8 steps to curating a wardrobe you love. Top tips from stylist Monika Mueller.
Covid, lockdowns and many of us mainly working from home has immensely changed the way we dress and show up every day. However, we can and should get up every day, get out of our pyjamas and choose to show up, as if we weren’t staying home all day. In addition, it has a massive impact on our mental wellbeing if we choose to dress with joyful pieces of clothing from a curated, well organised wardrobe, and act as if every day is a fantastic opportunity to shine (which it is)!
Top tips for an organised, joyful and curated closet
If you’ve followed my blog posts and KonMari tips over the past year your wardrobe must be decluttered and perfectly organised by now! And if it’s not, don’t worry, here are some simple tips to bring joy and more order to it!
- RUTHLESSLY EDIT
I hate to tell you this, but your wardrobe will never be perfect, ever. We are all human, and we will continue to make mistakes and shopping errors and our bodies will change. And that’s OK! Just make sure to continuously declutter and edit what you own. The perfect timing is always right before a season change. - LET GO OF EVERYTHING THAT DOESN’T FIT
It’s finally time to let go of those unfitting items that are at the back of the closet waiting for a different body shape. The truth is, you will feel so much better when all you have in your closet sparks joy, has a perfect fit and is comfortable to wear! - DONATE, SELL AND GIVE AWAY ITEMS OFTEN
It will make you feel so good to give things away to a new home, where they can be reused and appreciated. - USE MATCHING HANGERS
This tip will make your closet smile back at you every time you open it. My favourites are the thin velvet ones, which keep slippery items in place, as well as look gorgeous and tidy. - FILE FOLD
Folding makes such a big difference when it comes to smaller items. Try file folding at least with your jeans, sweaters, t-shirts and underwear. You will notice how much calmer your drawers/shelves will look and you will easily be able to see all your favourites at a glance! And you don’t need to go out and buy specific boxes or containers for your folded items. Use what you’ve got in your home (shoe boxes are great!) or let the items stand alone on a shelf, supported by other clothing items. - ADD A LITTLE SOMETHING YOU LOVE
Whether it’s a picture of a loved one, a drawing your child gave you or your wedding shoes – display them so that you get a smile on your lips every time you open your closet.
Opening up your closet should be like arriving at a really good party where everyone you see is someone you like.
AMY FINE COLLINS
8 Top stylist tips from Monika Mueller on how to refresh your wardrobe
I teamed up with the lovely Monika Mueller, founder of Signature Five, a personal stylist service in Zurich and asked her all about how we can style our current wardrobe with a little more happiness and sparkle in these challenging times. Enjoy her tips!
Tip 1: How do I know which colours suit me best?
MM: I’m sure you’ve experienced walking into a store, loving a certain colour and when you try it on it either makes your skin glow and radiate or it does the opposite, makes your skin look dull and causes shadows. Colour reflects differently on different skin tones and characteristics. Having been trained by Colour Me Beautiful for every skin tone there is a spectrum of colours that work best. What I mean by that is colours that create balance and harmony and compliment your skin tone.
So, for example, if you have a warm skin tone, colours that would work best for you are shades which have a yellow base. If you have a cooler skin tone, colours with a blue base would work better for you.
Tip 2: What is the best way to determine my own unique style?
MM: I always like to think how do you want to turn up in the world? How do you envision yourself? That is the starting point. Because our style should encapsulate the best version of ourselves and tell everyone what we’re about.
We all have a certain style we gravitate towards, even if people say they don’t have style, they do but maybe it’s not the style they would like. As there is so much choice now a days and also lots of information on what we should be wearing, we can get lost in having a style that truly represents US.
With my clients, I do a style personality test which identifies what overall style appeals to them. And another important aspect I look at is my client’s lifestyle.
If for example you love Meghan Markle and Victoria Beckham’s style but you are a stay-at-home mom with little kids, this look wouldn’t fit into your daily life but you can take inspiration from this. You probably want to feel more put together, have clothes that are flattering and good quality and look chic during the day. So, I would incorporate elements of this to make you feel good but also have clothes that are practical for your lifestyle. As mentioned before I also look at what are my clients overall goals and I make sure their outer appearance represents this.
Tip 3: How would you advise people working from home to dress in both a comfy way but also appropriate for online meetings?
MM: Well, I have two free handy guides; one giving suggestions on what to wear for video conferencing and the other one is Work From Home outfit formulas. I also share tips on setting the stage for your video conferencing as you always want to make sure you are giving off a professional image even if you are working from home.
Tip 4: I have a closet full of clothes but nothing inspires me. Is there a way to combine the items differently or should I just discard what doesn’t speak to me?
MM: If your closet is full and you’re not utilizing more than 80% of it then I would definitely do a wardrobe detox and get rid of any clothes that aren’t serving you. However, prior to doing that, think of it as a project. When you have a project, you start with a plan and what you want the end result to be. The same thing applies to your style. Think about what kind of style do you want? How do you want your mornings to be when getting ready? And how do you want to turn up?
The second step, get your style juices going. Getting some inspiration of style and clothes helps with ultimately seeing what type of garments we want to see hanging in our wardrobe. I’m a big fan of Pinterest.
