The Closet Edit Guide
I definitely do not take it lightly being invited into your home, especially such an intimate space like your closet. For me, it is all about building relationships with my clients, helping them achieve their goals, and trusting the process.
After doing this for a few months now some of you still may be wondering what all is involved in a closet edit! So, I wanted to take some time to break down, step-by-step, what all you would get out of this service.
1. The Questionnaire - before meeting with you I always like to get to know your needs and goals! My favorite question on the form asks you to rank in priority the following: purging, organizing, needs list, and outfit styling. Knowing this ahead of time, really helps me utilize our time together so that you get the most of what you need from me during the edit.
A lot of clients ask me before we meet what all they can do to prepare for our appointment. And the truth is, besides filling out the questionnaire that I sent you prior, is that I do not need you to do a thing. That is the whole reason you are hiring me, is to work and get your closet into the shape it needs to be in, so no need to over work yourself before the real work begins:)
2. Closet Edit - today is the day of your edit! Before we dive into your closet, if I don’t know you already then I ask a lot of questions as you are showing me around your closet so that I can learn a little more about you and what your daily lifestyle looks like. This helps me know what kind of outfits you need and holes to be looking for. And at this point I will probably have turned on some music:) And just so you know, an average closet edit typically takes anywhere from 2-3 hours.
Side Note: do NOT apologize! It is funny how many times that my clients apologize for how their closet looks, clothes they own, etc. But y’all, you do not need to apologize to this! Back to my point, you are hiring me to see it all so I promise there will be no judgement here:)
3. Purging/Organizing - this step really goes back to what your true needs are on the questionnaire, so everyone is different here! I might walk out of one house with two trash bags full of items and walk out of another empty handed, so it really just depends! When going through your closet during this step I evaluate what needs to go based off of three things.
The first being the “wear and tear” test, basically meaning if it has holes, old stains, pilling, or anything else that will prevent you from wanting to wear it.
And the second being the style test. So, if it is a trend (like the cold shoulder trend for example) that is just not in anymore and needs to go.
Last, is the how long it has sat in your closet and not been worn, test:) This is my personal favorite because so many of us (me included) have items that were bought years ago and have either still have tags on them or have not been touched in the last year or so -- AKA, these items need to go.
After going through everything, I do like to do a little organizing and rearranging if needed. Again, going back to the questionnaire. If you put organizing as one of the top things you need help with then I totally will spend more time doing this for you. For example, I had one client who I helped completely flip and rearrange everything in her closet and dresser drawer space so that it made sense to how her closet functioned. This might have taken a few hours to do but it was what she needed the most help with. Other clients and you included, might not need that much help. If this is the case, then you will most likely see me do a little moving around so that your closet is organized by color and sleeve length.
4. Outfit Styling - this is my personal favorite step and what I believe is the reason a lot of people hire me. It can be so easy to get a rut of wearing the same outfit over and over again or not wearing certain pieces because you don’t know how to style them. That’s where I come in! My goal here is to put together outfits that you might not have thought of before that can easily transition into your daily lifestyle. On average I will get around 20-30 outfits per closet edit session and will take pictures of each outfit so that you have a running photo album to refer to as you get dressed daily.
And if you would like to try on the outfits I lay out, this is totally up to you and what you feel comfortable with. I have had some clients where I have them try on a majority of the outfits and then I have others that are either busy or not in the room or I can tell are just not comfortable with that. Either way, it is totally fine for me but I would love to know your preference ahead of time!
5. Needs Lists/Recommendations - I think it is important that you are left with plenty of tips and advice so that you can carry on in style past our visit together. In addition, I will send you what I like to call a “shopping list” of things that I think you are missing in your closet. It does not mean that you need to buy all of these items as once, but it just gives you some direction when shopping throughout the season.
“This was worth every penny and more! I’ve always wanted to have a closet edit done but didn’t know anymore, and then you came along:) I feel like I have a good sense of what to look for going forward, which will keep me from coming home from shopping with a bunch of random stuff that isn’t me, OR that I don’t need. I feel like I made a new friend. You are just the cutest!””
— CLOSET EDIT CLIENT