How to SIMPLIFY your Wardrobe - A COLOR Analysis Approach

1. Intro Video: Thank you for joining, and welcome to my course, How to Simplify your Wardrobe. Let me help you get peace of mind and unimagined freedom when it comes to your closet. I'm Astrid Fechter and I'm your personal European color style and image consultant. You probably know this feeling, You have a lot of things in your closet. Your wardrobe is almost bursting, but you still feel you have nothing to wear. I know well and had it many years ago. I know a lot of people do. But let's change this together for good. This course is about organizing your closet in just five easy steps. I will show you how you can put together a wardrobe that is tailor made for you and how to keep it updated. I will show you how to clean out, how to put back the good pieces into your closet, how to organize them in groups. We create a good shopping list for you. We create a personal lookbook that you always have at hand when you go shopping, so you can focus and concentrate on 100% pieces. I promise you wearing your best colors will make you look younger, healthier, and slimmer. In more than 20 years of style consulting and color and wardrobe analysis, I have helped thousands of people all over Europe and the US to discover their own personal style, organize their closets, and simplify their lives on top. You will save time and money in the process. It's totally your choice. This course works if you are a minimalist, more like me. In my case, I would say it's an organized lifestyle. But anyway, only you decide how much you would like to spend and how much you want to own. I will show you how you will have much more combination options with fewer but the right pieces in your wardrobe. It's not the quantity, but a good selection that is important. After this course, you will only buy 100% pieces. But before we clean out, I will give you a quick insight on color analysis and how you can find your individual color type. This is the most important step, by the way, every stylist should start with. I teach about it in my online course called Look Your Very Best. Learn about color, style and fashion. Are you ready to find out your color type and transform your closet into a space that you love to enter, because it is your personal favorite boutique? Well, fine. I'd love to help you with that. So follow me and let's do this together. See you in the course. 2. Welcome: Thanks for joining, and welcome to my course. Simplify your wardrobe. Let me help you get peace of mind and unimagined freedom. Now this course is about organizing your closet in just five easy steps. You know this feeling, you have a full closet, your wardrobe is almost bursting, but you feel you have nothing to wear. I had this problem, and I know many women do, but it must not stay like this. In this course, I will show you how you can put together a wardrobe that is just tailor made for you. With fewer but the right pieces in your wardrobe, you will have much more combination options. Not the quantity, but a good selection is important. I am Astritweiter. I am your European color style and image consultant, originally from Salzburg, Austria. Here you see a picture of my hometown. I have been trained in style consulting and color and wardrobe analysis and have been an instructor in Europe and the US for many years. It is my goal to help you developing and fine tune your personal style and save you time and money in the process. I promise you one thing, wearing your best colors will make you look younger, healthier, and slimmer. With over 20 years of experience in design and a good sense of color and fashion, I have helped thousands of people discover their own personal style, organize their closets, and simplify their lives. This is for women and men who want to build wardrobes that are stress free, modern, and fashionable. My passion is to simply help you look your very best. My European background and my feel for fashion will give that special touch to your wardrobe. In my opinion, it's most important to stay authentic for a successful and lasting image. I'm excited to show you how to strategically wear colors, lines, prints, textures and fabrics that make you look and feel your absolute best. You will find all of the topics above in detail in my other classes, but in this course we will simplify your wardrobe for a start, right? So stay tuned. 3. Prioritize.Organize.Foster Peace: It's about more than our closet. It's about prioritizing the essentials. This can be the people activities, and things in life that you care the most about. Many years ago I read, whoever creates order takes the lead. And that creating order means taking over the spiritual guidance in my rooms and assigning things their place. This creates an overview, saves our time, and gives us inner peace. That's exactly what I wanted. It's totally your choice. You can live either a minimalist life, or in my case, it's an organized lifestyle. Anyway, only you determine how much you want to own. You learn how to prioritize and focus your energy and resources on these things over others that you don't deem as important. Having awareness, clarity, and focus helps you uncover what's most important to you and therefore simplify decision making. In most areas of life, a great place to start simplifying is just the cluttering. This can include your belongings, activities, relationships, and your digital life. Sometimes we cannot avoid the cause of difficulties in our life, but oftentimes there are changes we can make to simplify and enjoy life. Once again, going through my closet once a year helps me to have clarity and to appreciate what I already have. One thing to cleaning out. I can tell you from my own experience how liberating it is to only have things at home that you really use. Like them, everything that is too much. I give it away, either to a friend as a gift or I sell it. But this way it gets a second life and a home that only has stuff that I really like and use every day. It keeps my mind and my soul clear and free to concentrate on things that really matter to me. 4. Wardrobe Facts: Let me give you some quick wardrobe