The Curated Closet

by Anuschka Rees

  Here’s how: Go back over the final list of elements that you put together during your experimentation phase and answer the questions below. Write full sentences or just bullet points, whatever you like. Use your inspiration material and any pictures you took of yourself during your fieldwork as a visual reference. Go back and forth as much as you need to until you feel you have a good grasp of the main idea of your style. Focus on the big-picture idea only; don’t worry about details yet. You’ll get a chance to fine-tune those when you create your style profile.

  • What is the overall feeling of this style?

  • What are the most important individual pieces?

  • What are the most important colours?

  • What are the most important silhouettes, cuts and fits?

  • Are there any fabrics or materials that are essential to this style?

  • Are there any styling tricks that are essential to this style?

  • Write down several concrete ways that two or more of the above elements could be combined within a single outfit.

  HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

  Denim (material) + lace (material) + minidress (silhouette) = Wear denim jacket over a short dress with a lace hemline.

  Modern bohemian (overall vibe) + jumpsuit (individual piece) + olive green (colour) = Wear an olive green jumpsuit with platform heels, a beaded clutch bag and chandelier earrings.

  Merging two different styles

  Is it possible to merge two styles that don’t have anything in common? This is a really common question, and the answer is yes, it is definitely possible to combine two aesthetics into one coherent style. In fact, that’s what defining your own personal style is about: pinpointing your exact likes and figuring out a way to weave them into a story line and a unique look that is completely your own.

  Now, the reason this may seem like a tricky job at first is because we are all so used to classifying outfits and style elements as bohemian, preppy, classic, minimalist, French-chic, and so on. We think ‘a fitted waistline plus a flared, midlength skirt’ equals a fifties look and that ‘clean lines plus a monochrome colour palette plus no accessories’ equals minimal. Styles like these are to the fashion world what baroque, art deco or impressionism are to the art world: very distinct visual concepts that are usually tied to a certain cultural movement or era and can be clearly identified by a set of characteristics. But for the purpose of developing your own style, you absolutely do not have to stay within those predefined lines.

  If you think about it, a style is nothing but a set of individual elements. To merge two different aesthetics, you need to break them up into their elements, carefully select exactly which of these you want to incorporate into your own style concept, and then figure out how to turn them into actual outfits.

  Let’s say you love a minimalist look but are also inspired by the nineties grunge scene. As a first step, you need to ask yourself which exact elements – colours, shapes, textures, specific pieces, details, and so on – of those two styles you want to be a part of your own unique look. By doing this, you are reducing those big, restrictive top-level concepts into a simple set of tangible elements that are much easier to work with. Nineties grunge and minimalism may not sound very compatible, but a sleek pair of tailored pants worn with a heavy leather jacket definitely does.

  Style profile part 1: The mood board

  Building mood boards is a simple and yet oh-so-powerful creative technique that’s used by everyone from fashion editors to graphic designers to architects.

  Essentially, a mood board is nothing but a collection of images on a canvas. But because of the total freedom you have in arranging your images and the ability to see all your inspiration in one place, mood boards are a great way to visualise abstract, creative ideas and narratives, whether that is the overall feeling of a branding campaign, a fashion collection or your personal style.

  Building a mood board is just as much about the process as the outcome. Your goal is to end up with something that you can use as a complete visual reference to your style, but the act of choosing images and arranging them will also help you get a feeling for how all the different elements work with each other and ensure that you really love the overall picture you have created.

  To create your mood board, you’ll be using all your favourite images from your inspiration search, so make sure you have those on hand for these next steps.

  CHOOSING A FORMAT FOR YOUR MOOD BOARD

  There are three ways to build a mood board.

  Analog

  Do it old-school: print out images or cut them out of magazines and then glue everything onto a big piece of cardboard. If you are the crafty type and enjoy this type of stuff, this is a great option because it allows you to truly engage with your images. Just make sure you have access to a printer so you aren’t limited to choosing only what you can find in print.

  Digital 1

  My go-to method for creating a mood board is to collect all the images digitally and then use an app or software to arrange them all. Depending on your tech skills, you can go super fancy with this and build your mood board on Photoshop or InDesign, but any other programme that allows you to create free-form collages works just as well, so just pick the one with which you are most comfortable.

  The major advantage of this method over the analog one is that it’s faster because you don’t have to print out your inspiration images first and can easily resize images to give them more or less visual impact on the overall mood board.

  Digital 2

  If you don’t want to bother with graphic programmes or are strapped for time you can also simply collect all your images in a folder on your computer or on Pinterest. Beware: This is the quickest but also the least effective option because it doesn’t allow you to arrange your images or alter their size, so therefore you’ll be somewhat limited in regard to accurately portraying your style.

