The Curated Closet Process
The Curated Closet, written by Anuschka Rees is a wonderful book that takes style and shopping and breaks it into little bite sized chapters. Getting dressed has always felt like such work. I always want to wear color and be expressive but I just don't feel comfortable wearing a rainbow from head to toe. And on the flip side wearing all black or all white all the time can feel boring. So how do I find the balance? How do I dress most like me? This book lays out a process of research, experimentation and self discovery.
Read The Whole Book Before You Throw Out All Your Clothes
Once you get a couple chapters in you are going to want to toss all your clothes and start over. But resist!! There is a lot of self discovery to happen in these early chapters. Also, homework, so get your notebooks out. Firstly you will document what you wear for two whole weeks. I took pictures (although the last few days was when I broke my foot) and kept a journal of what I wore and how I felt at the end of the day. There were some days I got home and immediately put the top I was wearing in my goodwill pile because I was so uncomfortable all day. But before I got rid of that piece I took note of what made it uncomfortable so I wouldn't repeat my mistake. The fabric wasn't heavy enough. It wasn't long enough to tuck in. It was too long to tuck in. These pants were too long. This outfit felt boring and needed some ooomphhh. And on it went.
Read The Whole Book Before You Throw Out All Your Clothes
Once you get a couple chapters in you are going to want to toss all your clothes and start over. But resist!! There is a lot of self discovery to happen in these early chapters. Also, homework, so get your notebooks out. Firstly you will document what you wear for two whole weeks. I took pictures (although the last few days was when I broke my foot) and kept a journal of what I wore and how I felt at the end of the day. There were some days I got home and immediately put the top I was wearing in my goodwill pile because I was so uncomfortable all day. But before I got rid of that piece I took note of what made it uncomfortable so I wouldn't repeat my mistake. The fabric wasn't heavy enough. It wasn't long enough to tuck in. It was too long to tuck in. These pants were too long. This outfit felt boring and needed some ooomphhh. And on it went.
After documenting, you sit down and answer a questionaire from the book. Be honest with yourself about what you wear and what you'd like to wear. The questionaire will help you identify the differences and gaps between those two things. Then you summarize your style and where you want to go with it. Here is my Summary.
My Style Goals
My current style feels like it belongs to a broke college student, not a full time professional hairstylist. I like my simple style, it just needs to be spruced up with better quality fabrics, better fit and simple pieces that don’t need to be replaced every year.
I think my tailoring and accessorizing needs the most work.
I would like to learn how to identify better quality fabrics. And I would like to get better about finishing my outfits so I don’t feel frumpy.
Then you get to go shopping!!!!!! Well fake shopping. No purchases. Only research. And don't feel bad about going into a store with your detailed shopping list and trying things on to see if they work. You are encouraged to really get out of your comfort zone during this phase. This can be difficult to not buy anything. Here are a few shopping tips from the book and ones I've discovered.
Be Brutally Honest and Get Rid Of What Isn't Working
Now that you know what your style truly is, you get to toss out and sort through your clothes. She suggests separating things into three piles. 1: Pieces that aren't working out. 2: Pieces you aren't sure about 3: Pieces you love.
Pieces That Aren't Working Out
These pieces could be things that don't fit you anymore but are in good shape. Pieces that are sentimental but you really aren't going to wear day to day. And things that are straight up trash. I've had to go through and donate things in phases. It has truly taken me almost a year to get rid of all the things that are not working for me anymore. As each season comes around I re-evaluate what I have and whether or not things are working. I donate to goodwill, or have a clothing swap party and I just sent in a bag to threadUP for the first time. ThreadUP is online consignment shopping and it's so cool.
Pieces You Aren't Sure About
Maybe there are pieces you like but aren't sure if you get enough wear out of them to keep. She suggests storing these items out of sight, maybe in a drawer or in a bin under your bed. If you keep digging those pieces out of wherever you stored them, then keep them. If you completely forgot that you even owned those pieces after a few months then get rid of them.
