I Don't Have a Thing to Wear: The Psychology of Your Closet, part 5

Excerpt from I Don't Have a Thing to Wear: The Psychology of Your Closet, by Judie Taggert and Jackie Walker

Create a Clothes Diary

What happens after you've created the Circle of Your Life and compared it to your closet? Well, it would be nice to think that changes in shopping and wearing patterns happen overnight, but in most cases this simply isn't realistic. As we have seen, the motivations for buying and wearing what we do can run deep, and it is going to take some effort to establish new and improved wardrobes in keeping with who we are. Chances are that even when you've had your closet epiphany, you'll still be tempted by impulse purchases, Someday Clothes, clone dressing, and other old habits. This is why we recommend that women follow up their Circle of Your Life with a clothes diary. After keeping this diary for three to six months and shopping for clothes within this period, you will be able to clearly see shopping patterns and needs, and can make adjustments accordingly.

Start keeping a diary of everything you buy to wear. You can keep it with you at all times by adding a notepad or index cards to your pocket calendar. If you use a notebook-style date book such as a Day-Timer or Filofax, add blank sheets in a designated Clothes Diary section in the back.

First write down the month, and then list any items purchased, the date of purchase, and their approximate cost. You want to describe each item sufficiently so you will know what it is when you look at the description six months or a year later. Bonnie, a black-belt bargain shopper, finds it helpful to write the store name beside the purchase and whether the item was regular price, on sale, or a super bargain.

After you have been keeping your diary for about six months, get three colored Magic Markers. We use pink, green, and blue. Use pink marker to highlight purchases that have become favorites -- things you wear and love. Use green to highlight clothes that have now become dependables -- "best friend" clothes that help form the backbone of your wardrobe. Then use blue for mistakes -- things you never or rarely wear.

You will be surprised how revealing this exercise is! Many of our clients confess that their emotional purchases are costly, and that most super bargains prove instead to be super mistakes. You may also be startled to see which purchases have become your best friend basics.

Linda, a college psychologist and mother of two teenagers who lives in Chicago, must shop carefully and watch her budget. Her diary looks like this:

Throughout the three-month period that Linda kept her diary, she found herself still frustrated with her closet and her shopping. Despite keeping a record of her purchases, she still never seemed to have a thing to wear on a daily or weekly basis. Yet Linda thought she did a good job of shopping and planning ahead. Note the Christmas party purchase of a red silk jacket in September, and her November purchases in anticipation of an island vacation in January. What did Linda discover when she began analyzing her list and highlighting her favorites, dependables, and mistakes?

First, Linda was amazed to realize that her cranberry wool dress had become a real dependable, one she reached for week after week. When she originally bought the dress, she had assumed its vivid color would make it an occasional wear only. But in examining her preferences, Linda realized that the dress's simple lines, body-skimming fit, and cozy wool (for Chicago winters) made it wonderfully versatile. She immediately began shopping for a similar dress in another color or print. Linda also learned that her plan-ahead purchases were expensive and had short lives. In Chicago, a red silk jacket is not something you wear to work in winter or summer, so her idea of making an appropriate purchase for the holidays backfired. The resort outfit was marvelous and glamorous for her week in St. Thomas, but it was impossible to fit into her social life in Illinois. Only Linda can decide if the cost of this outfit was worth it.

Your Plan

After the Circle of Your Life reveals what you are missing, make a list to help you shop right now. Then begin your clothes diary as a good follow-up to give you insight into what clothes are basics for you and what styles and colors you love to wear. Those "mistake marks" will help you realize what leads you to waste your money: often so-called bargains, impulse buys, or pushy sales clerks or friends who talk you into wearing something that is their taste.

We have added a sample clothes diary page you may photocopy or use as a format in the back of your daily appointment book. Keep your diary near your wallet, so you'll always have it handy when shopping. (We'll learn lots more about shopping strategies in chapter 9.)

Once you are well on your way, you will want to redraw the Circle of Your Life every year or two. This way you can track how your activities change, your career grows, and your personal life goes through transitions. The Circle is an immediate check on why your wardrobe isn't keeping pace with the path you have taken in your life.

The Circle of Your Life is the foundation of our plan to help you gain insight and understanding into the psychology of your closet. It's the first step toward rethinking your closet, your clothes, and your life. In the following chapters, we'll provide you with the know-how to change the way you choose and organize what you wear and, more important, the way you feel about yourself!


Excerpt from I Don't Have a Thing to Wear: The Psychology of Your Closet, by Judie Taggert and Jackie Walker