The Collection

Photo by Jorge Frangonillo

I am certain I am not the only woman who walks into her closet and hates what she sees. “I have nothing to wear” is a statement women are born knowing. Even my young daughter complains of having nothing to wear, despite her overflowing dresser drawers. The simple truth is that we all have things to wear, we have just run out of ways to put things together Some of us have a variety of sizes in our wardrobe, our favorites are wearing out, the clothes have shrunk/we have grown (either way of looking at it is fine for the purposes of this blog) or we are so disorganized we can’t recall our closet inventory.

Some of you may recall my fashion expert friend, FTC (see blog Men in Tights, the Height of Fashion). A fashion forward fellow, I sought him out for advice regarding this age old conundrum. How do I manage my wardrobe? How do I know what to buy that I will look great in and love to wear? Are you moving things out annually or do you keep things from high school? Will you be my personal shopper?

I tried to appear calm and cool when I probed him with these questions, after all it is embarrassing to be a woman ignorant of one of the most fundamental girly girl skills…shopping! In our recent shopping poll, most of the respondents were not in love with shopping, it was a chore, something done out of necessity. Here is a fellow who can pick out the perfect Versace dress or black leather jacket for his wife. Her wardrobe in large part is due to him, he shops for her, for he knows what he loves and what women look great in.

My closet is a cluster of blues and beiges. Sales rack purchases hang, unworn, with tags still attached. These deals were too good to pass up! Clothing I bought in anticipation of reaching the next size down, are still one size too small. I used to shop without trying stuff on…somehow that works with my kids, but it does not work for me. I buy everything individually, a pair of pants here, a shirt there, without pairing things together or having a plan for how they will fit into my wardrobe. I leave that to the last minute when I enter my disorganized mess of a closet and try to figure out if I have something that matches. This is when I deflate and think…I have nothing to wear! If I could have all of the money back I wasted on these impulsive purchases, I too could own a Versace dress!

Let’s begin with organization. FTC refers to his wardrobe as a “collection”. I really liked this term for some reason. It relates to the way people collect things that for them, have special meaning or value, like porcelain unicorns or beer steins. Clothing is a large part of your presentation to the outer world, and how we dress communicates so much about us. It would make sense that we invest the time and thought to fill our “collections” with items that are special to us, or at least enhance our lives in some way. Collectors focus on particular items that they seek, and seldom venture from this mission. They can identify the types of stores that sell unicorns, and therefore seek them out. When shopping for clothing, the same is true. Random shopping cannot fulfill your desire for the perfect wardrobe, it will simply continue to contribute to the chaotic, frustrating mess, you face every day.

For FTC, his collection is an organized assemblage of carefully selected clothing, whose contents he is fully aware of at all times. He seldom goes shopping just to browse and shop. He has a purpose when he enters a store. If there is a something missing in his collection, he knows just what he needs to fill it and where he can most likely find it. His is not a large closet…it is a "cool" closet! He believes that as long as you have “cool” things in your closet, you can’t help but look cool. I suppose the opposite is true as well, if you fill your closet with crap, you will look like crap.

Organizing like items of clothing helps keep the inventory easy to track…t-shirts here, jeans there. Seasonal apparel is rotated in and out to avoid overfilling and losing site of the contents. Old, worn, or out-dated clothing is promptly removed and passed on to less fashionable friends or thrift stores. Even some of his previously most favorite and expensive items of clothing are removed from the collection, if the wearing of them would make him feel conspicuous in his unfashionableness.

Fashion does not have to be expensive or require a lot of effort. A great fitting pair of jeans and a vintage t-shirt can look great and effortless. You also don’t have to buy things just because they are in fashion. I like the example of harem pants. Remember MC Hammer's Hammer Time? He was an icon of the harem pants boom in the 80’s, and amazingly, they are back in…for the moment. Even though this was fashionable then and is fashionable now, I personally refuse to buy them. Some styles seem to cycle like that- plaid, tube tops and leg warmers are all being brought back to life. These trends are in style for a brief moment, and then just as quickly disappear. For a smaller clothing budget like mine, I want to make sure I get the most fashion longevity that money can buy, and thus avoid these flash-in-the-pan trend.

White, I have come to accept should be considered disposable. Over time it is hard to keep white looking good. I used to try and keep the white alive, but now just pitch it when the fresh crispness of it has begun to fade. Pleats are a no-no, unless you are trying to hide something. You don’t have to have a great body to have a great style. If you are conscious of how you look when you try on clothes and honest about your size, you can find flattering and stylish clothes that you will look and feel great in.

Athletic wear can also be stylish. My repertoire for many years consisted of tights and a commemorative sports event t-shirt. Now a-days there is a huge industry devoted to making us look cute, even when we sweat. I recently took up golf, which I consider a sport. I dress therefore, as if I were playing a sport. I am flabbergasted at times when I see ladies appear in pastel sweater sets and leopard print pants. I often gasp from the wafting odor of their perfume on the first tee. Their perfectly coiffed hair and just-so make-up are a stark contrast to my sporty pony tail with ball cap and sun screen lathered face. This is an area I struggle with, but am making more of an effort to accomplish the best of both worlds. I refuse however to buy a sweater set! 

In an upcoming post, FTC and I have collaborated to put together a list of the top 20 things every woman should have in her closet. The goal of this list is to give you a fool proof recipe for bringing together a great looking outfit, for a variety of occasions, that doesn’t require a lot of effort. With some careful selection, you can equip your closet with these items, and hopefully, find something to wear!