There is a secret, unsung aspect of getting dressed that is extremely important. It's how you organize your clothes. Or, should I say, it's how I organize my clothes, because I don't actually think that often on how other people organize their clothes. Like, in closets or something? Dressers? Piles on the floor, things picked from a dirty hamper? ;)
The main thing, I think, is knowing what you have, and being able to get to it. The next main thing is that it all is grouped in ways that make life easier - as in, getting dressed easier. The other main thing is that it makes you happy. Because. Getting dressed should be about being happy. Not rageful. Save that for technology, other motorists, stubbed toes, etc.
I don't find it sufficient, anymore, to have my clothes contained in a small space - did you know this? Does this surprise you? As my wardrobe has grown (through ridiculous amounts of thrifting) I've had to find things to accommodate it usefully, all the while having to morph where things go and how. (I also use re-organizing situations to filter/purge through stuff. I'd say I do this twice a year.)
So. Some dressing-room tips. To start: shelves. Why? Dressers, at least big ones, are kind of a pain, to me, in terms of keeping daily-wear stuff in them. You can't see them. The drawers are often shallow. It keeps clothes contained, not aired out. And, shelves are cheaper, easier to lug around, and assemble/disassemble. I get them at thrift stores - or if worse comes to worse, I buy them new, but only those stackable particleboard ones, because they can be used in a multiplicity of places and are very... what's the word, modular?
This shelf contains, from top to bottom:
Cardigans/sweaters (had a cabinet organizer "shelf" that I used to kind of bolster the cards)
Casual & knit shirts/t-shirts
80's cotton-blend blouses/skirts
Black pants/black skirts (and shoved behind, for now - sundresses)
(Shelf: $6 at thrift store)
I do like to categorize things. It's just a good idea for me. I suppose I could separate by outfits but I feel like that would take up more space. More shelvage:
I had the plastic crates, which come moving time, always transport records, but in my last apartment, I made them modular as well, stacking them into a shelf and holding all the shirts shown in the last pic. On this shelf:
Sweatshirts/Jackets
Boots
"Red" shoes (pink, brown, red)
Black shoes
A drawer of casual flats and flip-flops
On the hooks: hoodies, robe, favorite black dress, shawls
(Shelf thing: free from my mom)
If you are short on actual closet space - closet space with a rod to hold hangers - garment racks are the way to go. So are those hanging garment racks that make an existing rod do double-duty for pants and blouses, but I don't have one of those. I'm sure you could use one on a garment rack, as well, if the rack can bear the weight. My garment rack has proved time and again that it can only bear so much. I try to be considerate of its moderate intolerance for sartorial burden. Because if I don't - well, see aforementioned rage.
This rack adjusts much higher, but I have 80's blouses and a few dressy jackets on it, so there's no need. It also holds my big floppy black hats. I wheel it around to get to my other clothes - not a perfect solution, but it's very colorful and sequin-y and this is its own happiness.
(Garment rack - once again, free from my mom, bless her)
My apartment has incredibly small closets, and only two of them - not counting the, uh, giant walk-in closet in the back than functions as a kind of catch-all for all kinds of house stuff. I don't really mind - the alternative is probably those closets that take up a whole wall, and while that's handy (and I enjoyed it when I had it) it is not often as pleasing to the eye.
My wardrobe is more interesting, I feel. Though in need of some refinishing, I suppose. (I won't bother.)
It holds my blazers, and non-formal dresses, which go from winter knits to long-sleeve silks and rayon blends to short sleeves/nice-weather-wear to the strappy and strapless stuff. I also have stuck some unsightly bits of nonesuch in the large space beneath them - truly seasonal things, mostly, like thick socks.
(Wardrobe, $50 at SalArmy)
I have one closet. It is meek and mild.
Not. Tucked away in the back are my winter coats, which come wintertime, will all mostly be draped over a chair by the front door. Next to them are my wacky jackets - blue fur and feathers. Next to them are my formals. Underneath are hidden more random bits of things I don't want to think about. (I don't have much by way of that, but what I do have, I don't want to look at - like crappy work shoes and workout shoes and whatever.) Above is another crate - filled with my fur-trimmed cardigans and fur collars. This closet is not meek and mild at all. It's just little.
I believe in using whatever works and is interesting to store things. I also believe in making use of surfaces.
I have had this blue vinyl suitcase forever, and it is kind of inconvenient for travel, so I store all my soft-side purses in it (LeSportsac! Lesportsac!!!!!). Next to it are Samsonites that I use regularly. And a lovely satin hanger just for fun/picture-taking, and a beautiful pair of shoes that are falling apart but are so inspiring I must keep them around.
I do have a lot of shoes. And I just got rid of some. I don't love keeping some of them in crates, but I try to be gentle with them (they get dented and squished and la di da). It took me awhile to figure out this obvious solution, but I just got cheap-o shoe racks and put them over both sides of the door, since I don't need to close it.
They house my clear, gold, silver, blue, green, and low-heeled black shoes. The sleeves can do double-duty sometimes, holding more than one shoe, depending on the shoe.
(Shoe sleeve/racks: $10 each)
Surfaces are not just, like, tops of furniture.
Going along with the door usage, I used a rack as a solution for my black dress pants and skirts (and one crazy huge colorful skirt and I confess, a pair of 80's purple slacks). It's not my favorite, because I have to peel multiple pairs of pants off to get to a bottom pair. But it works well enough, for now.
(Rack, another mom-freebie!!!)
We're getting close to the end, I promise. Free-standing furniture is handy - especially when it has wheels, like the garment rack. Even the wardrobe has wheels. My little red metal chest of drawers has been making me happy since guess who bought it for me at IKEA?
On top rests another chest of drawers, which holds cheap-o but plentiful plastic bracelets, 80's jewelry, lipgloss, and lipstick. Next to it is my stretchy bracelet tray, and on top of that, my box of pins/brooches. In the red guy, by drawer:
Black socks (another picky thing of mine - don't have white, don't need them, don't want them)
Tights of many, many colors, and two pairs of elbow-length gloves
Long scarves that are pointless to fold
Scarves, long and square and irregular, that are easy to fold
Colorful belts
Black belts (ha) and gold "snake" belts
(Answer: my dear mudder)
Finally, there is my vanity. Centerpiece of the dressing experience. Why? Because it makes me stop and consider. And despite my best intentions to create stunning portraits of my daily get-ups, it is the site of most of my clothes-photography. I sit here, and put on makeup, and put on perfume, and select jewelry, and sometimes - I just sit here, and think, and maybe even talk to myself a little bit, and remember that for all my pursuits, lofty or otherwise, putting on clothes and makeup and perfume and jewelry and feathers and sequins are a few of the many wonderful things about being a human, and I shouldn't forget enjoy the process of acting like one. ;)
In/on vanity:
Underwears
Nightgowns and PJ's
Perfume
Random cosmetics
Small bags for travel (mostly mini LeSportsacs, what can I say)
Make-upmake-upmake-upjewelsjewelsjewelsTHE END
