3 steps to reinvent your wardrobe

Jonne & Andrea liep ik een half jaar geleden tegen het lijf. En we raakten meteen enthousiast in gesprek over onze gezamenlijke passie, werk, stad en vrienden. We hebben sindsdien contact gehouden en afgelopen week zaten ze bij mij in mijn workshop Kledingkast. Zo ontzettend gaaf om mijn kennis met hen te mogen delen hoe te winkelen in je eigen kledingkast. En nu hebben ze dit gave artikel geschreven en daar ben ik zo trots op. Veel leesplezier. 

"Make full use of the clothes that you already have. Not only because it’s fun, it also tackles one of the biggest problems the fashion industry is facing: overproduction. In this blog Chiara, our friend and fashion style coach, shows you how in three simple steps. 

We all know the feeling, standing in front of our bursting wardrobe, but still not finding anything to wear. Well, that means it’s time to re-examine your collection and look at it with a pair of fresh new eyes. We are sure you will find many new combinations and rediscover some old favourites. Follow our three steps, success is guaranteed!

Step 1: Examine your wardrobe

Take a break between all your work, household, social life, sports and all your other duties, and plan a moment to shop in your own wardrobe. Put on some music, get yourself something to drink, make sure you have a good big mirror, lightning and a camera. Also, you will need a notebook and a pen. Get dressed in your best underwear. Time to start the fun.

We start with your favourite outfit. Put it on and examine yourself in the mirror. Try to answer the following question: why is this my favourite outfit? Is it because of the fabric, the fitting, the colours, the print? Is it connected to the activities you can do while wearing it? Or because it makes you feel feminine, tough, etc.? The more detailed you can answer these questions, the better. Write all of this down in your notebook.

Then try on all the other clothes in your wardrobe, piece by piece. For every item you need to answer all of the following questions:

• Can you easily combine it with your favourite outfit?
• Does it give you the same feeling as your favourite outfit?
• If you go back to your notes with the positive features of your favourite item, does this apply to this piece?

If the answer is ‘no’ to one of these questions, try to see if it still belongs in your collection and why. If not, maybe you can remake it into something new, exchange it or sell it. Finally you will have three clothing piles: a ‘yes’, ‘remake’ and ‘no’ pile.

Step 2: Combine your favourite items

In this step you are going to combine all the items you were positive about. First you have to divide the clothes in tops and bottoms. Include everything, even your sportswear. With each top, try on on each of your bottoms – even the combinations that seem weird at first! For example a blouse on a sports short, a turtleneck under a dress or a skirt that could go as a shirt when you pull it up. Just look in the mirror and see how it combines. Does it make you happy? Why does it, or why not?

Make a picture of all combinations you like. Print them out and put them inside your wardrobe, so you can use them every morning to see what you want to wear.

Step 3: Choose your accessories

Okay, now we have the basics down. Let’s accessorize! Sort out all of your accessories: shawls go with shawls, belts with belts, shoes with shoes and so on. Now go back to your list of why you like your favourite sets of clothes. Do these accessories fit the description? Decide which you want to keep, maybe remake or give/sell the others to someone else.

Congratulations, you did it! You have shopped in your own wardrobe and probably found many new old items to wear and combine. Did you know you had so much good stuff already?

More tips and tricks?

Are you looking for more inspiration and tips on how to dress fabulously? Check Chiara’s blog Indiaan in je Kast (Dutch only). She gives out personal styling advice!

And what about the clothes you don’t need anymore? Exchange them at a swap-party or organize one yourself. Not sure how to do this? Find a manual here. Or sell them online.