The start of a new year often begins with lofty goals. Take your pick: weight loss, exercise programs, organized garage or dream closet.
Let’s focus on the closet. If you’re sick of never finding what you’re looking for in your closet, a closet remodel may sound like a great project to take on. Just think—new shelves, pretty containers, better lighting and extra room to store more stuff.
Before you jump into a closet makeover project, it would be good to identify the problems you’re experiencing.
Perhaps your closet is lacking organization. This could be your core issue if you can imagine one or more of the following scenarios happening to you.
- A missing scarf shows up when you’re looking for a shaper to wear under a slinky dress. How did it get there when most of your scarves are at the other end of your closet?
- You found that holiday outfit you were looking for in December, but now it’s March.
- You search for a blouse to wear, but look through the entire length of your closet and still can’t find it. It has to be there, right? You start over again.
- You use the shelf above your hanging clothes to store a variety of things—jeans, sweaters, hats, handbags—but the stacks frequently overflow and tumble to the floor of your closet.
Maybe your wardrobe is stuffed because it hasn’t been edited in years. Can you relate to one or more of the following scenarios?
- 1. Your jeans are in the wash but that’s okay because you have more. The first pair you grab is too small, the second one is too big and the third one is out of style. You’re starting to panic. You tell yourself you’re the only one with this problem because everyone else has it totally together.
- You’re invited to a fancy dinner, but when you try on appropriate dresses, you realize they look dated or don’t fit. The first clue was the one-inch layer of dust on the shoulder lines of the dress hangers. Now, what do you do? You could go frantic-shopping if you only you had time.
- You’ve got a new job (yay!), but when you search your closet for professional wardrobe pieces, you realize your suited looks from yesteryear won’t be appropriate.
- Suede jackets are in and you’re happy about that because you have one in your closet already. When you put on your vintage jacket, the shape is off, the elbows are worn, and the uneven fringe looks like your cat might have had playtime in your closet.
It’s hard to get dressed each day because you’re looking at clothes from all seasons. Can you relate to any of these problems?
- You go to your closet to find a white winter-weight blouse, but only come up with linen ones.
- You need a lightweight trouser to wear to work in the summer. You seem to be able to find only your tweed wool ones. Twelve minutes have gone by already and you’re running late for work again.
- You need your cable-knit cardigan sweater because it’s cold outside but when you look in your closet you notice several pretty, sleeveless silk tops. Now you’re thinking about those tops and wondering if you can wear them somehow in chilly weather. Someone from another room says, “Honey, are you ready? We’re all waiting for you in the car!” You still haven’t found the cardigan.
- It’s quite the scene on the floor of your closet where your shoes tend to reside. Sandals and open-toed heels are mixed in with your over-the-knee suede boots and waterproof booties. To find the right shoe for the day, you’re shuffling around on the floor making an even bigger mess.
These problems can all be solved. And here’s the good news: You don’t need to spend a fortune redesigning your closet just yet. All of these closet headaches can be fixed by hiring a professional fashion and style consultant like me. I support you fully to have a closet space that makes getting dressed easy and pleasant for you. I’d love to help! Just give me a call.
By Tehillah Blech Harris
Tehillah is a New York City-based image consultant, wardrobe planner, closet editor and personal shopper and is available for private consultations. Call 929-265-2156 or email [email protected]. Be sure to connect with up2date on social media for more styling tips, event info and other fun things you won’t want to miss—Instagram: @up2date_nyc, Facebook: up2datenyc. To sign up for our monthly newsletter visit www.up2date.nyc/subscribe.
