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It's hot and I hate my closet
here's what I did to prevent future meltdowns
I love summer, but struggle getting dressed for it. This was, in fact, always my clients’ #1 question: “What do I wear when it’s hot outside?”
The stylist answer is: try dresses! linen pants! use accessories as your third layer!
The person in me gets grumpy even thinking about this response. Seriously Sydney? It’s hot and humid as heck in Virginia in the summer and I’m not that into dresses (this is me back talking myself here) and I definitely don’t want to be adding MORE accessories to this outfit I’m just going to sweat though. So give me some useful advice for once!!! [insert grumpy face here]
Yesterday was my first - oh shit summer’s coming and I hate my closet - moment. We were headed to a brewery to hang with some friends. It was too warm for a jacket, the dress I pulled out needed to be washed, I wasn’t feeling sneakers and the casual sandals I would have worn need to be trashed instead of taking out into public (you saw my Birkenstocks in this post - YIKES).
And since I’m not really a shorts, t-shirt, sneakers gal - it sometimes feels super hard getting dressed while looking chic and put together for what is otherwise a hot and casual event. Give me fall and winter dressing all day every day and I’d be a happy girl. I just love a comfort jacket and good boots you know??
Look, I know I’m a stylist, and maybe you think I have it all figured out, but I don’t. I get annoyed and fed up with my closet too. Anyone who doesn’t is lying or trying to sell you something.
My brewery outfit worked out in the end (especially since we went out for a chic little city dinner), but I resolved to do a few things NOW to prepare myself for when summer really hits. Here’s what I’m doing/did in my closet to prevent future meltdowns:
1. Scheduled time to go through my closet.
The brewery was yesterday and by today I was in my closet. I knew it was important for me to take action while I was feeling motivation. The goal? Try on, clear out, and move items I want to wear for spring/summer front and center. Here’s specifically what I did:
Tried on the shorts I do have (it’s seriously all of 5 pairs). Two of them were confirmed too snug/short, so out they went. One pair had a dart I could remove, so that makes it it easier to grab and go. The others are still good and cleared to wear.
Tried on my pants. I hung up what would be summer appropriate first and the heavier, more winter pants towards the back of my closet.
Tried on dresses / skirts that I still liked and that felt like spring/summer. Moved them to my main closet.
2. Identified and cared for the clothes that needed it.
Properly dyed (finally!) a pair of white jeans to black (my first dye attempts turned them yellow and then purple), giving me three, go-to jeans that fit - dark blue, cream, and now black.
Found several items that need to be laundered or spot treated making them ready to grab and wear the next time I wanted them.
Let out that dart in one of my shorts, making them way more comfy to wear and more likely for me to grab them because of that (who wants to wear clothes that are too tight, too short, or make you not feel great? No one that’s who!).
3. Made a short list of key items to purchase.
I do not need to burn down my closet and start over. The clothes are not actually the problem. What is the problem are the specific gap areas. Solving these will help me maximize what is already in my closet. Here’s what I’ll be shopping for:
Birkenstocks. I’m finally purchasing a new pair (these have been on my shop list for YEARS). These would have been my go-to for the brewery, but since I couldn’t wear my ratty ones out, I was left in melt down mode…. what do I wear?? Summer shoes are my achilles heel - I don’t love flip flops, my platform sandals are fun but not always “right,” and not all sneakers work for me. So Birkenstocks are really my catch all here. I toyed with getting brown suede birks, but I think classic black leather will serve me well. I’ll order these from the Birkenstock website because I want to make sure I get wide sizing.
Shorts. I’m very picky here - but I am looking for a 1) REI hiking / outdoor short and 2) a every day short (or 2) that is more refined than denim - in linen or a thick canvas cotton. I’m going to do a targeted Poshmark / ThredUp search for the REI pair and will visit my local consignment store for the other.
Tops. 1) 1-2 tanks (at least one in off white/cream) and 2) 1-2 t-shirt style tops that are interesting (think: cropped or with a wide sleeve). I want easy to wash / care for and am not spending $95 on a t-shirt (yea I know, feels crazy to me too), so I’ll likely hit my local consignment store for these.
Jeans. I would love a light wash denim and olive colored pair, slightly cropped and wider leg. Maybe a barrel - we shall see. Cropped, wide jeans work great for me all through summer and can, of course, go into fall/winter, so it will be a good purchase. I will go to my local consignment store to look for these.
I’m hitting my local consignment store for most options since this passes my VALUES TEST (I explain this matrix and how to find your wardrobe gaps here). I could easily do an H&M or GAP search for the t-shirts, but that just doesn’t feel good to me for how I like to shop. I’m also most likely not going to prioritize thrifting for these items since they are very specific and I tend to treat thrift stores like magical treasure chests - it’s lucky to find something I like - vs. using them to check off certain items. You do you when building purchasing for your shop list based off your own values test.
Next step:
Schedule time to shop, especially for the items I’m going in person for. I find it easier to put blocks on my calendar, even if it seems silly. But hey - “buy Birkenstocks online” seems like a good use of the calendar feature in my iPhone. I hate shopping on the weekend, so I will most likely schedule my in-person drop ins for this during the week when I’m already out and about.
Also note I said DROP INS. I am not - will not - spend hours shopping. I know what I’m looking for in each category, will go directly to those racks, grab anything that remotely feels like it fits, and try them on in rapid fire session. Will purchase what feels good and not waste time or emotions on bemoaning what doesn’t fit or feel good.
And that’s it! A proactive solution to not hating my closet this summer. Good luck out there.
NOTES
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