Technically, the pre-festive and post-festive periods are all part of the same fashion season. In practice, it often feels like they’re very different. It isn’t just about loosening (or ditching) your belt, it’s about updating your general vibe. With that in mind, here are some tips on how to have a quick post-festive closet update.
Review your clothes by type
When you do a full closet review, e.g. at the end of each season, the standard advice is to get all your clothes together. That’s often the best way to do a really thorough clear-out, but it can get overwhelming. A less stressful approach is to review your clothes by type.
You can even break general types (e.g. pants) into subtypes (e.g. dress-pants, jeans) if that makes the task easier for you. This can be a very pragmatic approach if you have a lot of one type of garment.
Start your closet review by doing a simple “first-pass” assessment of what you own already. Ask yourself if you really need it or really want it. Unless you can give at least one yes, just get rid of it. If you really can’t bear to put it out straight away, photograph it, and then put it into storage. If you don’t wear it for six months, then you’ll have plenty of time to sell/donate it before FW2021.
Check if everything still fits you
Now’s the time to be realistic about your body and any changes to it since you last reviewed your wardrobe. It’s fair enough to ignore short-term changes you can easily reverse, like putting on a few pounds over Christmas. It is, however, pointless to ignore longer-term changes to your body shape such as ones caused by playing sport (or giving it up) or by major lifestyle changes.
Once you’ve identified what garments have stopped fitting you, you need to decide what to do about them. Selling/donating them is certainly one option. You could, however, also look into the option of having them adjusted so that they do. It might, however, be more affordable just to buy new items. What’s more, you can now get excellent adaptive clothing for men.
Pull out the festive “novelty” clothes
The whole point of novelty clothes, like “Christmas sweaters” (or Christmas anything), is that they’re supposed to be a bit of fun for a short time. If you wear them too often, the novelty soon wears off. Take the festive novelty clothes out of your closet now so that you never just grab them without thinking about it. Keep one if you must but we are trying to clean your closet here!
If you’re still in the mood to give a nod to the festive season, then you can do so with bright pops of festive colors, especially reds and greens. If you want to give a bit more of a nod, then you could look at smaller garments such as ties and socks. Larger items such as sweaters, shirts, and t-shirts should, however, generally be put away for another year. Make space this year!
Thanks for reading and y’all stay dandy.
-Diego
Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest for more menswear inspiration.
(Some of these links contain affiliate links, so that means if you click and buy something, I get a cut. It helps keep the site going! Full Disclosure)