Wednesday 19 October 2016

A little peek inside my wardrobe

Last Wednesday, I had an unexpected day off, as it was Yom Kippur (my boss is Jewish), which meant we were not allowed to come into work. It's an extra day we get on top of our regular vacation days, so who was I to complain? In fact, I immediately knew how I would spend the day.

It was time again for the biannual great wardrobe switch! I'd already made a half hearted start, but apart from freeing up some hanging space by putting away my sleeveless summer dresses, I hadn't gotten very far.  Wednesday turned out to be a dismal day, making it the perfect weather for what I had in mind.

 A word of warning, though: if you  prefer a minimalist wardrobe, this will be a shock to the system!




After breakfast, I took out the majority of my summer dresses, leaving only a couple of thicker ones which I might still wear, as well as anything which is a nightmare to iron and which I prefer to keep on their hangers all year round. I folded the others and made neat piles ready for putting into vacuum bags.


Then, it was time to open the huge linen chest, which used to belong to Jos's grandparents, and which we use to store out of season clothes. I took out all the bags containing my long-sleeved dresses, leaving only a bag of heavy woollen ones, as well as a bag of jumpers, which I'll tackle on a later date.


Opening the bags usually yields one or two surprises: dresses I had half or even completely forgotten about.  Anything that no longer appeals is discarded and things I remember being a close fit are tried on and put aside for now if they are too snug.


Eventually, the bed ended up completely covered in dresses, after which I could start the more enjoyable task of hanging them up. By colour, obviously. Yes, I am a nerd like that, but it really makes life easier.









There, that's better, isn't it?

Admittedly, they are packed too closely together, so maybe I should get rid of some more ...












By now, I think it’s time I told you about my vintage wardrobe. Not the clothes, mind you, you are seeing quite enough of those already, but my actual wardrobe or closet.



For many years, my husband and I had side-by-side identical pine IKEA wardrobes. When I look at the size of them now, I'm wondering how mine could have contained all my clothes, as it is way too small.

I do have another wardrobe tucked away in our spare room, one I’ve had since I first left home in the early eighties, as well as a rickety chest of drawers for all the smaller stuff, but still ...



Since I started buying and wearing vintage frocks, I ran out of space very quickly, but I had very specific requirements as to what my “dream wardrobe” should be like. What I needed was less shelving and more hanging space.

I also wanted the wardrobe to be a vintage one so, armed with the necessary measurements, we spent our Saturdays visiting charity shop after charity shop in search of the elusive wardrobe.






Finally, in early March of last year, we spotted the wardrobe at the ridiculous price of € 65.

















The main part of the wardrobe, with its bow-fronted doors, opens to a full rail of hanging space.

The side doors, which are adorned with carved flower panels, hide additional hanging space on the left and shelving on the right, and there's even a drawer under one of the shelves which is perfect for accessories!



The only thing missing was a shelf above the hanging space in the main part of the wardrobe, originally meant for storing hats. That was soon righted, however, as we found just the right kind of shelf in in another charity shop a couple of weeks later. It only needed shortening, and it's now holding my smaller handbags.



My original wardrobe has been put to good use too. It now lives in the spare room and is holding our coats and jackets. It would definitely benefit from a clear-out, as there are some that haven't been worn for years. And I am not the only guilty one here ...



Although I was knackered after all the switching around, I still decided to tackle my shoes as well. Out with the frivolous summer shoes and sandals, and in with the winter shoes and boots. They are stored in the spare room too, in a tower of IKEA shoe boxes, which neatly open at the front.

I guess I'm all ready for autumn and winter now!

Before I sign off, there is something that puts all this into perspective. Two days after I wrote this post, I logged into my Facebook account, only to be confronted by the terrible news that our friend and fellow blogger Jessica Cangiano of the fabulous Chronically Vintage blog, was hit by a devastating tragedy, losing her house and all its contents in a house fire.

If you would like to help Jessica and her husband Tony get back on their feet, please have a look at the You Caring page and the Facebook page which have been set up.


29 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. That's me, Ingrid. Everything in its right place! xxx

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  2. That wardrobe piece of furniture is fantastic!
    I too am switching out the clothes and since I've lost a couple of pounds, I am shedding the larger sizes. Since I just started adding dresses to my stash, I don't have nearly the variety you do.
    Unfortunately, a consignment seller skipped town with all of my smaller sized, high end clothing. May the karmic Gods punish her into eternity.

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    1. I have been wearing mainly dresses for quite a few years now, and with some cheap vintage shops in the city where I work, I have gathered quite a collection by now ... xxx

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  3. Your wardrobe is truly droolworthy AND SO NEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish mine was like that. It is a mess. We have some lovely 1950's walnut wardrobes in our bedroom which belong to our landlord. I really like them!x

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    1. I am quite organized, which isn't a bad thing when your wardrobe in the size of mine. At the moment, my collection of skirts, which is in another wardrobe, is a bit of a mess, which means I can't find anything ...xxx

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  4. your "schrank" ist so beautiful! this wood, the carvings and doorknobs!!
    dont give the "to much" dresses away! just store them - you´ll need them later in life - because in 10 years there will be nothing left on the marked from all this gorgeousness! and we shrink when we age further, so even the to small yet things will fit later!
    i just trow away unfixable worn out stuff lately. the "to much" clothes are stored away with lavender in a dark airy space. i hope that the clothes i own at this moment will last for the rest of my life - minus undies and stockings of cause......
    huge hugs!
    xxxxxx
    ps: thank you for mentioning jessica! <3

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    1. Oh, thanks Beate. It was love at first sight! I'm a bit of a hoarder (understatement, I know), so I'm putting away most of the surplus/too tight dresses for later. I just don't want them taking up any hanging space, which is at a premium. xxx

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  5. That fantastic wardrobe only cost E65? It's gorgeous!

