Fashion notes: a wardrobe clear-out is as good as a change

There’s something wonderful about clearing out and starting again. When sorting through remnants from a previous life and deciding what to do with the new, the opportunities are endless.

The problem is, for many of us, having set up a temporary home many times in different countries, we’ve packed up and unpacked our possessions more than most – and have had to make do with a couple of suitcases of essentials and a mix of boxes stuffed to the brim with clothes, in no particular order or system, scattered across the world in various storage spaces gathering dust.

Because of this, we often end up with a rather confused wardrobe. It’s a constant aggravation, and one that I hear about all the time. Clothes that used to work in a different climate are now too heavy; dresses without the right sleeve or length lie dormant in a new, more-modest dress culture, leaving us squandering on frivolous, unnecessary fillers out of sheer necessity.

It doesn’t need to be this way. When it comes to maintaining an efficient wardrobe, you simply need to exercise a little willpower and to stick to a few important rules. First, pack away the clothes that you don’t need here on a regular basis. There’s no need to store any of our heavy winter clothes in our UAE wardrobe – instead, have them vacuum-packed professionally and keep them in labelled plastic flat storage boxes until they’re needed. Otherwise, they will only take up precious space and create unnecessary clutter.

Be ruthless in your line of questioning. Does it fit? Have you worn it more than once in the past few months? Is it practical? And, yes, that includes the pieces that don’t quite fit now, but might do later. Deciding what to wear while staring into an overstuffed wardrobe is stressful. Pull out anything that needs a bit of care and take it to a tailor. Buttons or zips that need replacing or hems that need fixing will give a new lease of life to something that has previously been ignored. You’ll be surprised how many more options you have.

Throw away any cheap metal hangers and invest in some good-quality wooden ones – they will keep your clothes in better condition and shape. Garment bags will also help protect any delicate pieces, such as chiffon or netting, from dust, damp and the risk of damage.

You need to find out what suits your current shape, not what used to or is on trend. There shouldn’t be anything in your wardrobe that is in any way uncomfortable. It’s not that there is a lack of alternatives – there are plenty. It’s just plain old habit to hold onto the things that we once loved that no longer fit or suit us.

There’s no such thing in fashion as a “classic”. Time makes that an impossibility. The fine print will always change, even if the basic structure will not – so don’t be sucked into the persistent prattle of the season’s trends that marketing encourages us to spend on.

That’s not to say signature pieces are to be ignored – it’s a good time to stock up on the basics: T-shirts, good-quality undergarments and a well-fitting pair of trousers and jacket. Buy smart investment pieces instead – those that won’t go out of trend quickly. Leather is always a good buy and will last many seasons, as is linen or cashmere, in that they provide an opportunity to upgrade in quality.

Having too much baggage, so to speak, only ever complicates things – stunting our ability to move forward. Which, in turn, can be detrimental to our personal development. That’s a crying shame, when all it takes is a little groundwork to clear some much-needed space for the new.