Who’s The Boss? The questions you need to be asking your clothing RIGHT NOW.

 

Who is the CEO of your closet?

Are you in charge? If not you should be. You hired these items and put out money for them.  Maybe it’s time for a performance review.

 

Let me explain. Often when I go into a client’s closet they are struggling with what to keep and what to get rid of. The are so many reasons behind why people hold on to things. One of them is money. You’ve spent  money on an item so you leave it hanging in there in hopes that someday it will “work” for you and your lifestyle. To look at things from a fresh perspective I tell my clients to treat their clothes as if they are employees. Then ask them a very important question…cue Miss Janet Jackson.

 

 

Yes Janet “Miss Jackson if you’re nasty” said it best when she asked “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY??”

As CEO, as well as CFO and CMO,  it’s time you asked every single item in your wardrobe that exact question. Just what kinds of things should they be “doing” for you?

An item of clothing should do at least a few of the following:

Fit your body.

Flatter your shape.

Feel good on your body.

 

And perhaps most importantly, reflect who YOU are today and what YOU do in your life.

If an item is not meeting some if not all of your criteria than it is time to cut the fat. That sweater that itches every time you put it on? Again imagine you are the boss. That itchy sweater is the guy that is jabbering loudly on the phone in his cubicle every time you walk by. He gets paid a good salary and yet he doesn’t provide any value to the company. He needs to go. The sweater needs to be FIRED. The jeans you owned in high school that you keep holding onto? They are just like the older employee who has been around forever but knows it is time to RETIRE. Help them out and throw them a retirement party. Include its other been around from high school friends for a Bon Voyage. And how about those super expensive and super trendy heels that look beautiful but are just collecting dust in your closet because you  don’t wear them? That’s like hiring the new grad with the flashy Ivy league degree that turns out to only be book smart but completely lacking any common sense. LAY THEM OFF.

This is the time to be ruthless. Unlike a real company where employees have families to feed these items of clothing have no feelings. So you need to drop your attachment feelings about them if they are not doing their job. Consider this your form of a hostile corporate takeover. And the best part is you can hire new “employees” to do the job for the company you have built, even if it means admitting that your mission statement has changed. Maybe you held on to your corporate suits that you wore prior to be becoming a stay at home mom. But maybe, since then, you’ve decided that being a mom is your new career. In that case it makes more sense to kick out the suits and bring in some more jeans. Being a CEO also means managing your overhead efficiently. Your closet square footage is valuable real estate. You want to fill it with items that prove productive for your life.

So what are you waiting for?? Spring is here. Really, it is! Before the temps fast forward to summer take a good hard look at your “company.”

 

* Insider Tip – Don’t forget to calculate C.P.W.

What is C.P.W.? That stands for Cost Per Wear. This means that the amount of times something is worn in your wardrobe should make sense relative to the cost.

For example, cocktail dresses have a horrible CPW. If you pay $150 for a dress, wear it 1 time, then it has a CPW of $150. Not good.

On the other hand what seems like an expensive pair of jeans, say $150 you might wear an average of 1 time a week for the next 5 years. So 1×52=52. 52 times per year x 5 years =260. So divide 200 by 260 and you get 1.73. Which means those jeans are costing you an average of $.77 each time you wear them.

Two items, same initial cost but a a very different CPW.

Conversely you might think you are scoring a deal if you buy a pair of jeans on sale for $30. But what if every time you wear them they stretch out very quickly or sag in the back? They end up sitting in the back of your clost and over the next 5 years you only wear them twice.  If you divide by $30 by 2 those “sale” jeans have a CPW OF $15, much more expensive  than the  $.77  it is costing you each time you wear the $150 pair.

*Another little insider secret is Chantilly Blue here in Kennett Square, they are THE BEST for fitting you in the perfect pair of denim. 

Lower CPW = greater return. Lesson being don’t spend a lot of money on things that you won’t wear a lot. It just isn’t worth it. It would be like hiring (and paying) and overqualified employee to do a seasonal position. Not a good way to spend your money. Items that will be used frequently? Don’t be afraid to be a little more upfront because over time your investment in them will pay off. My Hunter boots seemed like a crazy price to pay for rain boots but I can’t even count how much I have worn them. Worth every penny because they are comfortable, practical and look just as good as the first day I bought them.

 

Want some outside help? Consider me your personal management consultant. I will come in and audit your closet  and help you make sure your “employees” are working efficiently.

Thanks for reading!!

Suzie