In Pursuit of Closet Sanity

As a child, I have very fond memories of an event that happened a few times.   My mom and older sister would come into my and my younger sister's room and COMPLETELY clean it out.  Like, top to bottom, a full-on purge.  The nights after this happened were some of my favorites as our space was clean and so, it seemed, were our minds.  We would take out just one toy and play for hours with it instead of mindlessly rotating through a million toys and ultimately becoming bored.

As a grown-up, I still enjoy a good spring cleaning.  Although a similar concept, I now have a myriad of options of different areas of our home to purge.  Last night, it was the closet.

I have about 50 French Lifestyle books in my library.  24% of them talk about food while 22% of them are memoirs or fiction.  And an astounding 44% of them contain at least one entire chapter on a typical French person's wardrobe.  Over and over again, they each preach the gospel of selecting a few key clothing items that work for your body and make you feel great.

One opinion that they generally tie into this belief system is that "less is more."  Rather than mindlessly accumulating clothing, they often encourage readers to purchase fewer high-quality classic items and create their wardrobe around those core pieces.  While this is not a new concept, I do believe it is gaining momentum through Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Majic of Tidying Up.

Why is this movement becoming increasingly popular?  Read below to see my views on this budding closet-shift.

1.  When you look great, you feel great.  How much easier is it to look great when you only own clothing you look great in and love?  This view doesn't even begin to touch on the whole issue of regard for taking the time to look presentable.  Dressing well (notice I said "dressing well" and not "dressing up") shows that you respect yourself and others enough to put some time into your appearance, even if it's as simple as wearing clothes that fit you.

2. "Change your space, change your life."  Let's just take a look at this picture below.  The first is of my closet before I stuck it to it and did a major clean-out.  Now, keep in mind that I originally adopted the capsule wardrobe concept back in 2012 while living with my in-law's.  We had the largest closet I had ever owned and I had it filled to the brim!  I had always had my smaller closets packed and this larger closet just gave me more room to grow!  Although I had read of the concept of capsule wardrobes for years, it wasn't until I read Jennifer L. Scott's book, Lessons from Madame Chic, I decided to finally take the plunge.  Assessing my closet, I realized it was true- while I had many articles of clothing, there were really only a few items I repeatedly wore.  I started the purging process and that summer purchased a handful of thoughtfully purchased tops (that fit perfectly!) to complete my wardrobe.

Now, twice a year I take the time to evaluate my wardrobe: what's working, what's not.  What fits and what maybe no longer fits me or my lifestyle.  I change it out for the season, and then try to fill any holes with high-quality items that I know I will wear for a while.

So why was my closet SO full of SO many clothes if you do this twice a year?  Well, last season I didn't take the time to change out my wardrobes properly.  We were in a crazy busy season of life and so I just threw all of my other warmer-weather clothing in with my fall/winter wardrobe.  I didn't go through and evaluate anything, I just crammed.  And look at the result!  I kept forgetting about clothing I had and constantly had to weed through heavy winter coats just to get to what I wanted!  It was very frustrating and completely uninspiring to get dressed in the morning.

Now the after picture:

Everything is orderly, "sell and donate" items are removed and there's even a little place to showcase some artfully placed Chanel wrapping and a pair of my favorite shoes of Fiona's from when she was little!

3. Plan to succeed.  This last one can take on so many facets.  I'll give you three:

• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will probably be able to see everything.  Being able to see everything helps you KNOW what you have (or don't have) and can help prevent unnecessary spending.
• When your closet is in order with a condensed wardrobe of what you actually wear, you will also be able to see what is clean and what is not, which will save you time in getting dressed and looking for that *one* shirt.
• When you have a condensed wardrobe of items you actually wear, you'll probably not have as many clothes as you have now (obvs, right?).  Well, guess what chore is directly related to the amount of clothing you have?  The ever-present-will-never-go-away-no-matter-how-much-you-do-it-chore of laundry.  Have hundreds of articles of clothing?  You'll probably be able to go a whole week (but probably more!) before you MUST do laundry.  I know in our household, laundry piles up pretty quickly.  I attempt to wrangle the piles by doing a little bit of laundry, every day.  And since there's a finite number of clothes in our possession, the odds of it piling up to unbearable heights are very slim.

So there you have it.  That same feeling that came as a child having a clean room carries on now into my adult life in many ways, especially in my clean and decluttered closet.   For me, the same satisfaction from taking out one article of clothing and knowing it will work and make me feel and look great will always outweigh the other option of having loads and loads of clothes (and laundry) that I may or may not actually wear.

