My sweet boyfriend is always forwarding links about the fashion world my way, and today was no exception. My first instant message from him is an article that CNN syndicated from OPRAH.COM on how we must find “the gold hidden in our closets” especially during times like these. Oh, how CNN and Oprah have a special place in my heart for concurring with this concept!
For the official article, visit CNN here: http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/homestyle/09/11/o.find.gold.in.closet/index.html
A few nuggets to discuss:
Closeted wealth
You’ll be surprised by what’s in your own closet, particularly if you didn’t have time to do a good spring-cleaning this year. When was the last time you did an inventory? Trust me, there will be clothes you probably forgot about years ago. Some may be out of style, and that’s fine — give them to charity or store them until they come back. But you’ll likely find some hidden treasures.
When you put everything back, improve on your organization if everything wasn’t already easy to find.
I couldn’t have said this better. Most people have at least 3 or 4 gems of pieces in their closets and they aren’t even aware of how well they can serve their wardrobes. Case in point…I have helped organize and style two of my dear friends’ closets over the past month. One client, we will call her “K” had a gorgeous silky taupe dress that she had just purchased at her favorite boutique in Brooklyn, but she wasn’t sure how to style it into different unique outfits. After mixing and matching with some other pieces that were already in her closet, we were able to fashion 4 days’ worth of unique outfits for both day and night , and each has a completely different look! I love the “same dress/four different looks” concept – what a great way to save money.
K also had a long light blue sheath that she had used as a Marge Simpson Halloween costume many moons ago. It was stuffed in the deep corner of her closet, for lack of reasons to wear. And what a tragedy! By belting it up high on her waist, we turned it into a gorgeously long flowing skirt. In the first outfit, we tucked it beneath a pretty light blue patterned blouse and toughened it up with a biker jacket. In the second, we kept it feminine and soft with a light yellow tank and matching shawl wrapped behind her arms.
Some other great ensembles we cobbled together below. All of these were put together with pieces already in her closet, many of which were reused multiple times with very different effects…
Stock your closet
If you have the essentials on hand, you’ll be ready for any occasion.
You can never go wrong, for instance, by owning a cashmere sweater. There are always big sales as winter comes to a close. Ditto that! I’m partial to cashmere, so I’d say only buy cashmere! It feels good against the skin, keeps it’s shape well, and is great to layer (especially the light cashmere blends).
Next up, closetique session with “AML” – she had a gorgeous wool DVF dress that we styled several different ways, from va va voom sexy to demure and all-biz. Stay tuned!
Signing off, with love of fashion,
d
CLOSETIQUE STYLING™ 