    Have you introduced the kitty before? What's his/her name?

    It was such awful news about Jessica; I'm really glad everyone has rallied round her and Tony. Losing their cat must be devastating, so it's great that people are helping them with the replaceable stuff.

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    1. The kitty is a little she-devil, called Phoebe. She's eight and we adopted her when she was just one year old, after we lost our previous cat. xxx

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  6. People who have a summer wardrobe and a winter wardrobe amaze me, it's such an organised thing to do! I literally just have all my clothes out at all times and generally wear things all year round. This is particularly noticeable with shoes, I have none of what I would call winter footwear.
    The wardrobe itself is just gorgeous and for €65, that's a real bargain! xx

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    1. I've only been doing the wardrobe swap thing for a couple of years, out of necessity as I don't have enough wardrobe space ... I do have things I'm wearing all year round too. xxx

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  7. I'm the same as Cate. I just have one lot of clothes for all year around and a pile of jumpers but then I have nowhere to store clothes anyway so I couldn't put them away anyway!

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    1. We're lucky to have that linen chest, which is huge. I would run out of hanging space if I kept it all out ... xxx

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  8. How lovely to have an impromptu day off and to get round to doing that pesky wardrobe swap-over. Yours looks so neat and prettily arranged, my starts off like that and ends up like there's been an explosion in a charity shop - necklaces in a tangle on the bed, clothes draped across every surface...I really need to take a leaf out of your book and do it properly!!
    Vintage wardrobes in the charity shops here are insanely cheap. I was stroking a 1930s veneered Deco double wardrobe this morning priced at £35. The sad thing is that most people would rather fill their homes with boring minimal rubbish with no personality. xxxx

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    1. I have a reputation for being super organized. Not everything is as neatly arranged as what I've been showing you though. Anyway, I'm glad the wardrobe swap has been finished, and without sacrificing any precious weekend time ... We've been buying quite a lot of our furniture in charity shops, and can't understand why anyone would go to IKEA and have the same as everyone else. xxx

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  9. A wardrobe like that would cost a fortune in the US-and wouldn't be nearly as beautiful.

    My mother organised her clothes (and linens) by colour-my "Anything goes" style of shoving everything in the cupboard drove her mad. If you saw my sorting system you'd break out in allergic hives!

    I LOVE the sweater you're wearing in last year's photo. If you ever get tired of it, let me know!

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    1. I am breaking out in allergic hives already ;-) I'll keep you in mind for that sweater, Goody. Will have to devise a system to remember who I promised what ... xxx

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  10. Well Ann it's hard to say who has the most clothes.
    We are definitely in competition with each other. As we know we have the same style sense and love of colour, wouldn't it be great to ransack each other's wardrobes.
    I put my frocks in sleeve length order with the shortest at the front. Gawd what does that say about me. I also colour coordinate my washing line haha
    Lynn X X X

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    1. Oh, wouldn't that be a lovely thing, Lynn? I don't feel too bad about my neatness thing, now that I know about your washing line ;-) xxx

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  11. I would love a wardrobe like that if only I had the room but alas not possible in a poky 70's house.

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    1. It took us a while to find the right wardrobe as we only had the space between the door to the landing and the one which hides a fitted cupboard. This wardrobe actually fits exactly between the two. xxx

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  12. I'm not quite sure what to say without sounding insanely jealous! Wow! Your wardrobe in both senses of the word, furniture and contents, is amazing. Really, just wow! In fact seeing posts like this has made me go out and buy some under the bed storage boxes and do a summer/winter clothes swap for the first time ever. The only problem is that most of my clothes are summer so suddenly my wardrobe is empty and I've gone all shop-happy! Uh-oh! Is it alright to blame you for my spending spree?! :) Xxx

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    1. Thank you, Tania. Didn't want to make you feel jealous, though, but I guess I would feel a little bit jealous too. Oh, and it's ok, you can blame me ... xxx

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  13. Goodness, your wardrobe is as wonderful outside as in! The wood is just so beautiful! Ours is Edwardian and I only have half of the hanging space, none of the drawers and nor do I have any of the drawers in the 20's chest of drawers! Oh what I could do with a walk in wardrobe, my love of organising would come into its own! Makes me giddy even thinking about it, hehe xxx

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    1. Thanks Melanie. To be honest, I would love to have a walk in wardrobe too, with space for all my clothes. Unfortunately, short of winning the lottery, it isn't o be ... xxx

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  14. I see what you mean about coats! hehe.
    What a lovely big wardrobe, mine is built in so I have no hope of ever improving upon it but it's big enough. If it does start to feel too full then I know it's time to sort out a few clothes to go off to my favourite charity shop in town.
    Maybe if we extend the house I can have a walk in wardrobe - that would be heavenly, although I'd have an excuse to hold on to a lot more clothes!

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    1. A walk in wardrobe has long been a dream of mine, but unfortunately we don't have the space for it, and there's not scope for extending the house. I guess it will remain a dream, but at least I now feel the need for some sorting out from time to time. I've been very brave and have just given away a coat ... xxx

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  15. A walk in wardrobe has long been a dream of mine, but unfortunately we don't have the space for it, and there's not scope for extending the house. I guess it will remain a dream, but at least I now feel the need for some sorting out from time to time. I've been very brave and have just given away a coat ... xxx

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