Keep your wardrobe current

It should only contain clothes that you are realistically going to wear during the current season. In this way,  you will be able to see pretty much at a glance what your clothing choices are for any particular occasion. You will also be able to identify if there are any gaps in your wardrobe that need filling.

Don’t have anything in your wardrobe that:

• Doesn’t fit – don’t torture yourself! (By all means store it elsewhere if you  love it and think that you’ll fit back into it at some point though)
• Is past its best – dispose of it or donate it, depending on its condition
• Doesn’t make you feel good – sell it/donate it
• Is not appropriate for the weather – store it elsewhere and bring it back out next year.

With autumn approaching, now is a good time to start thinking about what you will be wearing in the coming weeks and months. Before you pack away all of your summer clothes though, I would urge you to do the following:

Take stock

Review what you have worn this summer and what you haven’t and consider why. Now, I know this summer the weather has been disappointing so, personally, it’s little strappy tops and sun dresses that didn’t get much of an airing. Hopefully I’ll be able to wear them more often next summer though. What is particularly interesting to consider is what you could have worn but didn’t. In my case, this was a couple of pairs of sandals and a few tees. The sandals are just too high to be comfortable these days so they will be going to charity because, sadly, they’re not going magically to become any more comfortable next summer! I didn’t wear the tees because I have others which I prefer. I will keep them to wear under my winter woollies though for extra warmth and as odour-catchers so that I can cut down on the wool wash. I have made a note to self to follow my own advice in future and stick to the “one in one out” rule so that I don’t waste money on any more sub-par duplicates of what I already have. Your reasons for not wearing certain items may be different; perhaps they don’t work for your lifestyle or style personality. By understanding what is preventing you wearing them, hopefully you can avoid future buying mistakes.

Pack away

Pack away anything you enjoyed wearing over the summer but are not going to be able to wear in any way, shape or form over the autumn/winter. For me this is:

• Shorts
• Sandals
• Sun dresses.

Wait a while

Don’t automatically pack away your entire summer wardrobe though. The great British weather can be quite changeable and, as a woman of a certain age, so can my body temperature! Layering can be a practical option. Wearing summer dresses with thick tights, cardigans/jumpers/jackets and boots can extend their use well into autumn and enable you quickly to take off a layer or two when you start to overheat. The pictures at the top and bottom of this article show how I do this with a couple of my dresses.