I would also experiment with your clothes. We tend to wear our clothes the same way, again you can use Pinterest for outfit inspiration. Try combining your clothes differently and play around with accessories. Just adding a belt can make the world of difference.
Tip 5: How can I make smarter and more mindful choices when shopping?
MM: Buy with purpose and intention. Basically, before you hit the shops think about what you need. I always recommend keeping a list in your wallet of items you would like. So next time you hit the shops, you just whip out the list stopping you from making any impulse purchases.
Another handy tip when buying something ask yourself ‘can I style this two different ways with items in my wardrobe?’ If the answer is no, then the chances of you getting the most wears out of this item is slim.
And for staple pieces or pieces that you know will live in your wardrobe for a while I would say buy the best quality you can afford. To be mindful and to shop smarter always think less is more, and quality over quantity.
Tip 6: Would you recommend having a capsule wardrobe, i.e. having a few selected items that all work together?
MM: For many when using the word ‘capsule’ they automatically think omg this means I can only have a few clothes in my wardrobe on rotation.
For me what’s important is that you utilize your wardrobe to the fullest. You could have lots of clothes or you could just have a few clothes, but what’s important is that you get the most wear out of your clothes and have a wardrobe that you can easily mix and match. I recommend having a functional cohesive wardrobe whatever the size. When you have this, getting ready every morning becomes easy & effortless.
Tip 7: How can I spice up my current wardrobe with little investment?
MM: Accessories – just adding accessories can make the world of difference and also add versatility into your wardrobe. Another thing that can spice up your wardrobe but depending on your style personality and lifestyle is a statement blazer or jacket. Just having a well-fitted blazer or a beautiful jacket can instantly up-level your style. Also having variation in shoes can dress up and dress down any outfit.
Tip 8: If I want to get myself a new spring wardrobe – how shall I choose what staple items to buy?
MM: I would firstly look at what you already have in your wardrobe and what you feel is missing. I would also look for inspiration, again Pinterest is great for this. Even magazines or influencers etc.
I personally don’t like to give a generic list of staple pieces, because it should be dependent on your style personality, and lifestyle, and clothes that flatter your body. By getting some inspiration and seeing what you would get the most wear out of, these are the items I would say buy.
Try not to go for what’s on-trend unless it’s something that you really like and know you can pull it off. Otherwise, I would invest in pieces that you know you will wear for many springs.
This article was first published on the expat blog My Swiss Story, where I am part of the expert editorial panel as the Home Expert. Would you like to contribute as a guest writer? Please contact me.
1. Where do you currently stand? 
By now you should have chosen all your favourites to keep. If you haven’t tried file folding yet, this is your moment to try. Not necessarily with materials that love to be hung, like thinner blouses, shirts and some nice dresses or business suits, but with most other things. Depending on your wardrobe structure, fold what can be folded and hang the rest. If you have lots of drawers, they are simply made for neat folding. The ultimate goal is to see everything you have with one glance. It saves you a lot of time and energy in the morning when you have a full overview and you’re able to choose only from belongings you simply love.
My first and most important tip for working with kids is to create a large enough memory box for each child. This box is only for very special emotional belongings, milestones and memories from their childhood. Examples of items to keep in this box could be a completed baby book, the first shoes, a special occasion dress, their birth certificate, special photos and artwork, a special soft toy etc. You’re the designer and creator of this box.
Dear Desktop, you’re not a dump for random files. Simplicity is key – your desktop should make you smile, not cry! First, choose a wallpaper that inspires you! Keep your desktop visually tidy, and make it a useful place for your job: decide which items should be kept there, for example pending items, frequently used apps or inspirational documents or pictures. Once the pending items are done, delete them and enjoy the empty and calm space, inviting new creativity.
We send and receive way too many emails. Emails are necessary to a certain extent but many of them are usually containing a message growing your to-do list hence creating more stress. Like with the digital documents, firstly decide on the criteria for which emails need to be kept. If you need only an attachment from an email, save it to the appropriate document folder and delete the email. Then the easiest way to get rid of emails is to group or sort them by sender. This way you get a good overview of who’s mainly taking up space in your inbox and you may also delete multiple emails from a particular sender at once or move all messages from a certain sender to a dedicated folder. Once the emails are done you may tackle the existing folders. Again, keep the amount of folders to a minimum (ideally max 10) and use the search function within a folder when looking for a certain message. You might want to consider blocks of email time each day, for example morning and end of day, to allow for full focus on more important tasks in between.
We all know how addictive and distracting smart phones can be. They’re designed to increase productivity (and get us hooked!) but if we get too attached it has the opposite effect. The usage and amount of apps might easily get out of hand unless you have a strict self discipline. The fewer apps the fewer distractions you naturally have. Let’s start by cleaning up all your apps and delete all that you don’t even know what they’re for anymore. Again, make sure you align the criteria for apps to keep with your ideal work style vision. This way you’ll make space for those important apps that are needed in your profession and truly spark joy for you! Now it’s time to organise your screen. Divide your apps into simple categories and make separate folders for these categories so you can have a clear overview of your essential apps. Some people like grouping their apps by function, some even by colour, I suggest you always choose the way that works best for you!
