Pros and Cons of a Walk-In Closet – Dream or Nightmare?

This post discusses the pros and cons of a walk-in closet with respect to their size. It points out why the size of a wardrobe fails to be incredibly stylish, and provides tips to curate your wardrobe to fit into a closet of any size.

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Is a Room Full of Clothes Really a Dream?

When I was a kid, I dreamed of having a dressing room. Clothing racks along two walls and shelves for shoes and bags along the others. I thought that this is what Caroline of Monaco (one of my style icons back then) would have. 😉

When we moved to Alaska, we rented a house that had a small, toilet-stall size walk-in closet. There was a clothes rack on the back wall, a shelf for sweaters and co on the side wall, hangers for hats on the other, and a full-size mirror on the inside of the door.

Having Tons of Clothes Fails to Equal to Great Style

It seemed huge too me. Half-a-year later, I run out of space. I had not (yet) figured out how to dress in Fairbanks year-round.

You can forget about having a wardrobe for all kind of dressing situation when the annual temperature range is more than 100 F (~70^oC)!

I said to myself. 

Layering Creates Interest and Insulation

Over time I learned to create insulation by layering and what to wear in cold wet weather. I also realized that not the number of clothes is important to look stylish, but

how you turn the fashion you buy into outfits.

Just think about what you pack for a business trip. When you don’t travel for work, think about the limited amount of clothing you pack for a summer vacation.

Did you know that you can easily look up what you need to dress for various dressing situations in my book How to Dress for Success in Midlife? Buy it now.

A Wardrobe Is A Curation

When we moved from Goldstream to College, I was not so much excited about the walk-in closet at the new place. It was three times the size of the one at the old place! A nightmare!

I remembered the wisdom of a former student of mine. She had said

“Nicole, what you haven’t worn in a season, you will not wear again. Toss it, sell it or give it to charity! Whatever, get rid of it!”

Thanks goodness, ballroom dance dresses take a lot of space. I moved the performance ball gowns into the closet instead of storing them in rubber-maid boxes in the garage and crawl-space. Furthermore, I also moved my shoes in.

Accumulating a large wardrobe, but having nothing to wear because of having lost track of what I won was my biggest fear.

Every Wardrobe Needs an Edit at Least Twice per Year

Today, I “re-organize” my closet twice a year – prior to the warm and cold seasons to keep my walk-in closet an edited working wardrobe and not a storage room of what I wore once upon a time. For a how to organize a wardrobe see the post at the link. In a wardrobe, one of the worst things is an item that takes up real estate for years without seeing the light. Just one of many reasons why not wearing your investment pieces is like tossing them.

Wrapping Up the Pros and Cons of a Walk-In Closet

Pros:

• Because of its size there is no need to put seasonal clothing into storage.
• Clothes can hang loose reducing the risk of wrinkles.

Cons:

You can easily loose control of what’s in a walk-in closet, due to skipping seasonal, regular inspections for fit, and removing outdated trends. Consequently, you might have nothing to wear because you loose oversight.

Memo to yourself:

A walk-in closet is real estate. Use it wisely.

 
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Photos: G. Kramm

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