she had to wear.

Ready to edit your closet? Contact me to get started!