HOW TO MAKE YOUR WARDROBE WORK
Surveys have shown that most women wear only 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. Carol Goodsman, owner of Alice Carroll showed one lucky reader how to create a wardrobe that really works.
Sue Saunders is a busy, working mum with three children – Emmeline 19, Ed 16 and Graham 13. Her wardrobe must work for her when she is looking after her family and home, as well as during office hours. In her spare time, Sue and husband Mike like to socialize with friends, visit the theatre and dine out, so a versatile, organized wardrobe is essential to ensure that Sue always looks her best.
Before going through Sue’s clothes, I needed to assess her look and colouring, so that I could establish the styles that suit her. Having done this, I talked to Sue about her lifestyle to ensure that her wardrobe would work for her.
Firstly, I analyzed the colours that complimented Sue’s natural skin tone, hair and eye colour in natural daylight and found that she is a summer, which means that cool, soft tones are most flattering to her. She looks particularly good in pastels.
Next I assessed Sue’s body type. Sue is tall and has an angular figure, with coat hanger shoulders. With her frame and general appearance, Sue can easily take clothes that make a bold statement or are unusual. Natural fabrics, textures and a dressed down look are perfect for her, but everything she wears should have some drama. Some feminine touches will also flatter her. She can take large prints and accessories and a chunky necklace or belt will enhance most outfits.
Once I had established these general principles, I looked at the necklines and sleeves that flatter Sue and the lines, shapes and lengths of garments that work for her. For example, she needs to emphasize her slim hips rather than her waist, because her body has straighter, rather than curved lines. She can also wear different colours and tones on her top and bottom halves, as she does not need to make herself appear taller or slimmer.
The next stage was to work through Sue’s existing wardrobe, sorting it into shoes and boots, trousers, skirts, dresses, tops and accessories. We went through making three piles: one for those items that didn’t fit or simply didn’t look right, one for those that would ideally need to be replaced in time and one for those that really worked and could be put together into outfits suiting Sue’s look and lifestyle. We also identified any gaps for future shopping trips.
We then took each skirt or pair of trousers and decided which tops, shoes or boots, jackets or jewellery complimented them. We did the same for each item in Sue’s wardrobe, listing them and cross-referencing so that Sue would have appropriate outfits for every aspect of her life and could be confident that she would look good, whether at home with the family, at work or out with her husband. Sue told me, “The experience made so much difference to me. I feel confident that I look good every day now, whereas before I had good and bad days”.
If you choose to assess your own wardrobe, creating a list will make dressing each day much quicker and easier. Going through your wardrobe in this way may seem like a time consuming luxury, but in the long run it will save you a great deal of time and effort, enabling you to look your best at all times.
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