By Lorraine Russo

One of the first steps in taking control of your wardrobe is organizeingyour closet. This may sound painful to some people but it will alleviate the angst of opening your closet door in the morning and feeling overwhelmed. Many find closet organizing a difficult task. However, once it’s done you’ll feel better and know what clothes you have to build your wardrobe. Make it fun. If you have a friend with a sense of style you admire, invite them over. Have food and drinks on hand. You’ll be surprised how enjoyable this can be.

Most of us do not go through our closets on a regular basis and some of us don’t even do it at the beginning of each season. We all know the feeling of standing in front of an open closet door in the morning and thinking, “I have nothing to wear.” If you don’t eliminate the items you no longer wear, it looks as though you have more to choose from than you really do. There is nothing more distracting than a closet full of clothes that are never worn.

Your first step is to pull everything out and separate into two categories: what you wear and what you don’t wear. We’re going to focus on the items you’re not wearing first. Separate these items into the sub-categories below. You need to determine why you’re not wearing each piece.

• It doesn’t fit
• It looks outdated
• It’s not comfortable
• It doesn’t match anything

If it doesn’t fit, does it just need some alterations? Or, is it a size too small? If it needs alterations, get them done. If it’s too small, be honest about whether or not it’s ever going to fit. If you’ve been holding on to something for years in case you lose that extra weight, chances are it won’t look right when you do. Our bodies change and styles change. If it doesn’t fit and isn’t worth altering, give it away!

If it looks outdated, it probably is. You can try to pair the piece with something more current but if it still feels unstylish, give it away.

If it’s not comfortable, you’ll never wear it so it’s just taking up space. Give it away.

If it doesn’t match anything you have in your closet, set it aside for now.

Once you eliminate these items, you will have a better idea of what you’re working with.

As far as those clothes you set aside without mates, I always recommend taking them shopping with you. It is much easier to put an outfit together when you’ve got all the items with you.

Lorraine Russo is a professional fashion consultant and personal stylist with more than fifteen years’ experience working for major department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Rich’s, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom. Lorraine has given fashion and wardrobe seminars ranging from “Organizing Your Wardrobe” to “Making Your Image Work For You”. She is the founder and owner of Lorraine Claire Collections, a line of unique “little black dresses”.