Wardrobe DIY Guides

Posted on by Toni Carver

How many times do you keep opening your wardrobe doors feeling like you have nothing to wear?

Not everyone feels comfortable inviting a stranger into their homes to help them declutter and organise their wardrobe. Women especially, have an emotional attachment to their clothes. Especially where their is weight loss and weight gain concerned. (Which I’ve talked about before here)

If you’re a do-it-yourself kind of person, then how about some expert guidance to help you tackle the bulging wardrobe instead?

You’ll find a number of guides here on my website aimed at helping you create a wardrobe that works for you, plus others.

I’ve created them based upon my expertise as an award-winning colour and style consultant after years of working with clients.

Wardrobe charts

These are simple charts, designed to help you identify what you have in your wardrobe and what gaps you have.

I encourage my clients to assess how they spend their time, because when you have clothes which you feel work for these scenarios, you’ll feel more at ease with what to wear.

Some clients need to visually see and think about what they do, which is where these charts help.

Next, it’s about assessing which categories the clothes you have fit how you spend your time. This helps you see that you have gaps to fill, or that you’re over-subscribed in an area (and therefore, don’t need to buy any more clothes!)

The Wardrobe charts are free to download here.

Declutter Guide

My ‘How to spring clean your wardrobe in five easy steps’ was one of the first guides I created. Inspired by the simple fact that sometimes, you just need a little guidance to follow.

In this guide, I’m sharing the five simple steps I use with clients on their wardrobes so that you can review and declutter your own wardrobe with ease.

Instead, learn how to build a wardrobe of clothes that you DO wear with these simple tips.

Download this guide for free here.

Capsule Wardrobe Workbook

Capsule Wardrobe WorkbookEveryone needs a Breton top, camel trench coat, wide leg trousers and a white shirt right? WRONG!

Unlike the magazine articles you read, a capsule wardrobe isn’t the same for everyone. At least, that’s what I believe! It’s a limited collection of clothes which suit you to help you create more outfits from less items. (They suit your colouring, your shape, your lifestyle, your proportions and your style!)

So, if you’ve been lusting after a capsule wardrobe but get stuck because you don’t know where to start or how to create one – this workbook is for you.

Simply follow the stages I’ve laid out. Design the wardrobe that works for you!

This is a digital workbook which costs £15 which you can work through on your own. Get it here.

Holiday Capsule Wardrobe Workbook

Knowing what to pack and why you need to leave those ‘just-in’case’ pieces behind when you go on holiday is all in the planning.

It isn’t a list of items you need to pack (as that’s the sort of thing you can get online -you don’t need a colour and style expert for that!).

But, it will help you pack successfully for your next and future trips.

So, if you frequently overpack or get stuck because you don’t know where to start, this workbook will help you create your own travel capsule wardrobe!

This is a digital workbook which costs £10 which you can work through on your own. Get it here.

Capsule Wardrobe Masterclass

This is a suite of material I’ve designed to support and guide you through the stages involved in creating a capsule wardrobe.

It includes:
– A 44 minute pre-recorded video to guide you as I talk you through each stage involved.
– A 32 page Capsule Wardrobe Workbook (mentioned above) to complete which includes tasks and checklists to support and guide you through the process involved. You can download, print or save this and work through it alongside the video or on it’s own.
– A Bonus 18 page Holiday Capsule Wardrobe (mentioned above) digital Workbook to complete with tasks and checklists to guide you on packing successfully for your next and future trips.
– A series of prompts and tips to help keep you on track so you don’t give up on your dream. These will be delivered via email which you can save and revisit whenever you need.

This is an ‘on-demand’ masterclass, which means you can work through it at your own pace as it’s yours to keep.

It means you can pick it up, stop and start as many times as you like. The video is yours to watch and listen to it as frequently as you prefer and there’s no timescale on completing the masterclass or the workbooks. Get yours here.

All wardrobe guides are available for you to do-it-yourself, with my expert guidance. But, if a more hands-on approach is needed, do get in touch!

What does your wardrobe say about you

What does your wardrobe say about you?

Posted on by Toni Carver

Do you feel like the contents in your wardrobe don’t actually resemble how you currently spend your life now?

Feeling like your wardrobe is filled with clothes from a life in the past? Pre-covid, you wore proper shoes, dresses or tailoring. Now; your world and life doesn’t require you to dress the same way you once did. Plus, if it does, it’s perhaps once a week or even once a month.

Dress for the life you have now, not the one you had before.

My new motto feels so relevant right now based upon a number of conversations I’ve been having.

If you’ve got to rifle through clothes you’re not wearing, frankly it adds time to your day. It makes it hard work and a little demoralising too.

