After interviewing KonMari master Karin Socci last week and diving into Marie Kondo’s book on Tidying Up this weekend, what I have realized is that while I will never fold anything by thirds or probably organize that studiously, I am ready to take on a serious clean out of what I still have that doesn’t work.
I like the KonMari idea of visualizing what you want your home to look like and who you want to be now and going forward, which means letting go of the things from the past that don’t fit into that idea and/or aren’t useful. Beyond sentimental items, you can love something but that doesn’t mean you need to own it. I am starting with my clothes and it’s amazing when I began taking serious stock of the items I have that I no longer wear, it’s a fair amount, which is the result of years of being a fashion editor and just being older and having accumulated more things. (This even after I let go of so much before I moved.)
I also realize these things are keeping me from having items I might really want–those “gosh I wish, but I just can’t now” pieces. For instance, I have three designer coats I no longer wear. They are gorgeous–Stella McCartney, Balenciaga by Nicholas Ghesquiere, and old Marc Jacobs. Plus a fourth Celine that I bought from a resale shop that fits okay. I guess I’ve been holding onto those coats because I thought my daughters might want them. It’s unlikely. And for a while, I have been thinking about how much I would love a Max Mara camel hair coat. It’s timeless but also very now. And also almost $3000. Because I can’t justify it, I have been looking at less expensive alternatives.
But I realize that if I sell my older designer coats plus the Celine, it won’t cover the total cost necessarily, but it will pay for more than the alternative version coat would have cost. So I am going to let go of the others and pare down, so I can buy the one coat I want to wear now and in the future. Plus someone else will enjoy those other coats that are collecting dust in my closet.
Once you start looking at your clothes in those terms, and realize if you weed out the extraneous, the “I just can’t let this go it’s so good even though I don’t wear it” and the “this is me 5% of the time pieces” and concentrate on the “I would wear this every day if I could” pieces, you can end up possibly saving money, get closer to being able to afford what you really want and bring your style into sharp focus. It’s a winning trifecta.
photo courtesy Vogue magazine
I have been doing this for about a year, both with clothing, jewelry, and antiques that have been in my family. It’s hard to let go of “sentimental” attachment, but I’d rather have them used by someone who loves them, then keeping things in storage. And..it has allowed me to buy a few items that are forever pieces..again, home, clothing and jewelry, that I might not have been able to financially justify. It’s very freeing.
I bought the camel Manuela coat this year while in Europe. Wore it yesterday and I love that coat so much. I plan to pick up the same coat in black later this year. I consigned a lot of my old clothes and bags with The Real Real and made enough to purchase the handbag that I really wanted, the medium classic Chanel flap bag.
So true. So many people look at an expensive item and “That crazy! I can’t afford that! “.
But then they go out and buy numerous things they don’t need, merely because the price is reasonable. Those purchases add up.
I love this post! I am going through a very long process of this and it’s painful but I’m getting there. I’ve had my Manuela coat for 3 or 4 years now. One of the best clothing purchases I have ever made. I can wear it with anything, belted or not. It’s super cozy and versatile. I know I will have it for decades. I wish there were more items that fall in to this category for me. I love cashmere sweaters but they never seem to last.
Love this thought. Am curious if you’ve found a good alternative to the MaxMara coat?
Thank you for this post. I am trying to do similar cleansing of my wardrobe. I have wanted the Max Mara coat for so long and just this season concluded that what I love about it is the luxurious life that it represents for me. It’s not a life I have or will ever have. So I am learning, slowly, to simply admire those beautiful clothing items that don’t make sense for the (wonderful) life I lead. I can look at them and appreciate them as items of beauty, without actually owning them.
YES to this, Dana! It’s those “this is me 5% of the time” items that I have a hard time letting go of because of what they represent to my psyche. Time to get real.