February 27, 2008

WFMW: Another wardrobe edition!

I had fun writing last week on the Works for Me Wednesday about some wardrobe tips (Choosing and Simplifying Your Wardrobe), and so I thought I would write up this week’s WFMW in response to some of the inquiries that were left in the comment section. I hope these tips help — because they work for me!

How do you know which colors are YOUR colors? (As advised in the other post to find your colors)

First off, it might be a good idea to think of outfits that you wear where people say to you, “You look great today.” Notice this is not, “What a cute outfit.” You’re looking for what makes YOU look good, not what outfit looks good. Check to see if some of these clothes are the same color. If they are, then that is probably a good color for you.

Another great place to look are your eyes and hair. Can you grab inspiration for your good colors from here? Blue is not one of the colors I mentioned as “my colors,” but when I wear the right shade of blue, people comment on my eyes more. (My eyes appear more blue than usual at those times, since I normally have kind of grey-ish eyes.)

Again, thinking of this, one of the reasons I like brown is that I try to look for shades of brown that compliment my auburn-ish color hair.

Also, check out your complexion. For me, I have a reddish complexion. It’s not always too noticeable. But, heaven forbid I wear red, it looks like I am constantly blushing or way too hot.

Here is some interesting information about choosing what color you should wear.

What’s the best way to clean out your closet/drawers?

We’ve all read these tips — if it doesn’t fit, donate it to someone to whom it will bless. But, just because it fits, it doesn’t mean that you should keep it either. I’m bad about that. It fits, so let it stay. No, don’t do it.

The last time I did a serious, serious, serious purge, I took everything out of my closet and drawers. Then, I took time to really look at each piece and asked myself these questions –

1. Does it fit?

2. Is it a good color for me?

3. Is it flattering on me?

4. Have I worn it lately?

So, then I had to really think on each piece of clothing. If it didn’t fit, I got rid of it (Goodwill). I got rid of all those things that just aren’t good colors on me. (A lot of these were hand me downs from someone else, or things that were just great deals or whatever.)

I had to then be pretty darn honest for the next one. I had to put on some things that I hadn’t worn in a while and some of them made me say, “Yikes! I look horrible — why do I have this???” It’s a good idea to decide that you are going to take the time to try on everything that you think you want to keep.

Okay…now there’s that old rule about if you haven’t worn it in a year, get rid of it. I don’t do that. But, I do look at the piece of clothing and really honestly say to myself, “Seriously — am I going to wear it again? Really?” Because, I have to say, I sometimes go a few years without wearing something, and then all of the sudden, I start wearing it again. Go figure.

Of course, I think things like that black dress and the like are exempt from that year rule anyway. If you have a nice dress that looks great that you can grab at the last minute for a nice occasion, absolutely do NOT get rid of it. (Even if you haven’t worn it in five years. But, again — try it on before it goes back into the closet!)

I have a purple hoodie sweater that I literally got about eight to ten years ago and never wore. But, I held on to it. I liked it, I just didn’t wear it. Well — guess what I have been wearing lately? Of course, it’s the hoodie. Go figure. That’s me though. If you don’t think you would go back and wear something you haven’t worn in a year, donate it all.

Anything else?

We organize all closets in our house by type of clothing, not by outfits. The only except is that in Molly’s closet, two piece outfits are on the same hanger and go with the tops (which are separated into two groups — long sleeve and short sleeve). This tip helps me more in the morning with my kids than it actually helps me. I love that I can find all of the pants in one area, all of the shirts in another. (In the boys’ closet, I actually have it go: short sleeve shirts, pants, long sleeve shirts, just so the pants can be a natural divider between shirt types.)

Okay…whew…that’s it! I hope that some of these tips help!

But, if they don’t, be sure to check out all the other great tips and ideas at Works for Me Wednesday!