Get rid of the old  before introducing the new!

OK, after figuring out how much is spent on clothes we do not wear, let’s think about how we can put a stop to those old, re-occurring expensive habits.

Firstly, if you haven’t done so find out what suits you.  It sounds simple, but most things are.  You wouldn’t attempt to ‘dress’ your home and fittings without some careful planning.

You would not buy a fabric and make curtains for a specific window without measuring the window first.  If you really want a home that is co-ordinated, you wouldn't go and buy furniture and accessories in all different colours of the rainbow, or because you are afraid of colour you decorate your entire home in black!

So why do we do this with ourselves!  Only a few people get to see our home yet the world gets to see us!

So the first step is to discover what suits your natural assets and that is through colour and style.  Visit the La'qua website to find out about our easy, already packaged services.

Second, once you know what colours and style suit you, you can start to carefully plan on what new items to introduce to your existing wardrobe.  Just like your home, you need to take stock of what furnishings are worthwhile keeping before making your shopping list. So we have put together some quick, effective tips to help you get rid of the ‘old hanger ons’ and give your wardrobe the fresh start it deserves.

Remember that we only wear 20% of our current wardrobe - and the rest of the 80% is just ‘hanging there’ robbing space.

1) Dissect your wardrobe – the clean out!

Very important.  You must be in a good frame of mind to do this because you will become a bit ruthless and real.  This exercise is given to all of our clients and we ask them to do this when they cannot be interrupted, so that out of frustration and lack of time you don’t throw everything back in.  So take some time for yourself, i.e. two hours or as long as you think you’ll need.  It also pays to put your favourite CD on as your companion and, to make it more fun, have a glass or three of your favourite drop!

You grab everything out of your wardrobe and put it on top of the bed. Start with your clothes, then belts, shoes, accessories etc. (Oh by the way, I had a client do this and her husband came home through the process and thought she was leaving him.  So maybe pre-warn your partner of this exercise to avoid any shocks and interruptions).

You are going to divide everything into 4 piles.

2) Divide all your clothes into 4 piles.

Think of your wardrobe as your office desk.  You would not keep files that are 12 months old on your desk would you?  You tend to file them away or put them away in a box.  So, why do we get so attached to those items that we never wear or are out of fashion?  Maybe because it cost us an arm and a leg and we know that we made an incorrect purchase, but we seem to justify it by hanging it in our wardrobe?

First pile:  Items that we have not worn in over 12 months.

You will find that this will probably be the largest pile of all.  These are all of our re-occurring shopping mistakes, sales items that turn out to be expensive purchases and items that are no longer in fashion.  If you have not worn it for 12 months or over then throw it out or take it away from your every-day wardrobe (office desk) and store these pieces in a box or a suitcase, but not before you throw those items that need throwing away.

And, by throwing away you can be kind to a charity contribution and drop them in a clothing bin or, for those really expensive mistakes, find your closest designer vintage outlet and give it to them for consignment.  And, you can use the sale money to invest in finding out on what suits you!

Second pile: Torn, buttonless, mending.

Like myself, we are all guilty of having some clothes that are in need of alteration hanging in our wardrobe and shoes that need re-healing. This is the perfect time to get those items into a bag and finally have them mended and fixed.  If through your cleaning you find some items that could be salvaged and made to fit you better, throw these in here too, but make sure the item is worthwhile and, for example, it is in your right colour and  flattering to your figure.  No need to spend more money on those mistakes again!

Third pile:  Sentimental

We all have sentimental items, i.e. presents that we don’t like but we do not have the guts to throw away.  Again, think of your wardrobe as your office desk where you only have items that you need daily.  These items are great to store in a spare bedroom or carefully in a suitcase under a bed or the garage.

Fourth pile: This is usually the smallest.  Your 20% that you wear.

OK, by the time you get to this pile you have probably realised such things as:  a) I did not know I had that?  b) Oh, I have bought items that are similar (if not the same item twice like I once did in the past); c) I have truly wasted a lot of money on clothes that I do not wear.  And I am with you on this.  I truly was the worst-case scenario in the planet.  I had an extra room besides the master bedroom wardrobe and half of my partner’s space full of clothes thinking how stylish I was owning so many clothes, which frankly I now think all I was doing is displaying the thousands of dollars I had wasted throughout the years.

It was a sad revelation. However, at the same time it was such a relief to to finally put a stop to this and get rid of all that clutter that was having a negative impact in my wardrobe.

Style is not about having the most expensive clothes, following all the latest trends (otherwise we become catalogue shoppers), having every colour of the rainbow, or having a wardrobe full of clothes.  It is about having less that gives you more.  It is about learning more about you, what suits you, what enhances your best features, and about investing in certain items and making those correct purchases that can help you create more combinations than ever before and look great quickly!  What a concept!

We teach our clients how to build ‘Capsule Wardrobes’ : out of 14 items create over 60 -100+ different combinations.  The days of having a cluttered wardrobe full of ‘space wasters’ are over!