India Gold, Pink and Brocade - and My Huge Wardrobe

Off to the gym shortly, and I'll finish this later on. But here we go!

I was told by one of my coworkers today that my jacket and shoes all looked very "India, Pakistan and Middle East" - he is Pakistani, so he knows his stuff when it comes to those wonderful glam gold-accented clothes worn in his neck of the woods. I took it as a huge compliment - I adore those glorious saris and woven fabrics.

I adore this shiny (SHINY) brocade jacket - this is my first time playing up the pink in the pattern. I last wore it here in December 2013 with red leather pants and ruffles.

Simple lines today, not fuss, no muss. A pink pencil skirt in such a pretty shade, last seen here in March with dark florals. Adding a simple little sweater camisole (thrifted here on the weekend for $4.50) makes the pink and brocade harmonize.

But wow, such shiny! I got a lot of comments on it today, and I strode about in the office with the coat flapping along behind me like a cape. What fun! I may have made airplane noises...

The stuff:

These woven leather gold kitten heels have been in my closet for many years - I last wore them here in September 2013 with my gorgeous plaid dress (can't wait to wear that again!). They are getting a little worn out, but I'm still eking season after season out of them.

Ba-da-bling!

Crazyass necklace. Snake? Elephant? Horses? Goats? A dragon? A guy milking (I hope he's milking!) a cow? Yup, it's got it all.

Coat (Aldo, thrifted), top (Dana Buchman, thrifted), skirt (Conrad C, thrifted), shoes (Aldo, consignment), necklace (consignment).

Reader Tiina L asked yesterday:

I have been reading your blog for quite a while now and I am so impressed by your creativity with your outfits, as well as by the sheer volume of your wardrobe... Seriously, where do you store all those clothes???? I always feel my closets are bursting at the seams, and I have closet space in two countries! Of course, I have nowhere near as many clothes as you. So, what's your secret to storing such a huge wardrobe?

I love answering questions! Thank you! 

Where do I store all those clothes? Mostly in my closet:

Cat not included

I also have a dresser in the bedroom for my socks, tights, camis, soft tops, jeans, junky sweaters and workout wear, and my underwear lives in a tall lingerie chest in the bedroom. I don't really count those. My closet is in the den, behind where I take pictures. It's the size of a very small bathroom, and I had it custom-built when I lost weight 6 years ago as my real reward to myself for that accomplishment.

I'm a very organized person, so it's no surprise that my closet is also well-organized. Let's start on the right side.

There is no wasted space in my closet; it goes right to the ceiling. I store my big vintage hats and my vintage shoes up high, since I don't use them much. Right below them are my short skirts (I'm in my spring/summer wardrobe right now, so lots of brights). I sort my skirts by colour.

Right below the skirts are my blazers and jackets. We also have a hall closet for our "archive" vintage clothing and my real outerwear coats.

Also sorted by colour. The last two outfits that I have planned for this week are on the right side.

I have the "Tower of Power" beside the skirt/jacket section on the right. The shoes I wear the most are at eye level or lower.

One shoe forward, one shoe back allows me to store 3 pairs per shelf without squishing them.

Above eye level are my "never gonna give you up" shoes, and party shoes. Ones I don't wear much, but love too much to give up.

At least, until I need more room, right?

I store my flats on the floor, one on top of the other. I only need to see one shoe.

My gold ones that I wore today go in that empty space between the Chie Miharas and the white flats.

I have a big gold mirror at the back of the closet (see first picture above), and a mini chandelier in the centre of the ceiling which tends to light-blast the pictures.

Vizzini loves the new orange maxi dress.

On the floor I have velvet hat boxes with my belts coiled up (the big ones in one, and the thin ones together, plus chain belts in another). I like my belts rolled up to keep their shape. I keep obis in a couple of shoe boxes, and scarves in two more shoe boxes. I like being able to grab the boxes of scarves and paw around in them for inspiration.

