Did you know that an official Katy Potaty survey (ie. I asked all my girlfriends) shows that most women wear only 30% of their wardrobe, 90% of the time? What is the rest of that stuff doing?!

The main reason that we don’t wear everything in our closet is because we think it’s ‘unwearable’. Whether it’s super-fancy frocks for balls (and who goes to them very often?), or those jeans you just know will fit you… one day, we all have items taking up valuable wardrobe real estate. If every time you look in your wardrobe, you see racks, drawers, shelves and rails of clothing that you don’t wear, it affects how you feel about yourself and your personal style. There’s no time like the present to sort that out and get yourself more organised, so let’s get started! (Added bonus, the new Autumn-Winter ranges are hitting stores this month, and most retailers have great Summer sales on at the moment, so there are plenty of opportunities to find those ‘wardrobe gap’ pieces right now!)

The very first thing you need to do is take a good, hard, HONEST look at what’s in there. And I mean HONEST. Will you ever really wear that velour blazer if you live in Darwin? Do you really think that stretchy halterneck gold top will ever come back in fashion? Pull all the definite no’s out, throw ‘em in a big bag and be kind to your local op shop.

(Please note, the above pictures were found on eBay, and these heinous items do not, I repeat DO NOT, belong to me. The worst thing in my closet right now is the puff-paint-embellished cut-off denim vest and shorts combo which I haven’t worn since I was 14. I’m saving them for my unborn daughters. I’m sure they’ll be delighted.)

Next, look at the maybe pile, and assess according to wearability, and your emotional connection. Is your ‘ideal goal weight’ outfit a suitable and realistic one (please ignore me if you’re planning on being in the 2013 season of The Biggest Loser, you definitely need that ‘ideal goal weight’ dress)? Can your used-to-be-favourite Little Black Dress be altered enough to make it more stylish and flattering to your current body shape?

Your favorite uncomfortable shoes, your grandma’s silk Pucci scarf from the 60′s and that funky felt hat you sometimes wear on bad hair days – all in the maybe pile. Whatever it is, if your heart goes pitter-pat when you put it on, keep it. But (and this is a bit of a recurring theme today) be HONEST with yourself, and forget about trends – they come later.

The next step is to make sure you can see what you have! Sounds like quite a simple task, but ohhhh-boy is it hard to do in reality! So many women over-shop, because they don’t know what they own. They end up buying duplicate, sometimes triplicate (sometimes more, shhh!) items because they don’t recall what they already have. Which would of course explain the seven (7!) coral shift dresses and five pairs of tan wedges in my wardrobe right now. I can justify them all, I promise. (Do as I say, dear SMC readers… definitely not as I do.)

Clear space around each group of items, and try to keep items together, based on style and then colour. Once you can see everything in your closet (and hopefully by now, it’s all pretty wearable stuff), you can also see the gaps!

Oh hello there, space between my black corporate dresses and my royal blue corporate dress… would you like me to fill you with a cute navy frock from Cue? Of course you would. And you there, Mr Snazzy Yellow Blouse, you’d like a chartreuse companion…? OK!

You can get even friendlier with your wardrobe now, asking if anyone out there would suit a light summer scarf… and when seven of your tops shout a resounding YES, then you have all the incentive you need to go buy a light summer scarf! Maybe you notice a few classy belts hanging up there still wearable, on-trend and ready to go, but your denim jeans and shorts shelf isn’t looking so crash hot, well what are you waiting for? Get some jeans and shorts, woman!

I’ll be back here at Shop Me Chic in the next few weeks to talk more about shopping your own wardrobe, and finding those basics we all should have. And by ‘should have’, I mean ABSOLUTELY NEED.

Have you recently done a good cull of your wardrobe, and found items which you had completely forgotten you owned (and if you’re anything like me, still with price tags attached)? Did you discover a hidden gem? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Stay Chic,

Katy x

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