Organizing Your Feminine Wardrobe And Closet

by Denae Doyle

Have you ever found yourself standing in front of your closet just staring at your clothes thinking how easy it was to dress in men’s clothing?  Many working TS women are not prepared for the amount of time and energy needed to dress for their job or career in their new feminine life.  Getting your closet organized is the first job to tackle before beginning your first day at work. How many times do you see hanging before you a few items you love next to many that -

Look out-of-date?

Need mending?

Don't coordinate with anything?

Don't fit your lifestyle?

Make you look fat?

If you feel like you have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear, you're not alone. The garments hanging in your closet represent an investment of several thousand dollars. But studies have shown that only twenty-percent of an individual's wardrobe is purchased wisely; eighty- to ninety-percent of a closet represents a waste of money for most women (for TG women it has to be even higher).

A closet audit is only one piece of the wardrobe puzzle for the new TG buyer. Coloring, body type, personal style and lifestyle must also be taken into consideration. This is extremely difficult for the new full time TG woman to learn – with different accessories, colors, fabrics, and various styles.

I have seen new TG women, over buy while others simply give up. It is different when one “gets to dress” verses when one “has to dress”. Certainly the chore women dislike most is cleaning out their clothes. Wardrobes should be assessed, thinned out and reorganized twice a year. Here are the steps to accomplish this dreaded task.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Set aside several hours for your wardrobe assessment. Make sure you have adequate lighting in the room; bring in additional lamps, and a fan. You will also need a full-length door mirror that is light weight (from Target).  You'll be trying on all of your clothes, so wear suitable undergarments and don’t wear makeup. Or, purchase a wardrobe hood, to put over your head/hair to protect your clothing from makeup stains.

STEP 1

Empty everything out of your closet and drawers. (Plan for several free hours)  Stack all of your clothing and accessories around the room in piles according to the type of garment: jackets, skirts, pants, ties, sweaters, scarves, etc.

STEP 2

Move from pile to pile and try everything on, even the items you love and wear regularly. Take a long look in a full-length mirror at each item on your body. Honestly assess:

Color - does it flatter your coloring?

Style - does it enhance your assets and camouflage your challenges?

Lifestyle - is it appropriate for some aspect of your new life?

Style Expression - does the design, silhouette, fabric and pattern appeal to you?

As you try on the clothes you wear regularly, determine what it is you love about them. Is it the color? The style? Make a note of what makes this garment work so well for you. Your goal is to duplicate those features in all of your clothes. You should feel attractive and comfortable in everything you put on your body. Don't settle for anything less than feeling terrific! If the item doesn't work for you anymore, get rid of it! It is important to keep the fun, sexy clothing for going out at night. You must dress, like other women now. You do not want to bring attention to yourself in tight, overly sexy clothing during the day or at the office.

TIP: If you have an emotional or sentimental attachment to garments you should get rid of, box them up but don't give them away just yet. Store the box under a bed or in the garage for a while. In six months, you won't be able to recall what's inside the box. You'll then be psychologically ready to part with the items.

STEP 3

After trying on each item, place it in one of four new piles. Things you love, wear regularly, feel comfortable in. Older clothing that just needs a little "pizzazz." Items to be given or thrown away. Mending (and get it done!). I take my clothing to the dry cleaners for all mending.

STEP 4

As you try on your clothes, start a shopping list of what you need to purchase. And take a good look at the items you're getting rid of. Does this collection shed any light on your shopping patterns? Does it contain too many impulse items or similar types of garments? For instance, do you buy more white blouses than you need? Do you have a stack of skirts that don't coordinate with any of your blouses? Or, do all your skirts look identical? Is everything black, or solid, or always a print?

STEP 5

Try new combinations of clothing pieces: tops with skirts, jackets with pants, etc. Don't rule anything out until you try it. You may discover many new ensembles you never knew you had. Be sure to include accessories as you experiment. Belt everything. I love caps, oblong scarves, winter gloves in colors, and jewelry in accent colors.

STEP 6

Put everything back into your closet and drawers. Hang similar items together - blouses together, pants together, jackets together, etc. Unlike men, women have the luxury of breaking their suits up and wearing each piece as a separate. So I suggest you hang suit skirts with their other skirts and suit jackets with other jackets and blazers. By hanging them up as separates, you will start to see them as independent pieces and new clothing combinations will be easier to spot.

TIP: Use quality hangers in your closet. Hang jackets on shaped wooden hangers. Use clip hangers to hang pants straight, don't fold pants in half over a hanger. Throw out all the hangers from the dry cleaners. You can purchase a box of 30 plastic hangers from Wal-Mart or Target for a few dollars. I also look for old, large, deep chest of drawers to put in all my closets. This is a great way to store near by folded items.

If your closet door opens IN, take the door off and hang a pretty fabric (made for long windows or patio doors) and mount on a window rod. This opens up the valuable space, the closet door steals. I hang old photos, letters, cards, that mean something to me and that I would not normally hang in a room. And, I have a radio CD player and a clock close by. Keep an eye on your clock when getting dressed. Lie out or think about what you are going to wear, the night before.

The hardware store has inexpensive white double shelves you can stack on top of your upper closet shelf, so you have a double or triple shelf across the top on all sides for shoes. Go up.  Keep your floor space open. A “Lingerie Chest” is a must!

TIP: When you take off your wool suits at the end of the day, let them hang out overnight before placing back in your closet. This step will help them shed wrinkles, moisture, and odors and regain their shape. If you have been to a club—hang your clothing on a hanger on the patio. The wind and sunlight will take the odor out of clothing and wigs. Get in the habit of never throwing your clothing on the floor. Show respect for your new gender by lovingly hanging and folding your clothing, when you come home from work. Have a place for things to take to the laundry.

STEP 7

The last step is to prioritize your shopping list into your "List of Five". Choose the top five items you need most, write them down and keep the "List" with you at all times. When you shop, look only for those five items. If you see something else you like, don't buy it; just add it to the main list. The "List of Five" will keep you focused when shopping and away from impulse purchases. As you buy something on the "List of Five", move an item up from the main list to take its place. The impulse item you fell in love with at the store may eventually make it to your "List of Five". If it doesn't, you didn't need it in the first place!

Following these simple steps will help you pare down your wardrobe to the pieces that really work for you. Don't fret if your closet suddenly looks a bit empty. Think quality, not quantity. Use your prioritized "List of Five" to gradually add more pieces. It took me two years of pruning to do it, but I now have a closet full of clothes I love. The colors and styles are flattering, each piece coordinates with two or three others and I can get dressed in twenty minutes for any occasion.

For your expensive items, that you desperately want, don’t settle and buy something you don’t like because it is less expensive. Instead, make a one year and a three year buying plan. Purchase your expensive items only when that item is on sale. Learn what months all retail stores put items on sale. (For example all leather coats and purses are 50% off in Jan when the stores are selling off their winter items). By patiently saving for your expensive purchases during a sale month, eventually you will have those all-important “quality” items. Examples would be your quality leather hand bag in dark and light shades, suede or leather coats, a great leather wallet, leather shoes, boots and gloves, a quality watch, quality gold and silver necklace chains and bracelet chains, a gem stone ring, an evening gown, a good human hair wig or partial custom made for your face shape, or a quality pair of stylist eye wear for the office.  For over a year, I have patiently planned for a pair of Prada glasses and I recently found them at a special sales event.  Wow, it was worth the wait and because I knew exactly what color, style and shape I wanted, they will look fabulous with all my wardrobe and makeup colors.

Conduct your wardrobe audits twice a year and, before you know it, your closet will be your favorite room in the house!

And, please donate them to a women’s organization