Ground Zero
They say you can tell a lot about a woman by simply looking at her closet. If her closet is prim and pristine then perhaps she’s very organized. If the majority of her clothes are neutral tones, then we could assume she is level-headed and grounded. Maybe she throws her clothes haphazardly on the floor and denies conventional sorting techniques, then it’s safe to say she throws caution to the wind and embraces life’s unpredictability. Maybe you’re one of these women or maybe you march to the beat of your own drum. Or, maybe you’re like me. My current closet situation is a bit of a toss-up. I’m in the process of moving…in a pandemic. So, you could say that my closet is non-existent at the moment which puts me in the most ideal situation. What could that possibly be you ask? I get the glorious opportunity to rebuild, restore and reorganize my closet from scratch. I get to design my ideal, perfect closet in my new space! Which brings me here to talk, or rather, to bounce ideas off of you to determine how this closet renaissance is going to go down.
Now, if we’re being honest, if I’m being honest, I’m a mixture of all the women mentioned above. I like organization and order. In fact I need it to function, but at the same time if I’m in a hurry and I’ve been busy, then you will see clothes on the chair, the floor or even at the end of the bed. I never said I was perfect people! I do also own a lot of blacks, grays and nude colored items, but we’ll come back to that later. So now you know a little bit about my closet and that should tell you something about me: I try my best. As we continue this journey, you’ll learn more about my closet and its contents therefore getting to know me better but for now, the fact that I try my best is a good start.
How do I go about establishing my new wardrobe? There seem to be infinite ways as I stand before boxes of shoes, clothing and accessories. Oh, you thought we were just dealing with garments? No, no, no. I consider my shoes and accessories main players when it comes to my closet. So, how do I begin? Where do I begin? The one go-to organizational rule that I live by is color coordination. I have a lot of vintage and designer pieces that I enjoy having on display whether it’s an industrial stylist’s rack, an exposed wardrobe or French armoire. I curated and paid good money for some of these pieces and want to show them off and to see them everyday reminds me not only to take them out for a spin every once in a while, but it reminds me of the good memories they gave me as well. I digress.
My first step is to lay everything out, and I mean everything. This is also a good opportunity to do some sorting and determine the items I need to donate, alter or get reacquainted with. It’s time to part with my Trojan Condoms t-shirt that I wore in college and time to alter my snakeskin pants that I found at Wastelands two years ago to a shorter length. After I go back and forth and back again on about a dozen pair of vintage Levi’s (they all look the same, mind you), I think I’m ready to start my organizing process. It’s simple really; arrange by color, shade or tone. Neutrals are whites, beiges and grays and the rest is easy. Blues, pinks, reds, oranges and so on and so forth…I believe you’re familiar with the color wheel. Step one: complete. I didn’t even touch upon hangers, pants, foldables or jackets, but the first step is to put something in the closet to work with. Right now I am just dealing with shirts, cardigans and other like items. Next is pants, sweaters, dresses and the list goes on. My closet currently is telling me that I’m a woman who is focused and determined. I’m a woman who gets things done and doesn’t start something without the intention of finishing it. I’m a woman with a new closet and therefore a new outlook on life and I can’t wait to continue sharing my closet chronicles with all of you.
Until next time,
Kailyn, your closet correspondent