With spring well on its way, so too is either the best or worst time of the year, depending on your personal connection to your wardrobe.
A gradual switch from the winter clothing collections that we have relied on to get through the last six months to the refreshing light of spring and summer clothes is often a strong impetus to not only consider a complete redesign of your wardrobe… and what you have in it.
Not everyone needs to replace their wardrobe and everything in it in one fell swoop, of course; a bigger wardrobe designed around your clothing needs means you can store more clothes properly, after all.
Moreover, simplifying your wardrobe does not mean throwing away clothes you want but following a KonMari-style Method of keeping only the items you need or getting rid of enough items you no longer wear so you can fill your new wardrobe intentionally.
With that in mind, here are some common signs and top tips to simplify your wardrobe ready for the new season, to ensure that your new fitted custom wardrobe is tailored towards the outfits you want to wear and making your life far easier.
One of the simplest rules when decluttering, if you want to take emotional connection or subjectivity out of the equation, is to consider the one-year rule.
Think about the last time you wore an item of clothing; if it was over a year ago, factoring in seasonal wardrobe and changing trends, it is very unlikely that you will wear it again, and it is perhaps a good idea to consider rehoming it.
If this is perhaps too strict a rule, consider this variation: if you have not worn it in a year and you do not think you will wear it in the next month, donate it.
Doing this sooner, rather than later, allows you to use our bespoke wardrobe design tools to cater for your needs. Many people take the time between ordering and delivery to start organising and preparing clothes for donation.
If you have clothes that you have kept but do not fit properly for whatever reason, that can not only take up wardrobe space but also take some of your confidence. Keep clothes that matter to you and make you feel your best.
Naturally, clothes that are ripped, worn out or broken beyond repair should also be responsibly donated or thrown away unless you are going to fix them in the near future.
A custom wardrobe should showcase your clothes at their best, and having ripped or unwearable clothes filling up the drawers of a new fitted wardrobe is a wasted opportunity.
Everyone has a few duplicate staples, from pairs of blue jeans to a few little black dresses that take up space with similar looks.
That is fine if you have a relatively limited set of clothes you regularly wear in your wardrobe. However, if you have a lot of clothes that look very similar or a greater variety that is left neglected, then it is time to strip away some of the extra duplicates and save space in your wardrobe for bolder styles.
Both the design and the contents of your wardrobe should reflect you, your lifestyle and your sense of dress, so it is best to keep repetition to a minimum.
A big cause of clutter is huge changes in your lifestyle, be that abandoned hobbies or job changes. Many people have a whole professional wardrobe they simply do not use anymore because of remote working or a casual dress policy, and it is a perfect opportunity to cut some clothes loose.
If you have occasional formal wear you only expect to wear once a year at most, then consider moving it into storage; the more that is out of sight, the clearer your mind will be, unless you have enough extra space in your new fitted wardrobe to showcase your suits and formal dress.
A telltale sign that your wardrobe is not fit for purpose is that you struggle to organise and find the clothes you want, but it can just as easily be a sign that you have too many clothes that no longer spark that desire to wear them.
Conversely, if you notice that you don’t feel like wearing the same items time and time again, maybe they are not really the ideal fit for your wardrobe.
The beauty of a custom fitted wardrobe is that it is designed around how you dress and how you organise clothes, and only having clothes you will wear and want to wear in the future will make it even easier to get ready.
One of the biggest dilemmas when it comes to clearing out a wardrobe is that there will be a lot of clothes you cannot wear or have become particularly damaged, but are connected to memories, people or events that have a powerful connection to your story.
You do not need to get rid of them in that case, unless doing so would be therapeutic in itself. Instead, ensure that these memories do not simply end up in a dark, unused part of your new fitted wardrobe.
Instead, consider upcycling them, reusing them or storing them in a keepsake box instead, which allows you to remember the item and the person behind them in a way that makes them more than clutter.