facts. This is not new, and I'm sure you heard it 1,000 times before, but it's still true. The first impression is being made in only 7 seconds. No matter how we act or what we say or how we express ourselves, people will always judge us from our appearance. First life is too short. Let's make a good first impression. Why should we go for less? Did you know that most people are wearing 20% of their clothes, 80% of their time? Here comes the feeling again. You have a full closet is almost bursting, but you feel you have nothing to wear. In this chapter, I will show you how you can put together a tailor made wardrobe with fewer but the right pieces. But first of all, don't worry, I do not mean you should wipe out and give every single piece away. I want to encourage you to choose focused, what to keep. Complement it with special pieces of clothing that 100% makes sense for your needs. What I am doing regularly, I recommend this to all my friends and clients. Check your closet once a year to get the overall picture, what you have, what needs to go, what should stay also, what needs to be altered, and what you need to look for when you go shopping next time. It is really that simple. This is all you need to combine beautifully and highlight your personal, authentic style. 5. Why Color Analysis Works: Before we go further, I'd like to give you a very quick recap on my other online course called Look Your Very Best. Learn about color, style and fashion. This course offers a lot of topics like the history of color analysis, body types, personality styles, and much more. In case you haven't seen it yet, we will quickly look into the personal color analysis together. Now, according to the seasonal theory by Swisborne art professor Johannes Itten, every single person belongs to a certain color type. This is a family of color tones related to each other in a harmonious way. We speak of warm and cold colors which are divided into seasons. The four color types are called spring, summer, autumn, and winter, which each have their own set of colors. It's all about the individual pigmentation of your skin, your hair and your eyes. The basis undertone of the skin is genetically given hemoglobin. The blood pigment, which is the color of the blood, determines whether we have warm or cool tone skin. Also, it is genetically given how much rotine is being saved from our nutrition. We all have both hemoglobin and krotine, but one is predominant. This very combination creates a warm or a cool tone skin. The good news, the pigmentation will last our whole lifetime. Suntan caused by UV radiation has nothing to do with it. The melanine production makes our skin only get darker, but the color type does not change. 6. Understand the 4 Color Seasons: I'd like to introduce the four color seasons now. But first of all, please do not think about seasons the usual way, forget temperatures et cetera. Only think about the look of each season. You see here, winter to the left has a very contrasting and cool impression. Spring looks very bright, yellowish, warm and sparkling. Summer looks cool and powdery like water colors. Finally, autumn to the right looks warm, earthy and lush. Let's start with spring, then. A spring type looks gorgeous in luminous, delicate colors with very warm yellow undertones like the first bright flowers or the fresh grass. Each spring summer is next and totally different because a summer looks outstanding in pastels of the sky and the sea soft, smoky shades with cool and blue undertones. Here you see an excerpt of the summer colors. Always consider that the very personal combination of skin, hair, and eyes determine a person's best colors out of the palette. Followed by autumn autumn radiates in the very warm, lush colors of fall leaves with the golden undertones as earthy and magnificent as walking through an oriental spice market. Finally, a winter person sparkles in clear primary colors. Vivid, cool and icy winter types love contrast like a royal blue sky above a brilliant white snow field. 7. Compare Warm vs Cold Colors: Maybe you'll ask yourself, what makes a color warm and another one? Cold colors become warm due to a mixture with yellow and red respectively. Through both of these shades, cool colors are mixed with blue. What really matters is the mixing ratio and the nuances you use when mixing colors. For instance, as you see on the right, it is possible to create a warm blue, or green, or red, and so on by adding a bit of yellow and, or red. At the left, you see colors turning cool by adding blue. Now stay with me, I show you how you will find out. Take a warm golden and a cool silver scarf. It can be just a piece of fabric or a blouse, et cetera. Do not wear makeup. Place yourself in front of a mirror in good, natural daylight. Take your time and do not look at the color at the fabric. Concentrate on your face only and what the color is doing to your skin. Switch back and forth and compare every part of your face starting from your chin line up. Does your chin line look more defined with silver or gold? Do your lips look thinner with silver or gold? Do you see little lines more? Does your skin tone look more even? Are there shadows in circles appearing under your eyes? Which color makes your eyes more sparkle, silver or gold? If your skin looks better with silver, then you are definitely a cool toned color type, which can be summer or winter. Whereas gold looks better on you if you are a warm toned color type, such as spring and autumn. 