As I’ve mentioned before, my aunt is one of my style icons. She’s worked in the fashion and interior design worlds for as long as I can remember and has probably cultivated a stronger sense of style than anyone I know. Every time I see her, whether we’re hanging at her pool in the summer or dressed up for a holiday, she’s incredibly put-together and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything that didn’t have some kind of color coordination, interesting layering, or eye-catching jewelry. And don’t even get me started on her closet—or should I say closets, plural— which are color coordinated with custom hangers and the whole nine yards.
But as anyone with a great sense of style, she also tends to shop a lot, and therefore cultivate a very full closet. Last week, we sat down over FaceTime to go through her closet and make some much-needed edits. My aunt is starting a new job soon and is generally in spring-cleaning mode, so we had our work cut out for us. After a few hours of cycling through her collection of pants, shirts, jackets, shoes, and bags, I’m pleased to say that we removed a healthy amount of items that were not longer serving her and merely filling up prime real estate in her closet. We tossed things like like the frilly boho blouses that now feel outdated or a the leather pants she hasn’t touched in years.
I weighed in on which pieces were holding her back from honing in on her style and which pieces felt worthy of keeping. Get all the details about our joint closet clean out ahead.
Tossed: Oversized Sweaters
Kept: Jacket-Style Cardigans
The first thing my aunt was ready to remove from her closet was a pile of big oversized sweaters. “I realized all of them were making me feel kind of frumpy and not doing anything for my overall silhouette.” Instead, she’s been reaching for cardigans that have more of a boxy jacket shape to them and loves the way they show off her waist when styled with high-waist trousers.
J.Crew
Emilie Sweater Lady Jacket in Stripe
