5 Items Any Stylist Would Toss from Your Wardrobe, Every Time

Most wardrobes are cluttered with stuff that hasn’t seen the light of day in ages and half the time you don’t even know that you own them. Chances are, you are holding on to items you neither need nor want. From ill-fitting clothes to damaged items, here’s what any stylist would remove from your wardrobe, every time.

Anything That Doesn’t Fit

We have all been there before. We see an attractive clothing item, but it is just one size too small. And instead of leaving it behind, we buy it in the hope that it will look perfect after we’ve lost the extra weight. Which, we convince ourselves, will only take a week or two.

News flash: in most cases, it never happens.

And another thing that tends never to happen is having ill-fitting items altered.

Bottom line: we all own pieces that do not fit and never will. These only take up valuable closet space and make us feel bad about our bodies.

Best to toss and replace.

Anything That Isn’t You

As well as holding on to things that don’t fit, you are likely to be in possession of pieces that just aren’t you. Perhaps you bought them because they were trendy. Or perhaps you saw the piece on someone else and loved the look of it. Or, you may even have lovingly worn it a few years ago.

These days, sadly, all of these items don’t do anything for you or for your style (except make you cringe inwardly every time you spot them in the wardrobe).

It’s time to say goodbye.

Anything Damaged, Stained or Worn

If something is ripped or stained, it may be possible to save it. Anything ripped you can take to your local tailor, and anything stained can be either washed or taken to the dry cleaners. The question is, will you? And is it really worth the time and the effort?

Perhaps, if the item had been valuable enough, you would already have done it…

Did you know what Feng Shui says about holding on to damaged items? According to this, everything you own is a reflection of yourself and, even more importantly, as long as you keep the damaged items, there is no room (neither figuratively nor physically in this case) for the new items to come to you.

Anything Outdated

Now, this is tricky. When is an item considered to be a desirable vintage and when is it outdated, old, and gross?

Without going into too much detail on what is or isn’t considered vintage, it is safe to say that most old clothing items never achieve this status.

There is also no point in waiting for the old items to become fashionable thanks to the cyclical nature of fashion. This is because whenever a trend does come back, it is not exactly the same as it was the first go-round. Patterns change, so do the color palettes and fabrics and these adjustments render the old clothing still outdated and useless.

Lastly, there are items dating back to the 1980s that were not even trendy then, and there is also no hope whatsoever that they will ever be in vogue. These are the sensible items: skirts, blouses, and jackets that scream, “Hey! I’m from the Reagan administration”.

You are not doing yourself any favors by holding on to and wearing the outdated items.

Anything Revealing … in an Icky Way

I am not talking about the usual suspects like the short skirts and navel-baring tops here. Albeit revealing, these are all fine if they don’t fall under other categories in this list.

What I’m referring to are the seemingly harmless items that look respectable and even appear to fit. Yet when you put them on, something rather unpleasant happens…

Picture the white pants or leggings that cling to the body and (sorry, I don’t know how else to put it) give you a camel toe. Or the low-rise jeans in which it is impossible to sit without showing the “builders bum”.

These wolves in sheep’s clothing are far from being flattering and have no place in a good wardrobe.

It’s OK to Let Go!

Your wardrobe should be inspiring and uplifting, not depressing and guilt-inducing. You may think that a cluttered closet is only a tiny item in the great scheme of things, but life is all about seemingly small details.

Go on. Toss the clothes you don’t want or need. It’s OK to let go. You will thank yourself later.