8. Analyze Your Color Season: If your skin looks better with silver, then you are a cool toned color type, which can be summer or winter. That's what we're doing here comparing summer to the left versus winter to the right. Always remember this comparison is to test the dominates. Therefore, the color that makes you stand out not overwhelms you, but underlines your natural complexion is the right one. In this case, both are cool toned summer to the left, winter to the right, she could wear both, but definitely the left is way too underwhelming. The more contrasting winter colors are much better on this beautiful lady. Another example for you of a cool skin type. We compare summer versus winter this time. In this case, you will agree that the winter colors on the left are way too overwhelming for this delicate complexion. The elegant summer colors on the right emphasize the beauty of this lady and are much better on this beautiful summer type. If your skin looks better with gold, then you need the warm tones, which can be spring or autumn. Here you see spring to the left and autumn to the right. Both are warm toned and she could wear both. But the more lush earth tones of autumn are the best fit and bring the best out of this lady's complexion. Another example. Here we try another warm type with autumn colors on the left and spring colors to the right. You'll see that the darker earth tones are a bit too heavy for her, but the lighter sparkling spring colors to the right are the perfect match for this delicate spring type. By now, you should know which color season you belong to. They come in many variations. Remember, depending on how bright or dark your skin complexion is, combined with your hair and eye color, you can either wear the brighter or the dark colors of your palette. Try and hues and compare what makes your eyes sparkle, underlines your complexion and does the most for your skin. Always make sure you stay in your warm or cool toned color range. Please give the preference to colors that flatter you 100% Why should you accept less? Let's move on to see your wardrobe them. 9. Wardrobe Evaluation Guide: Okay, let's talk about the very simple steps of how to simplify your wardrobe. I promise this will be fun and very easy. Go in your walking closet for me and imagine you do not know it. It is a boutique that you are visiting for the very first time. Which overall impression do you get when you quickly look in your wardrobe? Is it neatly arranged and well organized? Well, that's great, but just in case you feel it's crowded, unorganized according to colors, simply boring and not inviting to come in and browse and get new ideas about mixing and matching. This is a sign, by the way, that you have too many close, your wardrobe is not put together in an optimal way. Let's start and see how we can solve this problem together. This is how it works in five simple steps, from cleaning out to evaluating each piece. Putting it back in an organized way. Create your own lookbook. You will be able to create completely new combinations with what you have. Like you walk into a boutique each morning. The first step is coming up. Please plan one to 1.5 hours of your time and create some space to do your wardrobe inspection. Maybe you can ask a friend who will give you honest feedback. It works best if you take out every single piece and put it on the bed or floor. In the meantime, I need your closet to be completely empty. Now, take every single piece and ask yourself these five questions. First, is this my perfect color? Is it my color range, yes or no? Second, is this piece my cut and style also is the pattern my style, Yes or no? This means, does it put my figure in perspective? Try it on, and it can be your perfect color. But when you are a classic personality, you will probably never wear that blouse with a pattern of big, irregular roses. Next one. Does it need to be altered or just cleaned? Yes or no? Because it is so frustrating to take a piece of clothing out in the morning and you discover that you cannot wear it because a button is missing or the sipper doesn't work or it shows a stain. Next one is this piece of clothing, my current size. If you don't know the fit, try it on. If it doesn't fit and it is too big or too small, give it away. Be rigorous. You want to dress your body now. Don't wait until you lose weight. Speaking of the bigger clothes, you don't want to fit in clothes that are too big anyway, never, ever again. Even if you have only a few pieces left, do it. If the clothes do not fit, I am sure you haven't worn them in a long time and you will never wear them anyway. The last one, have I worn this in the last one to 1.5 years if you haven't give it away. An exception would be an evening dress. But please be radical, the chances are very low that you will ever wear an evening gown you haven't worn in the past 18 months. And when an invitation comes up, you will more likely go and buy a new outfit. For all the answers of your five questions, you create three stacks. The first one for things that need to go and be radical. The second one, the pieces that should definitely stay. The third one, what needs to be cleaned or altered if it is your color and style? Put it aside on a stack for things that need to be done. I said it before. It's a very bad feeling to see this piece of closing every morning. But you cannot combine it with other clothes because it's just not ready. That takes time and makes you feel miserable. One tip, discharge every unflattering piece of clothing. There's not one single occasion on this planet to look bad, period. Here's a helpful trick. When you are having problems giving away clothes, you have sort it out, put them in a suitcase or in another closet in a basement. You do not think about the piece for six months. You can give them away with good conscience. Donate them or bring them to a consignment store and make a bit of money with it. I did this for many years and I never, ever missed a single piece, and I never went down to take something back that I have sorted out this way. One little word to hold us. If you have just too many duplicates, like 50, navy blue shirts are simply too much. Let's be honest. I'm sure you are always wearing your favorite two or three ones. This will simplify your life and give you peace of mind to have your very best pieces of your favorite clothes. Also, any accessory shoes, belts, scarves in the wrong colors should be given away. I promise you simplicity is the key. 10. Organize by Type and Color: Now you should take a deep breath because the hardest part is done. We go ahead to step number two and put your perfect pieces back into your closet. We do this by taking every single piece of your wardrobe that is fine, according to your personal color, cut, style, and fit. But this time, we