Posted on Feb 10, 2022

Image credit: HBO

And, just like that, 2021 comes to a close—another lap around the sun completed, and what a lap it was. Time to hit refresh and get ready for what will hopefully be a better year than the last two. One of the areas of preparation that you either love to do or cannot bear to tackle, but must be done regardless as the New Year ticks over, is give your wardrobe a good old fashion makeover.

Whether you love the feeling the culling your out-of-favour clothes, or you cannot bear the sentimental cord-cutting, we are here to help you make it an easy process that will set you up for a divine fashion year.

To help you through this process and to make it as sustainable a process as possible, we’ve broken it down into three simple steps. And, with some help from the experts at Vestiare Collective, we’re going to give you the low down on how to make some money while you’re at it.

Read on for Vogue’s guide to cleaning out your closet in 2022.

Take stock

The first step to any successful wardrobe overhaul is to take a little inventory. Take all your clothes out of your wardrobe to do this. In doing so you’ll find lost items that you love, and clothes that you have never worn, and will never wear again. Once everything is out, you can strategise your plan of attack.

First, you need to figure out what you have enough of, and what you don’t. You may have plenty of ‘perfect shirts’ and only one skirt that you actually wear regularly. Taking stock will help you find the balances and imbalances in your wardrobe.

You also need to determine how much you want to clear out. If you shop a lot, then you’ll need to clear out at least 25% of your clothes, but if you don’t shop too often, then it’s more about finding a new home for items you just don’t wear anymore.

Now, you’re ready to start making some decisions.

Be critical

This is the tricky part, especially for anyone who has strong feelings about their clothes (trust us, we understand). To make things easier, we have a few key tips. First, you need to stick to your plan. As we mentioned, regardless how many boxes a certain item ticks, if you don't wear it, you shouldn't keep it. Pick your favourite and add the rest to the disposal piles (one for charity and one for reselling).

When it gets down to the really difficult decisions, it’s important to find the difference between ‘I love wearing this’ and ‘I love looking at this’. The same goes for price. Just because you think it’s a good item or you spent a month's rent on it, it doesn’t mean that you will necessarily love wearing it. Lastly, try to remember to look forward, not backwards. Culling your wardrobe is sentimental, but if you ask ‘would I wear this to my next evening out?’ rather than thinking ‘I remember wearing this on our first date’, you’ll find it easier to let go of the things that you no longer use.

On a practical note, here is where you need to sort your items into four piles: keeping, donating, throwing away and reselling. Speaking of…

Make some money

These days, thanks to the internet and a number of companies dedicated to resale, a wardrobe cleanout can actually give you a much-needed influx of cash after the expensive party season.

This step can be daunting, but once you get the hang of it, it’s actually very quick and easy to take some photos of perfectly good clothes, put them online, and do a big, satisfying post office run when it’s all sold.

First, you need to determine where your pieces will sell. Something like a vintage sweater that you’ve grown tired of might find a home on Depop, while a never-worn dress that doesn’t quite fit is more suited for Vestiare Collective.

The next step is actually creating enticing listings for each people, for which we enlisted the help of Christie Lee from Vestiare Collective for some tips on reselling your clothes.

Here are Lee’s top tips:

Take at least four pictures of your item.
Natural lighting is always a good idea.
Use a plain background to make your item stand out.
We like an all-rounder, take pictures from different angles to give a 360º view of your item.
Zoom into details such as zippers, handles and buttons.
It's okay not to be perfect! Take pictures of parts with defects or scratches, it’s better to let your buyer take notes on that as soon as possible to avoid disputes at later stages.
Stay true! Choose the condition that best describes the state of your item.

Now, when it comes to the items that you can’t sell, it’s important that you dispose of them correctly. There are a number of great services in Australia that will take your unwanted clothes and either recycle them, donate them correctly or dispose of them correctly. Clothing Cleanup from Sydney is a great example.

Before you get to it, here are some quick, practical tips:

Enlist some help! It’s much easier to be held accountable with a friend or partner calling you out on your irrational ‘it will come back into style’ excuses.
Get rid of old shoes easily. Unless they are still you, and you can refurbish them easily, it's time to find them a new home. Especially if you bought them with the hope you would ‘one day wear them’, as if that day hasn’t arrived, it’s sadly not going to.
If you’re on the fence, and it’s not a unique piece (i.e. you could replace it pretty easily), get rid of it. If you really miss that black top, you can find a replacement.
Never wear it, but can’t part with it because of sentiment? Give it away to a friend and knowing that it went to a good home will ease the guilt.

Original article: https://www.vogue.com.au/fashion/news/image-gallery/bc83c1b4e0d55628ebce87dd6160783e