Decoding the Dress Code
November 22, 2016Prepping Your Closet for Cooler Weather
November 22, 2016For many people, the notion of going through their closets to get ready for a new season elicits immediate pangs of dread. Instead of thinking of it as drudgery, however, why not consider it an opportunity to maximize your closet space, improve your fall fashion outlook and maybe even make someone else’s life a little better
Here are some tips to make the chore go easier:
- Be Brutal — If you don’t wear it, it’s got to go. That goes double for anything that still has its tags. There’s no point in hanging on to clothes that will never see the light of day.
- Make Different Piles — Take everything (and we mean everything) out of your closet one piece at a time and put it into piles. Label each pile with the following sticky notes: Keep, Alter/Repair, Donate and Throw, and place each item into the appropriate pile. As for Throw, that would include anything with irreparable holes or stains.
- Try Everything On — If you feel and look good in it, keep it. If you say to yourself, “I just have to lose/gain a few pounds and this’ll be perfect!” then donate it. Trust us on this.
- Be Creative — There are probably things in your closet that you don’t wear that still have potential. Before discarding or donating an item, consider how it might look when accessorized properly. Clothes can also change dramatically with the addition or removal of things such as pockets, shoulder pads, epaulets, etc. Consider visiting a seamstress or tailor to bring old, tired pieces into the fashion present with just a few well-placed stitches or snips of the scissors.
- Repair What You Can — We have become a disposable society, with our landfills brimming with discarded stuff. Instead of throwing away something because it’s missing a button or has a seam coming loose, fix it. If you can’t fix it, find someone who can. Those aforementioned seamstresses and tailors would be happy to repair your clothes for just a small fee.
- Donate to Charity — If you no longer wear something and it’s in good shape, donate it to Goodwill, the Salvation Army or another charitable organization so it might enjoy a second life bringing pleasure to someone less fortunate.
- Ultra Chic Boutique — Speaking of donating, if you have any bridesmaids’ dresses, wedding gowns, cocktail frocks or any other formal attire you no longer need, bring it in to any Max I. Walker location and we’ll clean it, repair it and then sell it at next year’s Ultra Chic Boutique and donate all the proceeds to a charitable organization.