Does your closet look like this?

It’s Friday!

That means it’s time for a Wardrobe Workshop Weekend Challenge. (The first one was so much fun, I figured we’d do it again.)

As a refresher — you have time on your hands over the weekend, you can spend a little of it on your image.

Here’s our challenge: Get rid of 10 articles of clothing or accessories. Shoes count. Scarves and jewelry don’t — but feel free to edit them anyway. (Hey, I get to make up the rules, that’s the point of having this website, right?!)

One of the best pieces of advice I ever read is from this book and it goes something like this: “No one ever looked consistently fabulous having the same three articles of clothing front and center in their closet.”

Don’t agonize over each piece, just go with your gut instinct

Well … I have seen quite a few interesting things hanging front and center in clients’ closets. It seems as if there’s actually an inverse relationship, in some cases, between how often an item gets worn and how prominently it hangs in the closet.

Examples:

• 17-year-old logo’d fleece
• 15-year-old prom dress
• 20-year-old interview outfit
• 15-year old rehearsal dinner outfit.

Now, I am not suggesting you have to get rid of those clothes. You can if you want to, and chances are quite good you are never going to wear them if they’re anything like the examples I’ve given. But if you can’t bear to get rid of them — and they do have sentimental value, after all — then please — I’m begging you now — move them out of the best real estate in your closet. They don’t deserve to be there. Create an archive for them instead and store it off-site.

A client’s closet, after 1 session with me and some work on her own.

How about the tattered, the pilled, the stained, the torn, the … ugly? Those are the pieces to focus on. The suit with tags on it that is 10 years old. You never wore it and have had two babies since then and never wear suits any more. You will never wear that suit.

Just trust me on that one.

Look for 10 pieces like that. (10 must be my favorite number today!) Put them in a bag. Take them to your favorite charity. (In DC, here’s mine; this is another great option for professional clothing.)

Then head over to Facebook and leave a comment letting me know how you fared!

(Ketura Persellin is a personal stylist, image consultant, writer, and public speaker in Washington, DC, and surrounding suburbs. Please contact her to schedule a complimentary get-acquainted session.)