There also might be pieces that are technically working but maybe you are needing to upgrade it to something better quality. Keep those guys in your closet for now and really research and maybe invest in a better version. For me these Items are t-shirts. I live and breath in t-shirts but nice t-shirts that have the right neckline, weight to the fabric and fabric that doesn't lose its shape. Shoes are the other thing I really invest in. I am on my feet all day and shoes that keep me feeling good are so worth the investment.
There also might be things that almost fit just right. If these things are things you will get so much wear out of them if they just fit a bit better, then take them to a tailor. I just dropped off a trench coat that is way too long. And I'm never shy about getting pants hemmed. I don't usually get darts put in at my waist because I pretty much always wear a belt, but that is something you can do to make jeans fit in the waist perfectly.
Pieces You Love
Keep them!!! That's it. Yeah, keep the clothes you love.
Opitional: You can store things that aren't necessary for your current season.
In Summary
There is so much more info in this book. It actually took me a solid couple of months to get through it and my curated process is still not done. My process may never be done, but I like having a constantly evolving wardrobe that can grow with me and with my style. I now have the confidence to get dressed and create outfits without feeling like I need to go out and purchase new things to make me "feel" better. I highly suggest reading this book if getting dressed in the morning can be stressful for you.
- Wear comfortable shoes. You'll be standing for a while and you'll want to have your favorite shoes to try on with all the outfits you'll be testing out.
- Wear an outfit you feel comfortable and cute in. This way when you put the clothes you are trying on back on the hanger you still feel cute in your own clothes.
- Leave your payment at home!!!! This is a huge one for me. I take my cards out of my wallet and if there is an item I find appears to be exactly what i'm looking for I put it on hold and if I'm still thinking the next day I go and get it.
- Take pictures. Being a super visual person, I need a picture of me wearing something I'm thinking of purchasing to stare at while deciding whether or not to make the purchase.
Be Brutally Honest and Get Rid Of What Isn't Working
Now that you know what your style truly is, you get to toss out and sort through your clothes. She suggests separating things into three piles. 1: Pieces that aren't working out. 2: Pieces you aren't sure about 3: Pieces you love.
Pieces That Aren't Working Out
These pieces could be things that don't fit you anymore but are in good shape. Pieces that are sentimental but you really aren't going to wear day to day. And things that are straight up trash. I've had to go through and donate things in phases. It has truly taken me almost a year to get rid of all the things that are not working for me anymore. As each season comes around I re-evaluate what I have and whether or not things are working. I donate to goodwill, or have a clothing swap party and I just sent in a bag to threadUP for the first time. ThreadUP is online consignment shopping and it's so cool.
Pieces You Aren't Sure About
Maybe there are pieces you like but aren't sure if you get enough wear out of them to keep. She suggests storing these items out of sight, maybe in a drawer or in a bin under your bed. If you keep digging those pieces out of wherever you stored them, then keep them. If you completely forgot that you even owned those pieces after a few months then get rid of them.
There also might be pieces that are technically working but maybe you are needing to upgrade it to something better quality. Keep those guys in your closet for now and really research and maybe invest in a better version. For me these Items are t-shirts. I live and breath in t-shirts but nice t-shirts that have the right neckline, weight to the fabric and fabric that doesn't lose its shape. Shoes are the other thing I really invest in. I am on my feet all day and shoes that keep me feeling good are so worth the investment.
There also might be things that almost fit just right. If these things are things you will get so much wear out of them if they just fit a bit better, then take them to a tailor. I just dropped off a trench coat that is way too long. And I'm never shy about getting pants hemmed. I don't usually get darts put in at my waist because I pretty much always wear a belt, but that is something you can do to make jeans fit in the waist perfectly.
Pieces You Love
Keep them!!! That's it. Yeah, keep the clothes you love.
Opitional: You can store things that aren't necessary for your current season.
There is so much more info in this book. It actually took me a solid couple of months to get through it and my curated process is still not done. My process may never be done, but I like having a constantly evolving wardrobe that can grow with me and with my style. I now have the confidence to get dressed and create outfits without feeling like I need to go out and purchase new things to make me "feel" better. I highly suggest reading this book if getting dressed in the morning can be stressful for you.
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