  SELECTING PICTURES FOR YOUR MOOD BOARD

  Once you have chosen a format for your mood board, you can start selecting images for it. The key thing to keep in mind here is that you want to use images that (1) cover all the individual components you want to be the foundation of your style, like colours, materials, and so on and (2) accurately represent the overall feeling of the look you are going for when viewed as a whole. The easiest way to meet both criteria is to focus on them one by one, starting with the individual components of your style: take your list of colours, themes, silhouettes, styling techniques and materials and then find a picture that best represents each one of them. For many of these, you will be able to use the original images you collected during your inspiration search, but if you discovered any important caveats (for example, ‘wear white only for accessories’), make sure you find a new picture to represent that. Also, if you took any pictures of yourself wearing outfits or individual pieces during your fieldwork, feel free to include these as well.

  FINE-TUNING YOUR MOOD BOARD

  Now that you have chosen all the individual components of your mood board, it’s time to arrange them on your canvas in a way that best reflects the overall style you have in mind. To do that, you need to (1) decide how important each of the individual aspects of your style are and (2) give them a proportionate amount of space on your mood board. Some colours, silhouettes or materials will be absolutely essential to the overall feeling of your style, while others are nice add-ons but not quite as crucial.

  Emphasise ideas and elements that really signify your style by giving them a center spot, using bigger photos, and/or including several different examples of the same idea. Put specific pieces and side ideas toward the edges.

  Keep fine-tuning your mood board until it represents the exact aesthetic you are going for. Add images, take some away, tweak, tweak and tweak. Then continue with the second part of your style profile.

  Style profile part 2: The written summary

  The purpose of writing a summary of your style once you have finished your mood board is to give you some
thing concrete and tangible to refer to as you tailor your wardrobe to your style.

  To create your written summary, use your notes from the inspiration and fieldwork stage, as well as your mood board, to answer the questions below.

  STYLE QUESTIONS

  • What’s the best name for your personal style?

  • In one or two sentences, what’s the overall idea behind your style?

  • What does a typical outfit look like for this style?

  • What does this style say about its wearer? What three character qualities does it convey?

  • What are the key pieces of this style?

  • What are the dominant colours?

  • Which silhouettes, cuts and fits are a part of this style?

  • What type of materials and fabrics work well with this style?

  • What does the styling look like? Think accessories, specific styling techniques, and hair and make-up.

  NAMING YOUR STYLE

  Not sure what to call your personal style? Here’s some inspiration:

  • West Coast casual meets East Coast prep

  • Contemporary mod

  • Classic menswear

  • Grace Kelly goes to college

  • Urban minimalism

  • Eclectic high fashion on a budget

  • Bohemian modern

  • Hitchcock glam with a twist

  • New York luxe

  • Laid-back street style

  • Colourful and cosmopolitan

  • Twenty-first-century Victorian romantic

  Remember: the name you choose for your style doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you. So feel free to get creative! To give you a complete example of what such a written summary could look like, here’s the style profile for the style Viktoria is modelling in this book:

  Viktoria’s style

  What’s the best name for your personal style?

  Menswear-inspired French chic.

  In one or two sentences, what’s the overall idea behind your style?

  My personal style is based on understated, tailored separates, menswear-inspired staples, and a cool, light colour palette. It looks effortless but ultra polished.

  What does a typical outfit look like for this style?

  A striped button-down shirt with tailored chinos or boyfriend jeans, oxfords and a blazer.

  What does this style say about its wearer? What three character qualities does it convey?

  Confidence, sophistication, polish.

  What are the key pieces of this style?

  Black oxfords, loafers, button-down shirts, light-wash boyfriend jeans and a navy blazer.

  What are the dominant colours?

  Shades of blue, sand, and white; no patterns or prints except stripes.

  Which silhouettes, cuts and fits are a part of this style?

  Relaxed fits for tops and bottoms; chinos, jeans (skinny or boyfriend), and loose-fitting suit-style trousers. All trousers must be high-waisted to add structure and definition. Tops are either crew neck or collared. Blazers and coats must be long-line, not too fitted.

  What type of materials and fabrics work well with this style?

  Thick cotton material for trousers, jackets and tops; linen for shirts and jackets; rough leather for belts and footwear; thick denim material with little stretch; chunky knits in winter, corduroy for fall, seersucker for spring and summer.

  What does the styling look like? Think accessories, specific styling techniques and hair and make-up.

  Accessorise with slim leather belts, classic watches or hats. Shirts are tucked into trousers. Roll up hemlines of trousers to show a peek of ankle. Make-up: Emphasise brows.

