Style File: Need something ‘new’? Shop your closet

Despite how superficial it sounds, there’s simply nothing better than getting something new. I think it’s a desire, or weakness, that everyone shares.

For boys, it’s new sneakers. My mom loves buying new purses, and I, like many other girls, love getting a new outfit.

Even something as basic as a new white T-shirt makes me feel refreshed. My sister is the same way when she buys a new bracelet, of which she has plenty. But let’s face it. As college students, can we really afford to get brand-new clothing every day of our lives?

Obviously, no. But since some of us require sartorial pick-me-ups every so often, it becomes more and more tempting to peruse jcrew.com and snag a hot pink enamel bangle. My closet is bursting at the seams, yet I constantly say those five obnoxious words, “I have nothing to wear.”

The answer to this crisis? A practice fashion editors call “shopping your closet,” which has always been very appealing to me.

As the name suggests, it simply means going through your closet to rediscover old clothes you’ve long forgotten but which feel brand-new after years of neglect. I’ve dug deep enough to unearth my high school wardrobe, including the Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts from freshman year. Don’t worry – I donated those.

During my time at IU, I’ve really come to grasp just how creative I can get by doing this and how important it is to hold onto everything. Forget yard sales, eBay and Amazon. I keep almost everything. The one time I tried to sell a heaping bag of clothes to Plato’s Closet, I barely made it out of my driveway before three cars piled up in an icy collision outside my house. Needless to say, I took it as a sign that I should just become a hoarder.

Perhaps the best example of “shopping my closet” happened last summer when I uncovered a nameless dress I bought in Paris in 2009. At the time, my sister and I thought it was the greatest dress in the world: navy linen with a boxy cut, short sleeves and white embroidery around the neckline. It was the perfect mix of classic and bohemian and so French. It was all we wanted in a dress.
Upon arriving back in the States and wearing the summery frock, we realized it was almost completely sheer. Suddenly, it felt more like a swimsuit cover-up than the wear-it-anywhere-with-anything dream dress we thought it was. It found a cozy home in the back of my closet.

Four years later, I just happen to own the most perfect little nude slip and — voila — my French dress is suddenly, undeniably wearable. Since buying it in 2009, I’ve tweaked my style quite a bit so the dress seems even better than before. Instead of wearing it with ballet flats or sandals like I originally intended, I pair it with suede desert boots and a stack of bangles or raffia wedges and oversized sunglasses. It feels like I bought the dress yesterday and I’m sure it will feel just as new when I rediscover it in another five years.

As your style continues to change and improve, you’ll find new ways to interpret every piece in your closet, making it that much more fun to “go shopping” without spending a dime. My advice is to hold on to everything you once loved — no matter how overstuffed your closet becomes — and soon enough, you’ll find a way to work it back into the
present.

­— emfarra@indiana.edu