Editing Your Closet With Nostalgia

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Floral-on-floral action at f*ckyeahugly90sclothes.
FMF regular, Nora Bradshaw, is doing some spring cleaning and wants to know what old, beloved clothes to keep and what to give away. When you've hit the age that your teen clothes are popular once again, there are a few things to take into consideration before putting on your favorite babydoll dress and dancing around to New Kids on the Block.

First of all, do you have the same hair you had in high school? It may seem weird to address hair when we're talking about clothes, but I can date people in my town by their hair style. They found something they liked in ninth grade and never looked back. If you have the same hair style you did 10 or 15 years ago, it's doing you no favors. Update your hair.

Now to your clothing nostalgia. You may be really excited that a trend you loved at 17 is coming back in style. I know I'm thrilled about chokers. Remember that you're not 17. A larger degree of sartorial ridiculousness can be gotten away with when you're young (or very old). Your life is different than it was in high school. Remember, you still have a toddler to chase, PTA meetings to attend and sales presentations to give. If you want to revisit some trends with beloved old clothes, make sure it fits into your life.

What to keep? There are a lot of cuts and shapes in stores right now -- pleat waist pants, body-con dresses, crop tops, oversized boxy blazers, but if your silhouette isn't in stores, chuck it. (Yes, your Jncos are done.) Shape is king.

Is this a quality item? A silk shirt from 1995 may be worth restyling. $10 polyester pants from Dots, not so much. Don't even give away what is stretched, torn, stained or just plain itchy. Throw it out.

How many trends are contained in one item. Neon splattered jeans can still work. Neon splattered, high-waisted, pleat-front jeans? Purge those. Purge them with fire.

Later this week, I'll have tips on how to restyle some of your favorite 90s clothes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was JUST figuring out today how to purge my closet--I'm a hoarder to an extent and can never part with anything. Thanks for being that extra push for me to reevaluate the pieces I have and whether or not they're worth salvaging.

-Shirley
Minted Magazine | MintedMag.com
April 11, 2012 at 6:41 AM
Jael Paris said…
It helps to bring in a friend for honest evaluations too. She'll tell you if the item you love is as amazing as you think it is.
April 11, 2012 at 10:11 AM
Jennifer Wells said…
I'm a regular! My eyes are sparkling.

For the record, I never danced to NKOTB.

I believe it's natural to have a certain fondness for one's formative years. Nevertheless, nothing is lamer than someone who swears up and down that everything was "better" at that time.

Should you have hair suggestions, if I am not being presumptuous, I would be delighted to see them. You're right, hair is a dead giveaway. Crispy mall bangs, I'm lookin' at you.
April 11, 2012 at 1:54 PM
Candace said…
Neon splattered high waist pleat front jeans...purge them with fire AND then scatter the ashes over the hudson river lol
April 14, 2012 at 8:36 PM
Jael Paris said…
Funny story, I was telling my brother who graduated in the 80s about this post. He waxed poetic about how awesome high-waisted, pleat-front, acid-wash jeans are and how he'd buy 50 pairs if he could find them again. We're very different, my brother and I.
April 15, 2012 at 8:22 AM
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