organize them in groups and color wise, I ask you to please create a section, each for tops, blazes, jackets and cardigans, pants, skirts, dresses and so on. Each group should be hanging color wise from white or cream on the left, as you can see here, to yellow, green, brown, et cetera, to black on the right side. Remember, you wear what you see. Please make sure every single piece is visible and also make sure that all hangers are hanging in the same direction in your closet. If possible, also line up your handbags and shoes color wise, so that every single piece you own is visible. There should be no second or third row. Also, put all your scarves and pashminas in a shelf on top of each other. Or get a scarf organizer where you can store them hanging, whatever you prefer. The same goes for belts. You need to see everything when combining. Now you can start to add the few pieces that are not 100% your color, but you feel you just need them. Like your pair of blue pants, a dark gray, basic skirt. The most important thing is that you are rigorous with your tops. Everything you're wearing close to your face should be in your perfect colors only. Also, as you see here, I love to store things I do not need so often, like a bikini in transparent boxes. This way they are very easy to find. I'm also a fan of drawers for jewelry and underwear. You can see everything at first glance. Same goes for socks and little accessories. Actually, that's it. That's all there is. And it's really that simple. You can have a wardrobe where everything is in place. You walk in in the morning and come out fully dressed. You see every piece. And because everything is close, you are able to create new ideas, mix and match, and find out new combinations. That's what I love about fashion, and I love to simplify my wardrobe. 11. Storage and Maintaining: One last tip and a little warning. Do not store clothes in plastic covers from the cleaners. It does not protect your clothing. On the contrary, plastic attracts dust. The fibers cannot breathe. Fabrics start to smell bad, and white pieces can even turn yellowish. Also, when picking up from the cleaners, please do not leave your clothes on the thin wire hangers. You cannot wear pants that were stored for some time because it is rumpled. You never get rid of the hanger marks on the shoulders of your cardigans and tops better by soft hangers that support the shoulder part of your clothes and will keep them in shape, Especially tops, dresses and knitwear made of Jersey and silk. Please get special hangers for pants and skirts. It will really pay off. They will stay in shape and you have to get them dry cleaned so often. One last word regarding shoes. Always clean them before you put them back in the closet. And always use shoe stretchers. There's nothing worse than shabby looking shoes. So this way you can enjoy your wardrobe and your shoes for a really long time. 12. Wardrobe List + Look Book: Welcome back. By now, you should have a good overview of what you have and what's missing. Let's make a shopping list together of things you really need. First, I ask you to make a wardrobe list to see the items you have in your personal colors. Write them down. Begin with the basics. Jackets, skirts, pants, dresses. This will help you to easily find out what is missing. Secondly, write down what you really need in order to create combinations. Also, do not forget to think about underwear for your outfits. Maybe you need special underwear like spanks or a low cut bra, or special evening dresses. Lastly, we create your own personal lookbook. What I love to do when I come home with a new piece of clothing is I mix and match it with the pieces I already own. I will always make sure when I consider to buy some new piece that it will have at least three friends in my closet. When I come home with a new pair of pants, as you see here, I take out tops, belts, scarves, also accessories, and create a couple of complete outfit combinations which I like to take pictures of. Don't forget, also your shoes and accessories. With this method, you can create your own personal lookbook on your mobile phone or even print the looks out. This way you will make quick decisions in the morning, even when you are in a hurry. And don't have to think long about combinations. When you are looking for a blouse to combine with, for example, a special skirt, have the picture of the skirt taken in good daylight on your mobile phone and be brave and try to play with contrast. You will get a completely different effect as you see here with the two different tops. Lastly, have your closet at hand. Make sure you have your shopping list with the needs with you, and also photos of your wardrobe, your personal lookbook. It is much better to plan and watch out for pieces you really need and buy a better quality piece than to do impulsive purchases. They sum up and become very costly on the long run. Sometimes it is hard to remember all the colors of your clothes at home. This will help you to decide if new discovered pieces will really fit as combination partners to your wardrobe. Actually, that's it. And it's really that simple. You can have a wardrobe tailor made for you coordinated with your color season, where everything is in place. You will see, I promise, by simplifying your wardrobe. This way, you will always have an overview and it's easy to update your looks from year to year. And sometimes it only takes one new scarf or another piece of accessory to create a completely new look. 13. Final Thoughts: Congratulations and thank you for watching this course. I hope you got inspired to simplify your wardrobe right now. Well, congratulations. You have completed the online course. I hope you have enjoyed it. You found some inspiration. You organized your wardrobe. You determined your color season, and I hope to see you on my website on how to style, and I'm looking forward to seeing you again in another. Have fun with your colors. Bye bye. For more information on the topic, please check out my other online courses and stop by at my website, so all the best for now. And have fun simplifying your wardrobe with your very best colors.