3-Steps to Build your Wardrobe like a Personal Stylist

As a personal stylist, I have a lot of competition. There are things like Stitchfix and Trunk Club or free in-store stylists at places like Nordstrom (but even any in-store retail-workers are usually happy to offer their opinion).

That said, my biggest competition isn’t any of the above.

My biggest competition is the people who want to do it themselves.

The truth is, you probably can DIY your wardrobe! With enough time, trial and error, and rounds of shopping and purging, you could likely put together a wardrobe you’re pretty pleased with.

So why am I telling you this?

Why would I tell you about my competition, where you can go for free style advice, and then tell you how do it yourself? (Am I insane? No. Well, not about this at least.)

Look. I know not everyone can afford to work with me right now, and for those people, learning to do it themselves is the next best thing (better than a box or an in-store stylist, but that’s a whole other blog post…)

I want you to bypass as much wasted time, effort, and money as possible.

That’s why I’m outlining the steps I go through with clients to curate their perfect wardrobe: 1. Survey, 2. Streamline, and 3. Style. I’ll go through each step and explain how to do it (and why it’s so important.) I started each step with the letter S, ‘cause I’m cute like that, and also because it makes it stickier in your brain and therefore easier to remember! (If you like cute acronyms, learn about my E.A.S.E. system that I take clients through to build their expressive capsule wardrobes.)

If you’re new here, I’m Missy of Simplified Wardrobe, an Ethical Personal Stylist & Capsule Wardrobe Curator. I help ambitious and eco-conscious womxn who want to look great, feel confident, and simplify their lives.

Find more information about personal style, capsule wardrobes, and color analysis over on Instagram. You can also download my free 10-page Guide to Defining your Personal Style.

Step 1: SURVEY

This step could also have been called “ANALYZE” but the “A.S.S. System” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. So we’ll use “SURVEY” instead. During this step, you’re going to take stock of your lifestyle, body shape and personal coloring, current wardrobe, goals, and signature style.

Lifestyle

Where do you spend your time? Break it down by categories, like work, lounging at home, brunch, date night, play dates, etc. Make a rough chart to visualize what percentage of time is spent in each category.

Body & Coloring

Client personal color analysis. Her best colors are deep and neutral.

Maybe you were 20 pounds lighter 5 years ago and if you could just lose the weight you could fit into all of your jeans again. I get it. Once you let go of who you used to be, you can get on with accepting who you are now and start treating that person with the respect and love that you deserve. Be honest. Evaluate. Take measurements. Figure out your body type. Figure out what colors look best on you. Get curious about yourself.

Current wardrobe

Take a look at your current wardrobe. Ask yourself:

How does it make you feel?
How long does it take you get dressed everyday?
Are you happy with how you look?
Do you feel like you know how to make outfits?
What’s missing? What’s over represented?

Make mental (or actual) notes of all of this.

Goals

Think about how do you want to be seen now. When you walk into a room, what do you want people to think or assume about you? What kind of impression do you want your presence to make?

Now think about where you want to be in 5 years, or 10 years. How do those versions of you dress?

Signature Style

Now put it all together. Considering everything above, what does the best version of you look like?

Identify your Signature Style Words. These are 3-5 words that express how you want to feel and look when you get dressed. These are words you might have used when you were thinking about your goals—words like Elegant, Creative, Fierce, Ethereal, Rock n’ Roll, Sleek, etc. (Note: You don’t get to just say “Comfortable”! I wont be there, but I’ll know, and I’ll mentally throw something at you. This is the number one response my clients give for how they want to dress. “Comfortable” is not a style—you can be comfortable in any style!)

Once you have your words, create a mood board using Pinterest or good ol’ fashioned scissors and glue. Evaluate your board. What elements are repeated? What kinds of silhouettes, colors, materials, specific items, styling techniques?

Want more help? Get your free step-by-step guide to discovering and defining your Signature Style.

Get the signature style guide

Step 2: STREAMLINE

It’s time to really get into your clothes now. Armed with the above, look at your own wardrobe and see how it compares.

Breaking down your closet by category and comparing it to your actual lifestyle.

Lifestyle
Do the clothes in your closet match up to your actual lifestyle? Break your items down by category and compare the percentage of each type of item you have in your closet.

Body & Coloring
Are your clothes the right shapes and colors for your body and coloring? Do they fit you? (When I say “fit” I don’t mean “zip.” I can get a lot of pants to zip by lying down and sucking in, that doesn’t mean they’re comfortable, and they’re definitely not flattering.)

Goals
What image are your clothes projecting? Does that match the image you’re going for? Is this something a [insert goal self here] would wear? If you’re not sure, ask an honest friend.

Signature Style
How does your current wardrobe compare to the Signature Style words you chose and the mood board you created? What’s noticeably different? What’s consistent? Can you identify any themes?

Inspiration board for a relaxed wardrobe with a bit of a boho edge.

If anything no longer serves you for any of the above reasons, it’s time to let it go. Say your goodbyes and send it on its way. You can sell or donate clothes that are still in good condition. If you have anything that’s in bad shape and is not repairable, see if you can find a way to repurpose it (t-shirt rags, spare cloth for art projects, etc); otherwise, trash it. (Here are 5 other things you can ditch from your closet right now.)

