This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

How to take control of your closet

January 31, 2014

By Doreen Dove

Doreen Dove will be leading an afternoon workshop at “She Did It/Boston” on March 24, 2014 at Babson College, Wellesley , MA entitled, “Does Your Image Match Your Next Phase?”  You won’t want to miss it!

Find out what's happening in Shrewsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Is your closet filled with oldies but goodies? Is it time to re-evaluate your taste? Is an oldie really a goodie?  Is the Stevie Nicks look really flattering on you now? How about the bib-front jeans? Oh and here’s a huge category – how many Mr. Rogers cardigans are too many?

Come on girlfriend, time to act and dress your age. You have your “future life” to dress like Ma Kettle – now isnot the time.

Find out what's happening in Shrewsburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

My mantra – I empower women to use style as a tool to take strategic control of their image. Key words here “use style as a tool” and “take strategic control!”

Let’s break that down. Pretty sure you can all relate to needing a great fitting pair of black pants –duh –that’s an essential tool! Just that essential item can be the building block for dozens of outfits with your cost-per-wear at about a dime. That’s all well and good unless of course, you have twenty pair of black pants clogging up your closet because you’ve never (ever) thrown away a pair. A pretty common affliction known as black pant syndrome!

Take “strategic control” ladies! Tonight take every pair of black pants out of your closet and line them up on the bed. Sort them in a way that will make you takeaction:

·         By size – yes many of us are hoarding sizes we are not wearing anymore.

·         By belt loops – worn a belt in 10 years? If not why do you have pants with belt loops? Why do you have so many belts?

·         By pleats – be honest, pleats are most flattering on Twiggy.

·         By side pockets – if you carry your weight through the hips, you do not need side pockets adding volume!

·         Get the numbers down…make room for newer styles that fit and flatter!

Now let’s talk about what else might be clogging up your closet and your style. Here are a few of the common issues I come across hiding in the dark closet spaces.

·         Boxy menswear suits – is there a shapely female body hiding in there?

·         You own all pants and no skirts – winter is the perfect time for skirts paired with great textured hosiery and a pair of boots.

·         You have only “special occasion” dresses – seriously, everyday is an occasion and the options for work/casual dresses these days are endless.

·         Your closet is the neutral zone…how do you spell “blah?” Come on, pop some color somewhere – blouses, scarves, jewelry, shoes, even a colored handbag can spice it up!

·         You stock items that are made of fabrics that hold shape, without you in them! If the fabric (cotton khaki) can stand alone, then likely the garment is wearing you as opposed to you wearing the garment! To say nothing of the fact that owning fabric you have to iron is so June Cleaver!

·         Silhouettes that are twice as big as your frame are old news – we’ve come a long way baby. Stop draping. Fitted is better! It’s more flattering, more current and shows confidence in your style choices. There are styles for all body shapes. When working with clients I always accentuate the assets and disguise the liabilities. We all have our share of both – just learn how to play with the wardrobe. After all, the wardrobe (costume) that the actor is wearing on stage is disguising her real persona and putting out what she wants you to see.

·         Wide bottom pant legs = wide looking legs! The average width of pant bottoms now is 8 inches or less. Grab that ruler and measure the pants in your closet. If the bottom of the hem is 12 inches, just think how much volume has to come off your hip seam to be that wide at the hem. That means the pant is potentially too baggy from the hip down!

·         Boring black handbags – how many is too many? Come on – move on, reduce your numbers and vow to never buy a solid black handbag again. Color-blocking sound familiar?

·         “Granny” shoes – any in there? Take ALL your shoes out, line them up by type and ask yourself, “Would I look to buy these now?” And yes I know, bunions, fallen arches, blah, blah. There are great looking shoes for every foot issue out there. You just have to search with purpose. Here is a sample of searching online by issue:

Wide calf boots – http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/womens-wide-calf-boots

And these are just a few categories! So take a sharp eye and throw open the closet doors. It’s time to anti-age your closet, polish up your look and dress for success.

Need help? Check out my services and outsource your style.

Free ConsultationCloset Edit, Shopping Services, Virtual StylingSpeaking Engagements.

Join me on March 24th at the BetterAfter50.com event “She Did It” where my break-out session is “Does Your Image Match Your Next Phase?”

See you there!

www.DoreenDove.com  617-947-0573

If you enjoyed this article, you might like these:

·         “Shop” Your Closet

·         Nothing To Wear On New Year’s Eve?

·         20 Tips Your Mother Didn’t Tell You

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?