Closet Therapy: Update, don't duplicate

It's spring and welcome back to my closet wisdom.

Last year's tips were buy cheap, audition your clothes, and be an artist.

My first new tip is to hang a picture of Jackie O in your closet (as Melissa Warner did) and you will automatically make better style choices.

My second is to update what you've got rather than continually duplicating it.

To wit, I own three pairs of white pumps, two of which look remarkably similar. And I almost never wear white pumps. Two pairs went.

I own four white jackets and four grey jackets. One of each needs to go.

Shockingly I found I own seven white skirts (I later found an eighth in the laundry basket.) Out of these, two were wearable as is (the rest were too tight, too long or too short) and of the two wearable ones, one was linen and rayon (a dumb mix of fabric if there ever was one.) Out it went.

I had six black skirts. (I got rid of one and need to get rid of two more.)

I had two pairs of strappy brown sandals. (One went.) I have a half dozen silver ballet flats in various enumerations. (Kept them all. It's an obsession.)

The point is, if you've got lots of things that are almost the same, get rid of a few. This hoarding of multiples is a symptom of memory loss or the search for the ultimate perfect version of the item. You may have five animal print pants, but it may be that none really quite suits. When you find the perfect pant, get rid of all of the pretenders. (Which is why it is sometimes worth it to drop a substantial chunk of change on a perfect item when you find it.)

Image: House Beautiful