If You Want to Look Good, Your Closet Has to Look Good

I am a strong believer in a clean closet. I also love to shop (thus, creating a balancing act between shopping a store & shopping my closet)! However, I was reading how to Recession Proof Your Closet written by The Budget Fashionista and I think she has some really great tips. And, if followed, it will make getting dressed in the morning an easier task.

Oprah actually called her up and asked her to share these tips on the Opera Winfrey Show!

Here are my top 3 picks from The Budget Fashionista list:

1. Develop a signature piece/look (according to TBF this is what you are known for- it could be crazy shoes, earrings, bright dresses, etc. I love shoes, and dresses. Shoes are what I invest in and dresses are items I can buy at discount stores or consignment stores).
2. Calculate the cost per wear when shopping (i.e. if an item costs $100 and you will wear it 2 times, the cost per wear is $50. I always try to buy dresses & blouses that can be worn both to work and out at night. This drastically increases the number of times I can wear an item and, thus, allows me to invest more money on these dual purpose pieces).
3. Follow the 70/30 rule (70% of your closet should be classic staples & 30% of your closet can be fun trendy items... I would like to add that you should think of your life style when deciding what is a staple-what is your dress code for work? If you wear business wear to work 5 days a week you don't need 9 pairs of jeans, but if you wear jeans and flip flops to work, you probably don't need very many suits).

I would like to add the following tips that I think are important:

1. One in one out (every time you purchase a new pair of shoes, you ought to get rid of a pair of shoes- this keeps your closet from growing out of control as well as makes you think through whether you like the new purchase better than what you currently have).
2. If you haven't worn it in 2 years get rid of it (AND, you should try on everything in your closet once a year! This way you don't forget what you have and, thus, purchase something very similar. After going two years of being unworn, you are better off donating the items for a tax write-off and freeing up the extra space).