Special to Stylelist by K.C. WASHINGTON
According to L.A.-based personal stylist Barbra Horowitz who also designs 'Rigged' tees -- a favorite among celebs like Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears and Aisha Tyler -- the new year is the perfect time to turn your attention to your closet.
"Most people keep things too long... three to five years longer than they should," Barbra explains from her L.A. office. The most common thing she's found revamping the closets of women ranging anywhere from their early 20s to late 60s is people hold on to things because they've paid a lot of money for it or because they think it's going to come back into style.
"It may come back," Barbra says with a robust laugh, "but it's never going to come back for them... You really need to purge four times a year."
Here are Barbra's tips for clearing out the old and making room for the new.
1. Make a list of the things you can give up -- and the things you just won't. "Sort of mental preparation for letting go," Barbra explains. "If it is something sentimental, I'll let it go."
2. Give up the clothes you haven't seen or worn in years. If you can't fit into it anymore, it's stained, hopelessly out of date or just plain ugly either revamp it or give it to your favorite charity!
3. Toss the 'schlep' wear. Barbra exlains, "What they would paint their house in or go to [the grocery store] in."
4. Cut pieces by color. When attacking your closet with a big broom and a strong heart, don't worry about tossing something because it matches something else. "People think in outfits instead of pieces," Barbra observes. "I believe in color palettes because we don't shop systematically."
5. "Demote" your wardrobe. Taking your nicer clothes and making them your everyday clothes because that two-year-old DKNY blazer may not be good enough for your boss's birthday dinner but it will certainly stand up at the grocery store.
6. Take a tip from the men in your life: don't dress your flaws. Barbra says one of the big differences she's found between her male and female clients is that men don't dress to hide some perceived defect. In other words, if you are holding on to that smock you started wearing because you haven't lost the baby weight yet -- and your baby is now in junior high -- get rid of it!
7. Shop for updated versions of your favorite pieces. As you battle the dust bunnies and that jean micro-mini from yourdisco days, make plans to replace the pieces you're dropping in the dumpster with new versions that fit properly made from good fabrics.
Need more closet therapy?
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