  One last step

  Once you are happy with your style profile, give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve just completed the entire style-defining section of this book and are well on your way to great personal style and the perfect wardrobe. Before you delve straight into the practical part of the book and learn how to now translate your newfound style into an expressive, versatile wardrobe, take a moment to complete this one last step.

  Figure out in what ways your current wardrobe differs from your ideal style. That will help you set priorities once you are ready to overhaul your closet and choose a few new pieces.

  Clear the clutter and get your wardrobe in tip-top shape! Say good-bye to anything that doesn’t reflect your personal style, still has its tag on, or does nothing for your confidence.

  Okay, let’s get down to business! Now that you have defined your personal style, you’re ready to tackle your closet head on and transform it into your best wardrobe yet. In this section, we’ll use your style profile as a road map to revamp your current wardrobe and figure out exactly what type of pieces should go on your shopping list. But first, we have to do a little prep work, starting with a big closet detox in this chapter.

  Once your wardrobe is in good shape, maintain it with a biannual mini detox. Read more about wardrobe maintenance in chapter 21.

  Think of your closet like a house that needs a top-to-bottom renovation. Before you can paint the walls and install new floors, you need to strip off that ugly wallpaper, tear up the old carpet, and get rid of broken, rusty hardware. In the end you may well discover that all your wardrobe needs is a fresh coat of paint and some new light fixtures. But first, you need to get rid of all the clutter to see exactly what you’re working with.

  Your goal for this chapter is to go through your entire wardrobe and get rid of everything that doesn’t reflect your style or that you haven’t worn in a long time. Be thorough here: now is the time to sort through all those piles of clothes that have been sitting at the back of your closet for months and part with impulse buys and anything that feels itchy, doesn’t fit right, or doesn’t fit into your style profile. Reserve at least a full afternoon or evening for uninterrupted detox time.

  Pre-detox prep

  WHAT YOU NEED:

  One or two bin bags

  Six boxes (or bags)

  A full-length mirror

  A camera (your phone’s is fine)

  Some good music, snacks and stamina

  LABEL YOUR SIX BOXES LIKE THIS:

  Donate or sell

  Keepsakes

  Trial separation

  Get tailored

  Repair

  Off-season storage

  All done? Ok, then turn on your music and let’s get cracking!

  The detox

  Pick up each piece in your wardrobe one by one and use the flow chart here to thoroughly assess how you feel about it and determine its fate.

  PIECES THAT AREN’T WORKING OUT

  Donate or sell

  Any item that doesn’t reflect your personal style, is way too uncomfortable, or does nothing for your confidence doesn’t deserve a spot in your wardrobe. But if the piece is still in good condition, there’s no reason to let it become landfill! Donate your pieces to a charity shop, give them to a friend who may like them, or sell them to make a little extra cash.

  Keepsakes

  Your graduation dress, the shoes you wore at your wedding, or the beaded bag you bought on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to India – pieces that you have stopped wearing long ago but that remind you of a special, happy time, can be impossible to part with. And the good news is, you don’t have to. Just make sure you treat those pieces for what they are – keepsakes that deserve a place somewhere in your home, but not in your closet. Collect pieces that have a sentimental value for you in the keepsakes box for now and then find a good permanent spot for them once you’ve completed the detox.

  Bin bag

  Anything that’s stained, ripped, or otherwise broken beyond repair belongs in the bin, no exceptions. The same goes for worn-out underwear, socks and exercise gear.

  PIECES YOU AREN’T SURE ABOUT

  Trial separation

  A great way to reveal your true feelings about pieces you are not sure about is to store them outside of your closet in a sepa
rate box for a while, perhaps under your bed. That way, if you truly miss an item, you can easily retrieve it, but chances are, you’ll forget about most of the stuff in there after a couple of weeks and can then confidently get rid of them.

  Back in your closet (for now)

  If your wardrobe needs a major revamp, you may well feel tempted to just throw out the majority of your clothes during your detox because they just don’t work with your newfound style. Don’t! If you get rid of too much now, you’ll likely be left with a big gap in your closet that you will want to fill ASAP. And that gap may tempt you to buy way too much stuff too soon, before you have got the chance to think it through. And then you’ll be back at square one. Do this instead: just for now, keep items that you feel only so-so about, as long as you still wear them regularly (at least once every two weeks). Don’t throw out your go-to pair of work trousers, even if they don’t really reflect your ideal style or could fit a little better. The same goes for your trusty but worn-out jumper and your one nude strapless bra that’s taken on a grey tinge over the years but is your only option for white tops. You can always replace these later on. But at this stage, while your wardrobe still needs a lot of work, thoughtfully spending your money on missing key pieces and other essentials will have a much bigger impact.