Lessons from Madame Chic, Part 2

I want to start this post by thanking all of my readers for reading and sharing this blog!  I've had so much traffic since the last post and am truly amazed at how many people my humble little blog is reaching.  It's been my heart for several years now for my blog to inspire people to find pleasure in everyday living.  I'm excited to continue the three-part review of Lessons from Madame Chic as part of a countdown to Jennifer L. Scott's new book, Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everyday Elegance, which comes out October 27, 2015.  You can check out Part 1: Diet and Exercise here.

Part 2: Style and Beauty

Chapter 4 "Liberate Yourself with the Ten-Item Wardrobe"

In this chapter, Jennifer describes her discovery of Famille Chic's approach to clothing- they each had about ten items of really nice clothing that they would wear in rotation, again and again.  If you've read many other French style books, you know that this is not a new or even unique concept for Famille Chic.  I had read about the concept of a "Capsule Wardrobe" many times before, but it really hit home the first time I read Jennifer's take on it.  She talks about really loving each of the core items in your closet and it made me realize that while I may have had a lot of clothes, I really only ever wore the same things over and over.  Why was I holding on to a closet full of clothes that I never wore?  While I didn't immediately get rid of every item I didn't wear, I did begin a several year process of only keeping articles I loved and last winter had my very first authentic ten-item wardrobe.   It was very refreshing to know each morning whatever I picked out to wear would be something I loved.  And honestly, just being able to see all of my articles of clothing helped clear my mind and provided a great start to my mornings.

Chapter 5 "Find Your True Style"

Continuing in the wardrobe department, defining your style and understanding why you wear what you wear are the topics of this chapter.  Jennifer has the reader complete an exercise to help define one's style.  After completing the exercise, I decided my two words to define my style are "Elegant and Chic."  Elegant because I lean towards long silhouettes and classic blacks and Chic because I definitely like to incorporate feminine touches and prefer a "polished" look.

Chapter 6 "Perfect the Le No-Makeup Look"
This chapter was a great refresher on looking polished but not over-made up.  Jennifer gives make up tips and suggestions for daily application as well as special occasions.   I tend to keep my make up very minimal on a daily basis but do agree that the right amount (applied correctly) can help me feel put-together, polished, and presentable.

Chapter 7 "Take Care of Your Skin"
Delving below the surface of make up to the foundation of great skin, this chapter takes an in-depth look at the habits of those with flawless skin.  Many wonderful suggestions are given, including drinking plenty of water, avoiding over-cleansing your skin, and (my personal favorite), managing stress levels with regular massages.

Chapter 8 "Look Presentable Always"
This is a chapter I need to re-read every few month.  Since I stay home with our children, it is very easy to fall into a rut of wearing workout clothes, not applying make-up, and schlepping around in tennis shoes.  In this chapter, Jennifer tells a story of all of the members of Famille Chic always looking presentable, whether hanging out in the living room or going out for a night on the town.  While "looking presentable" means different things for different people, I really enjoyed her mention of "honoring ourselves and those we come in contact with during the day by putting some thought and effort into our appearance."

A word on travel: dress beautifully when you travel.  I can remember when I used to buy trashy celeb magazines and there were always pictures of the current "It" girl traveling in over-sized t-shirts, yoga pants, and frumpy Uggs.  I thought that was THE way to travel!  They looked so comfortable and effortless! I decided that I never really liked arriving at my destination that way, however.  Whether it was going to visit friends, arriving at a cruise port, or (even worse) arriving at an exotic travel destination, I always felt uncomfortably sloppy and un-presentable upon arrival.  Now when I travel (whether solo or with my family), I am dressed up!  I much prefer feeling presentable and put-together and have found a great pieces that look polished and are still comfortable for travel.

Chapter 9 "Practice the Art of Femininity"

While the word "Femininity" may conjure up images of frilly dresses and ballet tutus, Jennifer explains in this chapter it is so much more- excellent posture, self-assurance, and great confidence.  Basically, femininity can be enhanced by anything that makes a woman feel beautiful and empowered.  She brought up the idea that good posture is contagious and how it is possible to get a confidence boost just by standing up a bit straighter!

I'd love to know if you're reading (or re-reading) Lessons from Madame Chic, and any thoughts you may have you the above topics!  For more inspiration, visit Jennifer L. Scott's blog, The Daily Connoisseur.  Next week, I'll complete part three, "How to Live Well," as  I continue the countdown to the release of Polish Your Poise.