Now that you’ve removed the dead weight from your wardrobe (and probably from your shoulders), you should feel really good about your wardrobe—it’s full of all the hits (Now That’s What I Call Wardrobe, Volume 1).

You’re ready to move on to the next ste—

Hold up.

Have you culled your wardrobe but your closet is still pretty full? In that case, are you sure you really culled? Maybe go back and see if you can be a little more discerning.

That same client board translated into specific pieces (some she already owned, some added to a shoppable list.)

Or maybe you have the opposite problem.

You cut the fat and there’s nothing left or there are big gaps. Maybe you have tons of pants but no tops—not really a functional wardrobe. Flesh it out by making note of anything you may need to buy or replace. Ask yourself:

What repeated elements from your mood board are you missing?
Are there any pieces you love but you’re not sure how to wear them? That probably means you’re missing some type of basic. For example, you can’t figure out how to wear that statement skirt because you do not own a single neutral blouse.
Was there anything you had to say goodbye to even though you otherwise loved it because of the condition or fit? It’s time to replace it.

Put these items on your shopping list. In the meantime, you can keep a few items so that you have something to put on your body. Just know that those items should go once you’ve replaced them with things you love.

Ready to do a full closet detox? Professional organizer, Carly Adams, and I created this free guide to fully edit and organize your closet. We’ll give you all the tips and tricks we use with our clients.

Get the Closet Detox Guide

Step 3: STYLE

Now that you’ve identified your Signature Style and said goodbye to everything that isn’t that, it’s time to play around in your closet—fun! Dedicate a day (or at least a few hours) to trying on your clothes, putting together outfits, and documenting them.

Discovering new outfits (with clothes you already have)

If style is new to you or if you feel like you’re in a bit of a style rut, here are some tips to unearth great outfits you maybe wouldn’t have thought to create:

Use your mood board and try to recreate your favorite looks.
Wear something in an unexpected way, like a work pant styled for the weekend or an evening dress with an oversized cardigan and boots.
Pair together unexpected colors or patterns. Wear blue and orange. Mix plaid with floral. Wear an unexpected pop of color, like a bright red shoe with an otherwise muted palette.
Try different styling techniques, like tucking in a shirt, layering on a blazer or cardigan, adding a hat, or using a fun scarf.
If you have an item you only ever wear one way, try mixing it with other things in your closet. Try walking around your closet with it holding it up next to each of your other clothes and see if anything sparks some inspiration.
The ultimate technique: try on one bottom or top with every other top or bottom you own—meaning, take a skirt and try on every top you have with it. You might be surprised what works and what doesn’t. Repeat until you’ve tried every possible combination in your closet!
Don’t forget to style! Don’t just put on a top and bottom and call it a day. Take the time to try different ways of tucking, add a layer, belt it, add a hat, try a few different shoe options. Play around and see if you can create something you love.

Don’t forget to take photos!

When you stumble upon an amazing outfit combination, snap a pic in the mirror, take a photo of a flat-lay, or have a patient friend or S.O. take photos of you. Compile all of the photos into a folder, and give it a good name (maybe using the words you identified during step one), like “My Sassy, Sophisticated Style” or “Edgy Executive Outfits.”

Reference these photos anytime you’re getting dressed in the morning and need a little bit of inspiration. You could even use them to plan out a whole weeks’ worth of outfits ahead of time.

(Want to go above and beyond? Print out your photos into a binder or book, or pin them to a bulletin board that you can keep in your closet as a decor piece.)

Why isn’t this a 4-S System? What about “SHOP”?

Were your surprised that SHOP wasn’t one of the 3 S’s? When most people think about personal stylists or updating their wardrobe, they think about shopping. The thing is, “more” is not always better. In fact, having too many options leads to analysis paralysis and sensory overload. If you’ve ever starred blankly at a full closet and thought “I have nothing to wear” you know what I’m talking about.

The truth is, most of us already have a lot of clothes! It’s just that we don’t know how to utilize them to their full potential, so we end up buying more and more to fill the gap. The problem here is…

If you don’t have the solid foundation of knowing your personal style, lifestyle and goals, and what looks best on you shopping for more wont help. You’ll just end up buying more items that don’t feel like you, that don’t give you the look you want, and that don’t make sense in your life.
If you don’t examine your wardrobe, removing the fat and making a plan for a holistic wardrobe, you’ll just end up buying items on impulse that may or may not work with the rest of your closet.
If you don’t learn how to style your clothes, you’ll still be stuck with one or two outfits from each piece, eventually getting bored of your brand new clothes and feeling like you need to overhaul once again.

Once you’ve Surveyed, Streamlined, and Styled, you’re ready to decide if you even need to shop at all. If you do have holes to fill, you’re now armed with the exact information to make smart, effective choices.

Another benefit to this system is that you’ll actually save money! When you know how you want to look and exactly what you need to achieve that look, you can spend your money on the right, high-quality pieces rather than buying a lot of random items and hoping that something comes together. Pretty neat.

Are you inspired to get your wardrobe in order?

If you feel like you need some professional help, I’d love to help you out. I work with ambitious, eco-conscious womxn, just like you, virtually all around the world to create their expressive, small-but-mighty capsule wardrobes.

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