Now is the perfect time to stage a wardrobe intervention
SOME PEOPLE colour code their clothes, get them mended when they tear, send them to the charity shop if they won’t wear them again and generally organise drawers and rails in a manner that makes getting dressed every morning a breeze. Some people even consider this normal behaviour, as normal as brushing one’s teeth – or so I’m told.
If you are not one of these people, if getting dressed is less of a breeze, more hurricane Katrina, then it might be time to stage a wardrobe intervention.
Just imagine. 2012 could be the year you get all this under control. Or at least fix it so you are not met with an explosion of odd socks and laddered tights every time you open a drawer.
Stand up, right now and admit the truth: “My name is Jane Doe and, when it comes to the storing and organisation of clothes I am a natural disaster. It’s been two years since I last put my clothes into piles ready for sorting. Actually, the truth is I’ve never done it, not once.”
That was liberating. I mean, “wasn’t that liberating?” Luckily, help is at hand.
THE EXPERT
Clara Halpin, head of personal shopping at Arnotts in Dublin, agrees with psychologists when they say looking and feeling good are intimately connected. “When we look confident we perform better,” she says, adding that one of the keys to this looking good business is having an organised wardrobe.
“We only wear 20 per cent of our wardrobe 80 per cent of the time. The more we own the less we seem to have to wear. The new year is the perfect time to transform your dysfunctional wardrobe into an organised, efficient space.”
She claims that this does not need to be an arduous task and suggests setting aside at least three hours for the initial intervention.
Simply get three black bags and designate them “toss”, “charity” and “resell”. Clothes that need cleaning or alterations should be set aside to be dealt with “immediately” Halpin says. You have to admire her optimism.
“Absolutely everything should be taken out of the wardrobes and drawers and put on the bed. Piece by piece you need to ask yourself these questions. Do I love it? Do I need it? Does it support my lifestyle?”
If in doubt, bring some items into a department store with a personal shopper service – usually free, with no commitment to buy – and get a second opinion. As part of Arnotts’ free personal shopping service Halpin consults a “lifestyle wheel” when advising clients. “It’s vital to only keep clothes that make sense for what you are going to be doing at work, at home, exercising and socially. Anything else has no place in your wardrobe.”
The intervention is only the first phase. Halpin says twice yearly decluttering will ensure you never get into sartorial trouble again. “It’s quite therapeutic,” she promises. “Although there is a lot of emotion attached to decluttering. When you’ve finished there’s a real sense of freedom and release.”
Clara Halpin’s top tips
No wire hangers. They are the enemy. Store gym and holiday gear separately in suitcases. Men should invest in a tie tree, organised by colour. Check the general state of repair of everything going back into the wardrobe. Store bulky winter coats and woollens in vacuum storage bags.