Working our way back along the left side, I have a 6' hang for my dresses. I sort my dresses by colour too.

So many dresses! I really love them. I see a bunch that I need to wear again!

Above the dresses is a shelf that has some velvet storage boxes, which contain some of my "never seen" items, like my dad's sweaters and my wedding shoes. No space is wasted!

Looking back at my dresses. Ones I haven't worn yet (my pink lace dress, my black 70s disco dress, the orange maxi) are up front to remind me not to forget about them. I need some parties to wear those 3 to - I can't wear them to work. Hmmm...I have a couple of events coming up this month/in May...

Beside the dresses is a 4' hang, where I keep my 3 pairs of spring/summer pants (do you see the emerald culottes?), my longer skirts and my blouses. Again everything is sorted by colour.

I used to sort blouses (and dresses) by sleeve length, but I prefer them done by colour. It helps me put outfits together better. 

Above the blouse/long skirt/pant rack, are 4 shelves. The bottom two shelves are mostly sweaters, including sleeveless cami-type sweaters, cardigans, and dressy sweaters or funky ones. I also keep vests here, folded up. 

I also have my "in waiting" accessories here at eye level, like that blue/red/white scarf, the magenta socks (I should put away the Smoking Lily heart pin), my two Wendy Brandes rings in their boxes. And of course, my "Vizzini-fied" Fluevogs that I've been meaning to customize/paint/glue things to.

Above the two sweater shelves are my purses and hats; again, things I don't use very often, but when I want them I want to be able to see them and get to them. Oooh, hats!

I'm not much of a purse person, so I have a few favourites that I've collected over the years.

Vizzini loves to be in my closet. This is looking out of it, and you can see that my practical shoes are stored on the side (my walk-to-work runners, my Converses, my Docs). On the floor below the blouses and skirts, and on the other side, below my jackets, are canvas totes with some of my winter clothes bundled up.

I have a few everyday purses tucked under there too, but I tend to be a one-bag woman for the most part.

Now, I guess that seems like a lot of clothes - and it is! I never used to have this many. I love thrifting and shopping second-hand and looking for new treasures. And for those of you who've been reading for a while, you know that I do a swap-out of my spring/summer and fall/winter wardrobes twice a year when I put away about 2/3 of what's in the closet. This 2/3 gets stored either in the closet (as noted above), and under our bed, in 3 big Rubbermaid tubs.

I really need to see my clothes in order to fully-utilize everything I own. Items that I don't wear much or at all any more get moved to the "archive" section of the hall closet. Sometimes I give those away, sometimes I keep them and wear them again.

So, what's your secret to storing such a huge wardrobe?

Aside from being really organized, and having a big closet? I cull. Ruthlessly, and regularly.

If I don't love it, it's gone.

If I feel like I've gotten enough wear out of it, it's gone.

If I'm just plain tired of it, it's gone.

If it doesn't fit anymore, it's gone.

If it's damaged in any way, it's gone.

If it pisses me off or drives me crazy, it's gone.

Clothes are just things. They aren't really that important; I would rather have a picture of me wearing them, than the actual item. I don't have emotional attachments to my clothes (my family-passed-down and vintage jewelry is another matter!), so it isn't difficult for me to get rid of things. 

I've also found that storing away items for 6 months gives me a chance to "rest" from them, and any emotional attachment I have developed gets time to dissipate. When I unpacked my spring/summer clothes a few weeks ago, a lot of those items were set aside.

Library rug custom-scrunched by Vizzini (see his red and orange/yellow balls?).

Those are the stacks of clothes in my library just waiting for my girlfriends to come over and root through, or for me to bag up and take to work or to Book Club. I love giving away my clothes, seeing them go to a good home, seeing someone excited about them. I rarely regret giving something away - and if I do miss it, I'll always be able to look at the pictures on my blog! And I love seeing one of my items on a friend or coworker. 

I believe in thrifting karma: if you give it away, it will come back to you.