How to Have a Stylish Minimalist Wardrobe Part II

This is my moodboard:

Images Courtesy of: Oracle Fox, Les Composantes,  They All Hate Us, Philo Sofia, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Les Anti-Modernes, Temp Files

Obviously this isn’t all of it. I used to make actual physical moodboards with tear-outs on a corkboard, but recently I’ve moved all of it over to Pinterest which you can check out here.

So what does a bunch of pretty pictures have to do with your closet? The first part of minimizing your closet is focusing on what you love. That means that the first step is finding out what type of style and mood resonates with you.

Why should you bother to make a moodboard? Because sometimes we have a hard time articulating what we like or why we like it, until we see it all collected together and laid out in front of us.

1. Create a Moodboard

So gather together any images that speak to you, it doesn’t need to be outfits only, but I would recommend staying away from formal wear. Don’t think too much about what you are collecting, just pick any images that really resonate with you.

2. Interpret your Moodboard

Now that you have your moodboard, take note of what it is telling you. Look at your images and find the dominant colors, patterns, fabrics, styles, and shapes. This will act as a guideline for the next steps in planning your wardrobe.

Let’s take my moodboard for example:

Color: Neutrals are my favorite, with a lot of black, white, navy, and taupe.

Patterns: Stripes and leopard print!

Fabrics: Soft knits and fur accents. I also know from experience (aka my closet and extended moodboard) that leather and silk are my other favorites.

Styles: this one is a little trickier. While I can expound on how to spot influences and decades, you really just have to go with your gut. I’d say that mine is a little ’50s bombshell, a little stereo-typical french, conservative but a little mussed, graphic and a little glam-casual. This might not mean anything to you (and yours probably wouldn’t mean anything to me!) but it’s important to try and articulate what you want your style to be.

Shape: I love me some a-line! This really hasn’t changed at all with my style over the years. The other dominant shapes are wide leg trousers, pencil skirts, and button down shirts.

So now that you have gone through this little exercise, write all of your style notes down and keep it somewhere (maybe on your moodboard?). You will want to hold onto it for the next step.

Stay tuned…

Check out the rest of the series “How to Have a Stylish Minimalist Wardrobe” here.