It reminded me of this article from the Daily Mail a few years ago reporting that women spend 17 minutes every day deciding what to wear and your past wardrobe won’t help.

Time to change things around and take some control. Let me share my own example.

Old ways of dressing

I used to work in the corporate world and had plenty of tailored suits and dresses which I loved. When I stopped working in that industry, these tailored suits didn’t feel appropriate anymore. I felt too formally dressed to meet clients for colour and style. Over time, I gradually got rid of them. The occasional dress I kept which I felt worked for speaking events and corporate clients. But the rest; I sold on eBay!

Clothes audit

If this all sounds rather familiar then it’s time to review what you’ve got and how you spend your time. I’ve made it easy to do this using my free wardrobe charts which you can download here.

Take a look at your clothes and ask yourself if you’re really likely to wear them again. Target the ones you’re not wearing or you used to wear all the time, but not lately. If you’re not, remove them and store them away for a few months to see if you miss them.

Should you find yourself longing for certain pieces, then perhaps it’s not the time to let these specific ones go.

But, if you find that they don’t fit, flatter or suit you anymore (think colour, style and shape) and they don’t work for how you spend your time now, then maybe it’s time to pass them on to someone who can enjoy them. Give them to a charity shop or a friend. Put them on eBay or vinted if they’re still in good condition. If they’re high end, consider the rental marketplace to lend them to others.

Can’t let them go?

The challenge in keeping items ‘just in case’ is that they take up space even when they aren’t being worn. Plus, how long do you hold onto them for? If you buy new things, you’re just expanding your wardrobe further and making it harder to get dressed wasting more time looking for what to wear!

That’s why the charts will help. You can assess what you have and how you spend your time. You can probably do it over a brew too as they don’t take long.

Mind the gap!

In my experience, when you skip this step, you’ll tend to have gaps in your wardrobe that you don’t seem to fill because you’ve not identified the garments you need. You’ll buy more of the same things you already have (probably what you’re not wearing) and continue to feel that you have nothing to wear.

Of course, you do have clothes to wear, but you’re just not feeling they’re appropriate for how you’re spending your time. That’s where the charts come in!

Use them to identify the garments that don’t work for your life right now that you can store away. (Use a suitcase, vacuum packed bag or spare drawer if you have one).

For the items you have left – are they really working? Are you actually wearing them? If you’re not then ask why not? Are they the right colour for you? Work for your style personality (it may have changed if your life has changed)? Do they fit and flatter your shape and proportions?

When you’ve done the charts and the assessment, hopefully you’ve been able to identify some immediate gaps you have. Write these items down or put them in your phone notes so that you can look for them on your next shopping trip. Try and be as specific as possible. So if it’s a jacket, ideally what colour(s) would you want? Is it long or short? Buttoned or zipped? Being specific will help you focus on getting something that you need rather than wandering aimlessly around.

Give it a go – it’ll help you get your wardrobe to be more YOU!

Should you feel you need more help with any aspect, don’t be afraid to get in touch for some professional help. I’ll be happy to help you with your colour, style, shape and overall image!

toni.carver@tlcstyleandcolour.co.uk

Wardrobe charts

What to do when your wardrobe doesn’t work for you

Posted on by Toni Carver

How many times have you opened your wardrobe doors and felt uninspired by what’s staring back at you?

Despite having clothes to wear, you still feel like you have nothing appropriate to wear for the occasion you’re dressing for.

This is something I find time and time again with clients. It could be that your lifestyle has changed and let’s be honest; lockdown has had that effect for many of us!

If the contents of your wardrobe no longer match your lifestyle or how you spend your time, then you’ll constantly feel like you’ve got nothing to wear.

The solution isn’t to get rid of all your clothes and start again (and nor would I advise to!). Instead, it’s worth looking at how you spend your time and what clothes you can wear which you own.

These charts have been created to help you do just that. First, map out how you spend your time. Things like walking the dog, working (from home or out), looking after kids or parents, exercising and so on. Next, review your clothes and if they fit in with your lifestyle.

You see, when your charts don’t match in equal proportion, you’ll need to focus on adjusting the balance. Seeing this will probably confirm why you feel the way you do.  And, you’ll be able to identify where the gaps are in your wardrobe. If you don’t adjust the balance then you’ll constantly feel like you have nothing to wear.

If the clothes you own do match how you spend your time, then congratulations: you have the right balance!

You can open and download the wardrobe charts below and if you need professional help, reach out and get in touch.

Download your wardrobe charts here

These charts will help you achieve the right balance in your wardrobe so you can stop feeling like you’ve got nothing to wear!

Wardrobe charts