The Plus Sized Autumn

When I’m ready to revamp my wardrobe, I start with a purge. This helps me make sure I’m ready and have room to bring new pieces into my closet! In one step I’m able to say goodbye to what I’m parting with make a list of things I want to keep an eye out for when I’m shopping. To start, I do all my laundry. When that’s done I make sure I have everything together by hanging or laying everything out where I can see it easily. Sometimes I sort through it by type of clothing (tops, dresses, pants, etc.) and sometimes I let myself go with the flow of it, since it often ends up going a little easier for me that way.

As I go through my clothes, I’m sorting things into different categories: keep, loop back to, sell/donate, and trash. If I can check “yes” on everything I’m looking for, it goes in the keep pile. If it’s a “yes” for some things, it goes in the loop back to pile (as long as it fits!). Sell/Donate is for things that are in good condition but I won’t be keeping, and the trash pile is for things that are too worn, stained, or have damage.

Here’s what I’m looking for and what’s going through my mind when I’m sorting:

1. Are there signs of wear and damage, such as holes or tears, fading or stains, pilling, or worn areas between the thighs or at the underarm seams?
2. Does this fit me correctly? Not just size-wise, but the length and bust?
3. If applicable, does the neckline droop or need constant adjusting? Is it too low or too high for me to be comfortable?
4. Is this in my color palette? If you don’t know your seasonal color palette I highly recommend getting analyzed by House of Colour! For now, feel free to skip this step or replace it with, “Does this color make me feel good?”
5. Does this honor my body and my style profile? If you haven’t had a style analysis done, feel free to skip or replace this with “Does this flatter and enhance my natural body shape and proportions?
6. Am I comfortable in this? Is it easy for me to move around in, walk in, sit in, bend over in? If it’s uncomfortable now, it will still be uncomfortable at work, school, the grocery store, or in any other setting!
7. Do I feel confident in this? Does it make me happy?
8. If it’s not a yes, it’s a no.

When I’ve gone through all of these things, I hang my keeps back in my closet. If I had anything that I wanted to loop back to, I hang that in a separate spot. My sell/donate items get sorted into two storage totes for transporting. I always start with the sell items: they get posted to Poshmark and/or taken to a local resale shop. My donate bin gets to be taken to a local thrift store. If there was something in those piles that I think a friend or family member would love, I always offer it to them first.

My trash pile gets put in a trash bag, and this may ruffle some feathers, but it gets thrown out. Occasionally I’ll offer it to people in my life who sew, but since I make it a point to only trash what isn’t usable anymore, this doesn’t happen often.

I know there are some things that won’t fall under my set of questions, like work uniforms or business wear, formal wear, sentimental things, and maybe jewelry and shoes…so don’t stress too much about it! These tips have worked well for me over the years, and I hope they work for you too. I won’t know if you have to tweak or ignore any of these to make them work for you, and neither will anyone else. All that matters is that you’re confident and comfortable!