Most women wear 20 – 30% of their wardrobes. Have you heard that before? It’s a much quoted statistic in the personal style world, and I’ve been asking women in presentations and workshops if they believe it’s true.
I’ll ask for a show of hands — “how many of you wear about 20 – 30% of your wardrobes?” Every time, 80 – 90% of hands go up. So, that’s my non-scientific non-double blind study verification that that statistic is true.
Many, if not most, women are indeed wearing less than 30% of their wardrobes.
What a senseless waste!
What’s gone wrong?
Why are so many of us wearing so little of our wardrobes? It could be one or more of these reasons:
- We didn’t buy well – our wardrobes simply don’t contain what we need, want or (better yet) love to wear.
- We were given items that we feel we can’t part with.
- We have items in our closets from another time, another body, another life – and we’re hanging onto them.
- We haven’t reviewed what’s in there and done a cleansing clean-out for a while.
- We don’t know how to make the most of what we already have – we don’t know how to tap into the hidden magic in our own wardrobes.
- We feel a sense of comfort or security having all that gear, even though we aren’t wearing it.
- We aren’t sure who’d we’d be if we had less stuff.
- We don’t know what enough is – what it feels like, what it looks like.
That’s why projects and programs that bring you into closer connection with what you already have are so great (and yes, I’ll include our own programs, the short and the long, here. And if you haven’t downloaded our fabulous free report on 36 ways to cull your closet, get your hands on it right now).
Tapping into the hidden magic
When you start to tap into the hidden magic lurking in your closet you (re)discover what is enough for you. What is too much, and what is too little, for you when it comes to your clothes?
When you tap into the hidden magic lurking in your closet you also discover what you can do with a small number of excellent clothing rather than a wardrobe full of ‘good enough’. Sometimes living with less actually creates more – more freedom, more options, more lightness.
When you tap into the hidden mileage lurking in your closet you turn your attention to all that you already have, rather than have your focus be diverted by all that’s new in the stores that you don’t own. It reconnects you to the fullness and richness already present in your life rather than fills you with insatiable feelings of want.
Weekly wardrobe review
Every week, I do a mini-review of what’s working and what isn’t in my closet. I consign to my give-away or sell baskets those items which need to be let go of. I confine these sessions to 10 minutes a week (that makes it doable, and sustainable) – but I do it every week. If I’ve worn something that week that isn’t working, I don’t put it back in my closet – I have a clear signal it’s time to let go of it.
These short weekly sessions keep my wardrobe fresh, dynamic and relevant. At any given time, there’s nothing in my closet that isn’t paying its rent and working for me. And when it comes to my clothes, it keeps my focus on what I already have and keeps it away from new things in the stores – things I know I don’t need.
Let go, open up, play!
Tapping into the hidden magic lurking in your wardrobe is about letting go, opening up, and experimenting. It’s about releasing the things that aren’t working, employing the things that could be working better, and trying new combinations. It’s amazing what you can discover in your own closet!
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