Winterize Your Wardrobe

How to Repurpose Your Summer Clothing. . .

The worst part about living in New York is quite frankly the closet space (unless your famous or just dripping in money) you are left to the most measly sized of closets. I was dreading the move here for this particular reason form the very beginning. Given back in Kansas I was livin' the dream. I had four closets and one was just purely dedicated to my shoes! It took me ages to sort through everything and after many headaches, and a few tears I got rid of about 2/3 of my closet and about 1/2 of my shoes. . . although a few extras might have snuck their way here. I swear I have no idea how that happened. . . When I arrived to New York I thought the boy was going to kill me we had my clothes coming out of our ears. They were EVERYWHERE! And he only recently discovered a few weeks ago I've been storing sweaters in our coffee bar drawers. . . oops. 

What felt like months, I finally had everything situated and home for all my treasures. I even managed to bag up another round of donate items that I couldn't part with in Kansas. I had to 'divide' my closet, which I haven't had to do since I lived in a little shoebox of a flat in London. Where I put all my winter clothes in tubs and stuff them under the bed and leave all the valuable hanging space and dresser drawers for everyday things and summer goodies. Well, as the leaves have been turning and the air around us keeps getting more crisp I've had the dreaded task of switching out my light, bright summer clothing with my bulky, heavy winter outfits. I fiiiinnallly just finished playing musical 'tubs' with my clothes and our bedroom has ceased to look like a littered dressing room.

This new divided closet brought about a new problem however. Before, in Kansas all my clothes were on display and readily available so I could mix and match as I pleased. Now, the likeliness of me digging under my bed to find that 'one skirt' that matches perfectly with my jacket is well- None. So, I decided to hold back any summer clothes I saw winter potential in, and proceeded to pack up all the clothes that screamed- it's 100 degrees! 

I love mixing and matching clothes that you might only have seen one purpose for, it's like a favourite hobby of mine. It's a great way to get extra milage out of the clothes you already have and make new outfits you might never have thought of. They tend to end up being some of my favourite outfits. 

Here's some examples of how you can get creative 

and get those extra wears out of the items you love!

Don't be afraid to add pops of colour to your cooler weather clothes. This is one of my favourite summer dresses, it's bright and cheery yellow stripes are sure to put you in a good mood. I paired it with a muted gray sweater so the yellow wasn't too overwhelming. I belted the top to keep that cinched waist of the dress I love. Add your favourite ankle boots, a chunky necklace and you're ready to go! 

You'd think this light weight turquoise crop top had seen the last of it's days when the weather veered south of 80, but think again! I gave it a whole new life by pairing it with a heavy long-sleeve white top, dark wash denim jeans and blinged it out with some jewelry and fun suede knee-high boots to make this a perfect go-to for any causal day. 

This backless summer dress lends itself to the fall colour palette making it a simple transition to your winter wardrobe. I pulled out the plum colour from the print and added some tights, threw on a solid chunky knit cream sweater and added a thin braided belt to add some more texture to make a shape out of a bulky sweater! I added a fun military inspired boots to keep that edgy chic look and one of my favourite vintage clutches. My back is covered from the cold viola, now I can wear this dress all year long. 

Key Items to Look for:

•  Already have a fall colour palette (plums, deep reds, browns, oranges, tans, blacks, dark greens)
• Can easily be paired with a long sleeve shirt to give it a new life
• A fun dress that matches a sweater you own

Easy Add-Ons to Instantly Winterize:

• tights, tights, tights! 
• Winter boots
• A great sweater or awesome jacket

What Are You Waiting For? Go Winterize Your Wardrobe!