How to Give Your Wardrobe a Real Spring Makeover

A big hiding-in-plain-sight culprit, she says, are “the online purchases that never fully made it into your wardrobe. Maybe they needed to be returned or exchanged, or maybe you simply never made the time to release them. If an item has been lingering in the bag or sitting on a shelf untouched, that’s a strong signal it’s not meant to stay.”

Another overlooked cue is repair procrastination. “This is your moment for radical honesty,” says Picott. “Is there a piece you’ve been ‘meaning’ to fix — a missing button, a loose hem, a broken zipper — but it’s been sitting untouched for months? Ask yourself, ‘Am I truly going to take this to the tailor?’ Your answer will tell you exactly what stays and what goes, with clarity and zero guilt.”

The most forgotten space of all? The top drawer. “Bras, panties, underwear, socks — these pieces often get stuffed, jammed or layered over because the drawer is overflowing,” says Picott. “A quick edit of that top drawer can genuinely spice up your daily routine and bring a little ease back into your mornings.”

Dream-Life Clothes

Dealing with the dream-life clothes in our closets may pose the biggest challenge. These are the items that remind us of who we were or who we wanted to be, says Jameson. In this category are the clothes that no longer fit. “Are you keeping clothes around because you plan to lose weight? Get rid of them,” she says. “They are mocking you.”

So are the tennis outfits, but you don’t play. The ski clothes, but you don’t ski. And the business suits, but you are retired.  “Every piece of clothing you have should suit who you are today,” says Jameson. “Your wardrobe needs to evolve as you do.”

Friends and family may be contributing to your cache of dream-life clothes, too. Items that are gifted or passed down often reflect who others think we are or want us to be. For these pieces, it’s OK to let it go if you already know you have no interest in wearing it, says Picott. “As I remind my clients, the gratitude is in receiving the gift. Once it’s in your possession, you get to decide what happens next.”

A Sentimental Journey

Cleaning out a jam-packed closet can be a sentimental journey that makes letting go hard for even garments we never wear. “Emotions are always involved,” says Picott. “We’re not just talking about clothes. We’re talking about decades of memories, identities and stories wrapped up in those garments. And the more we dread facing it, the easier it becomes to avoid taking action altogether.”

To complicate matters even more, we often play the “but, but, but game,” adds Jameson. “But it was expensive. But so and so gave it to me. But I wore it to — fill in the occasion — so it’s sentimental. But I might lose 10 pounds. None of these is a good reason to cling.”

The litmus test, she says, remains: “Do you love it? Do you need it? Do you use it? You should answer yes to at least one of those questions, if not all three.” 

Moving Forward

Be advised, clearing your closet is a practice, not a one-time event, says Picott. “A yearly edit is a healthy baseline, but what truly keeps your wardrobe intentional is what you do in between.”

Here are some expert tips on navigating that in-between time:

·     “Keep a large shopping bag in your closet and regularly toss items into it as you decide their time has come,” says Jameson. Does it have a stain? Is it showing wear? Has it stretched or shrunk? “When the bag is full, off it goes.”

·     “I always encourage clients to use laundry as a built‑in checkpoint,” says Picott. “Once a month, as you’re folding and putting things away, take a moment to assess what you have and whether you still want to keep it. That small habit keeps you in a steady rhythm of an organized lifestyle, prevents clutter from quietly rebuilding and ensures that your annual reset takes hours, not weeks.”

·     Minimize closet mayhem with unified hangers, Jameson recommends. She favors slim, velvet, non-slip hangers in one color. They add instant coherence and rod space. “These velvet hangers are half the width of standard plastic hangers,” she says. “For every 12 garments you convert from plastic to velvet, non-slip hangers, you gain two inches of rod space.”

Less time and more space? That’s something to look forward to. In the meantime, let the spring fling begin!

About the Author

As a fashion editor in Dallas, Kim Marcum covered the international ready-to-wear collections in four fashion capitals and interviewed iconic designers from Giorgio Armani to Ralph Lauren. Later in her journalism career at the Orlando Sentinel, she was the senior editor on a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Local Reporting (2013) and on a project that earned the 2013 Diversity Award from the Freedom Forum/American Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2014, she joined Orlando Health, where she is the assistant vice president of strategic communications. She has two adult daughters and a grandpuppy.