Declutter Your Wardrobe

If your closet is quickly running out of space after your recent shopping sprees, it’s time for a therapeutic clean-out that will make you feel lighter and fresher afterwards. Start by doing away with these seven fashion trends – they’ve had their glory days.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

If your closet is quickly running out of space after your recent shopping sprees, it’s time for a therapeutic clean-out that will make you feel lighter and fresher afterwards. Start by doing away with these seven fashion trends – they’ve had their glory days.

1 Jumpsuits

In 2017, the jumpsuit o fficially supplanted the cocktail dress, showing up at red carpet events, every brunch you attended, and at weddings and parties. But beware – the one-piece wonder is getting stale. In the hunt for the perfect piece, did you end up buying several that are taking up space? And do all your jumpsuits fit absolutely perfectly, or do they actually ride up your butt? How many times did you actually wear each one – if at all? Pick one or two pieces you absolutely must keep (for now), and throw out any extras.

2 Anything with fringe

Festival fashion is well and good – at a festival. Ultimately, it’s a costume-y look, and fringe can only really go with heart-shaped sunglasses, crochet cropped tops, feather hair accessories and flower crowns. Ditch the fringe and all that goes with it.

3 Ripped jeans

The distressed thing got taken way too far when the holes exposed the entire knee and thigh area and started flapping around the leg. Keep: Classic denim. Throw: Any denim that the Kardashians wore in 2017.

4 Wedge sneakers

The high-topped, puffy Willow sneaker from Isabel Marant rose to fame in 2012. You’ve convinced yourself that they’re great with skinny jeans; that they’re comfortable for running errands in, and for wearing on the plane. But they’re really not, not even with head-to-toe athleisure. Trust us, stick to regular sneakers.

5 Extra T-shirts

So you’re in the midst of your purge and you can’t bring yourself to throw away “practical” things you could use, like T-shirts. But you’re ending up with a big pile of things that you’ll “use as pyjamas”. This doesn’t help lighten your load, so you’ve just got to be brutal. Even if they’re jammies, make sure they make you feel sexy, special and put-together. So, your sleep pile must not a) have holes, b) be too baggy, and c) be too long or short. Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, everything’s got to be just right.

6 Fluffy slippers

Slides are cool. Even socks with slides are okay. Fluffy slippers, not so much. Ditto for feathered heels, furry sandals, and anything fur-based that belonged to Rihanna’s Fenty x Puma collection of 2016.

7 In-your-face lace

Out: Big, open lace skirts paired with cropped lace tops, or full lace dresses. In: Delicate, lingerie-like lace details. Right now, lace is classy with eyelet dresses and peekaboo lace details. Anything else can go.

Finally…

Ask yourself the tough questions.

Besides the clichéd “When was the last time I wore this?”, consider how your clothes make you feel. “Do I feel good in this only if I am a certain shape?” is a useful question. If the answer is “yes”, then consider that you’re keeping something for your fantasy self.

Be willing to try things on.

During my own wardrobe purge, I was aiming to throw out some bodycon dresses. But when I actually put them on, they really worked with my shape, and I ended up keeping them.

Edit your wardrobe in stages.

You may not get through it all in a single day, so allocate up to a week to go through everything. It’ll be worth it. Promise.

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