The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees. Image writer’s own.
As fashion lovers, we’re all naturally guilty of struggling to part with clothing. Clothes are such a nostalgic thing and the best tell a story of the journeys they’ve been on, the moments they’ve been apart of and the secrets they’ve heard. Clothing would make fantastic conversationalists if it could speak. We’ve seen a pink and copper edged book doing the rounds on Instagram and blogs so when Whitcoulls had a sale, we naturally had to get it.
The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees is a book that doesn’t dictate what you should wear or what you should own. Instead it asks you to take a look at what you have or don’t have in your wardrobe, how you utilise what you own and how to declutter your wardrobe of items you don’t wear. It is not too preachy a la Marie Kondo and isn’t an intimidating, condescending read. That is something not always a guarantee with books of this nature and for me personally, I find it a bit of a turnoff if a book is structured in that way. There is a whole lot of useful, reliable information in here as to how you can minimise your closet but today I’m going to share four things I took away from it.
Keep a diary of the clothes you wear for two weeks. Inside The Curated Closet, there’s a series of questions to answer in relation to this exercise and it is extensive. For those of you who don’t own the book though, making a brief note of what you’re wearing across a fortnight is particularly telling. It can help you identify where you should invest in your wardrobe, what pieces are being reached for repeatedly, how you’re adapting your wardrobe around your day-to-day activities and vice versa.
Invest in well designed, well made pieces. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean high-end, designer brands. Use some common sense here. Look at the fabric, if you’re buying online have a glance over the reviews. By all means have some basics to fall back on but invest in the pieces you know you’ll wear time and time again. For me that means items like a well made coat, a structured skirt or some ankle boots. Again your diary can help you here.
Styling can make all the difference. Plain doesn’t have to mean boring. A red lip or a pair of statement earrings are some subtle nuances that can elevate an outfit. There are so many easy ways to switch up your looks with touches like makeup, accessories and something as simplistic as whether or not you tuck a shirt in, roll up the sleeves on a blouse or layer two pieces together.
How to assess garment quality for beginners. As Rees rightly points out, high end doesn’t necessarily mean high quality. We found this chapter particularly useful and will definitely refer back to it often when making a more luxe investment. We also like to rely on word of mouth here as well of course as asking friends where their cherished garments are from.
The Curated Closet is available now for $46, published by Ebury.
Sophie Putze also writes at Nana Wintour.