Wardrobe sort out, ready for the new season

Hi guys,

So it's that time of the year again: time to sort out your wardrobe ready for Autumn/Winter. I spent all day yesterday sorting through my wardrobe: restitching buttons on to last years coats and de-bobbling them all. I know you're supposed to do this before you put them away for the summer, but I think you have to be really dedicated to remember to do that, and sadly i'm not!

I folded all my summer dresses and vests into my biggest suitcase, added a couple of moth balls, and put it under the bed. Then I went through my winter accessories box: making sure all my gloves were paired (and throwing away the pile of odd ones I seem to accumulate!) making sure I had scarves to match each of my coats and the same with hats. I pulled my winter boots to the front of the wardrobe and sorted out the ones that need reheeling (which I will get done in the next week) and packed my summer sandals and flip flops away.

I have always liked hats - I wish we still lived in a time when it was the done thing to wear hats everyday! That's definitely not something I need to buy any more of - although I know if I see another lovely one I won't be able to resist!

I know it seems like a boring chore, but I actually love sorting out my wardrobe: it works as a great reminder of all the lovely things you have, and I just dug up a dress I loved but forgot I owned: I haven't worn it for 3 years!!

This is the perfect way to identify any holes in your wardrobe and fill them whilst there's plenty of choice from the new season stock on the high street: I would like a couple more long sleeved dresses (i'm trying to move away from wearing long sleeved tops under sleeveless dresses like I did last year) I'd also like a pair of tan leather gloves, a pair of brown boots (last years have a hole in the sole, but were so inexpensive it makes more sense to buy a new pair than to pay for resoling) and I have a hankering for a leather dress: because my coats from last year don't need replacing, I think I could justify the investment!

Have you sorted out your wardrobe for winter yet? I'd love to know what you'll be buying this season, and what your going to try not to replace.

Love, Tor xx

Post-clearout: Identify gaps and fill

The best thing about a wardrobe clearout is that, aside from being able to open your wardrobe without things falling on you, it enables you to identify gaps in your existing wardrobe that need filling. So this is exactly what I did last night, and I was suprised by how little I felt I needed!

Things I definitely do not need:

Coats/Jackets - Jackets are my addiction. Whenever i'm out shopping they're the first thing i'm attracted to. I have far too many of them, but can't seem to stop myself buying more. But I will. I don't need any more jackets!

Evening dresses - Every time I went on a night out I complained I had nothing to wear. One major wardrobe clearout later and it turns out that I have more than 10 really lovely dresses (most of them black, alot of them sequinned) that would be perfect for just about any evening occassion. The obsession with fancy dresses has to stop now!

Heels - It's got to be a fact proven somewhere that when you're out shopping for shoes, heels are more exciting to buy than flats. Which probably explains why I have more than 50 pairs, despite the fact I rarely wear heels. I'm going cold turkey: I will not go in a shoe shop, I will not go in a shoe shop. And repeat ten times!

Necklaces - How many long chains does a girl need? Not as many as I have! If you can think of an emblem then I have it on a chain. I like having lots of jewellery, it's great for mixing and matching your wardrobe, but I now have plenty.

Things I definitely do need:

Cardigans - Ironically, I thought I had plenty of cardigans. However having whittled out the ones with holes in the sleeves or that I had shrunk in the washing machine, it turns out I only have two: and one of them is red and has a sequinned cat on it. Which is fun, but not exactly practical! So I ordered these two cardigans with a voucher I was given by Tesco:

At £14 and £16 respectively and made of 100% cotton they were an absolute bargain: I can't wait for them to arrive, I just hope the quality feels as good as it looks!

Bras - My strapless bra has lost it's elastic and all of my white bras are looking decidedly grey: I haven't noticed this all winter long because I generally only wear white underwear in the summer. Time to have a big underwear clearout!

An oversized ring- I'm tired of wearing costume jewellery that turns my finger green. I'm too old to have a green finger every night: surely this should stop at some point?! I've decided that point is now. I intend to invest in a lovely oversized silver (i'm too realistic to think I can afford gold) ring with a beautiful stone in the middle of it.

I'm thinking, with the summer approaching, turquoise would be the perfect choice! But love this malachite one from etsy which comes in at $162. I saw a beautiful silver and amber ring on Camden market at the weekend for £50: might be worth a look!

Black pumps - For someone who owns so many pairs of shoes, I really ought to own a pair of black ballet pumps! I think the reason I don't is that I love feeling a breeze around my feet, so I generally try to migrate from boots to sandals, and then wear the sandals as long as possible until it's time for the boots again. So last night I picked up a pair of black suede pumps in the sale at Faith (just £17) with a nautical anchor detail at the front: very cute!

Vest tops - Summer dresses I have plenty of, but summer tops are something I own very few of: I'm hoping this will be vectified before I book my summer holiday. I will also have to sort out my swimwear situation: something I dread doing every single year!!

Do you know what your wardrobe is missing? Do you think about the missing pieces when you shop (I don't but I intend to!) or do you just buy whatever you think is pretty? I'm interested to hear about your shopping habits and how this affects the dynamics of your wardrobe!

Love, Tor xx

Spring time wardrobe clearout: bag a bargain!

Inspired by Make do Kate (or rather, feeling guilty because she's so efficient and i'm so disorganised) I've spent most of the day organising my wardrobe: separating winter clothes from summer clothes, putting the things that need repair/alteration to one side to work on this week, and ruthlessly removing anything that doesn't fit/doesn't look as good as it should: i'm forever buying things and wearing them once, realising they don't really suit my shape, then leaving them sitting in the wardrobe. I've only done the clothes so far (I still have shoes and accessories to go) but this is the massive cull pile so far:

Kate's list of what to do and how is more comprehensive than anything I could put together, so if you're looking to have a clear out of your own I would recommend reading her posts. Before I send all this to the charity shop I've decided to add it the Fabfrocks shop for a fortnight: nothing will be more than £7 (plus p&P) mostly its all a fiver, and there are some really nice bits including a 100% silk jacket from topshop, a lovely lace dress and a gorgeous panelled dress from ASOS too. The prices are so low because I just want it out of the house really- it's refreshing to be able to see all the clothes I actually like, and will make getting dressed in the mornings so much easier! So if you see anything you fancy just drop me an email!

I can't believe how wonderful the weather has been this weekend: I hope you've all had fun and made the most of it!

Love, Tor xx

Tasks for the day: Clear your wardrobe, think like Lady Gaga

As Make do Kate rightly points out, the Easter weekend is the perfect time for a good cleansing wardrobe clearout. And instead of just thowing the unwanted clothes away, you could use them to do good. TK Maxx have joined forces with Cancer Research UK for a campaign called Give Up Clothes For Good. You can take in bags of your unwanted clothes and homewares to your local TK Maxx store now - each bag donated could be worth up to £30! You can even get involved online by donating your status to charity at the dedicated Facebook app http://apps.facebook.com/tkmaxxgiveupclothes. This is running from now all the way through to 25th April, so if you don't have time for a clear out this weekend, there's plenty of time to start the spring cleaning. As part of the campaign they have created a video with a "Lady Gaga" who donates her costumes, including the one she's wearing: and we all know how much I love Gaga! (I'm like an embarrassing teenage fan-girl!) I found this video hilarious, and thought I would share it with you to liven up a gloomy Easter Sunday! Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to bump into Gaga whilst having a good scrummage in the bargain bin (or is that just me?!)

Happy Easter everyone, have a chocolate egg and a hot crossed bun for me!

Love, Tor xx