Confessions of a Clothing Collector

Do you get sentimental about your old clothes? I do, and my sentiment is what keeps my guest closet filled with my clothing collection. I see the importance of ridding my regular closet of clothing that I don’t currently wear, but sometimes I just can’t bear to part with an item. Then, I try to find a home for it in my clothing collection.

But, what is the difference between a piece of clothing that should become part of your clothing collection, and one that is destined for the wastebasket? As you discard clothing from your closet, follow these simple rules so that you will always be able to tell the difference between trash and treasure. An item is destined for your clothing collection if:

1) It is sentimental to you and of good quality. You may wish to save these items and one day show them off to your friends and family (Exp. your wedding dress, or an outfit that marked a special occasion in your life).

2) It can be reused as a costume. Save these items for your next Halloween party or for when your children play dress up. (Hint: Bridesmaid dresses make fabulous costume pieces.)

3) It doesn’t currently fit, but it is a high quality piece and a staple. These items may be worn in the future if you can fit back into them. You don’t have to worry as much about a staple going out of style as quickly as an accent piece. Therefore, keep staples that don’t fit in your clothing collection, and reevaluate them each year to see if you fit into them or if they need to be discarded because of becoming dated.

4) Accessories that are not currently in style. Never throw your accessories away. They only take up a small space, so save them in case they come back in style. Clothing very rarely comes back in style in the same way (Exp. The wide leg pant of today doesn’t quite look like the bell bottoms of the 70’s.), but a dated accessory may pass as a current piece in the future.

If you are left with any items that do not fit into one of these requirements for being added to your clothing collection and don’t fit into your current wardrobe, please discard them. By doing so, you will make more space in your house and in your life to enjoy your current wardrobe and your clothing collection.

Showing off the clothes we're throwing out

To get you inspired to clean out your closet and fine tune your clothing collection, here is a picture of the Stoltz Image girls (Left to Right: me, Shelbi Elfert, and Katie Passmore) playing dress up in some of the clothes that don’t make the cut in our regular closets.

Remember that fashion should be fun, and using your clothing collection for an impromptu fashion show/dress up party will remind you of the places you have been and the clothing that took you there.