I over-detoxed my wardrobe – here’s what I wish I’d kept

Sick of the sight of sequins? Finished with all those party dresses? Before you dismiss your fashion old faithfuls, allow me to offer a cautionary tale.

Back in October I over-detoxed my wardrobe. I was soon returning to work after maternity leave, the season was beginning to change from a scorching summer into a mild autumn, and I felt sick of the sight of most of my clothes.

There were pieces that I had worn non-stop through the sweaty heatwave, and ones that had faded after too many hot washes to remove baby sick. There were things that no longer fit, or that I thought I had worn too many times, or that I just didn’t feel I wanted to wear for my big fresh start. On many items I also performed that crucial test that professional declutterers tell you to do. I asked: have I worn this in the last 18 months?

Writing this now, with hindsight, I can see all the red flags. For about three years, my sartorial needs hadn’t been my “normal” – there was the maternity year, plus the pandemic before that. The weather was freakish through 2022, meaning some items were barely touched, while others were over-relied on.

Anyone else attempting a declutter might have better computed all of this, to evaluate what they need for their lifestyle now. But in the couple of hours that I had set aside to sort out the mess in my wardrobe, I was absolutely ruthless.

When Carrie Bradshaw detoxes her walk-in closet in Sex and the City, she does so with an audience of friends to watch her fashion show, plus two bottles of champagne and neat cards for her “take” and “toss” piles. Armed with a scrappy packet of Post-it Notes, a roll of black sacks and a 90-minute window while my husband took the baby to the park, mine was a rather more frenzied, less considered floor-drobe assault.

Anything “tatty” was first on my hit list. Leggings with holes in, faded tops that had long been relegated to scruffy beachwear – so far, so sensible.

As I moved through the categories, I picked up the pace – floral summer dresses (so over them, and they didn’t suit me much anyway), then trousers, shirts, skirts...

I’m a knitwear hoarder, with dozens of jumpers and cardigans. But where I once loved a cartoonish statement sweater, now anything too children’s-TV-presenter-ish had to go (the fashion irony is somewhat lost when you really do have a one-year-old on your arm). I culled eight knits without hesitation.

The ideal time?

I identified four pairs of jeans that could go, leaving me with seven still in service (three “fancy” styles like flares, four staple straight legs) plus picked bobbly swimwear and sun-bleached kaftans for the bin. By the time my family returned, I had four bags full, destined for resale, recycling, or the charity shop.

To many, the start of a new year may seem like an ideal time to tackle a wardrobe detox. Ditch the bloat of partywear, pull forward some activewear, get ready to return to work and acknowledge spring’s new trends. The “new year, new you” mindset is all well and good, but the experts say it’s important not to completely forget about the old you.  

What I didn’t make was a “maybe” pile. The stylist Anna Berkeley, who offers at-home “wardrobe management” sessions, says that the main thing I did wrong was to start the clear out when charging up for a life change, rather than a few weeks into it. It’s the fashion equivalent of breaking up with a boyfriend and heading straight to the hairdressers for a dramatic cut.

“Never embark on a clear out when you are emotional,” she warns. “This is when errors happen. Wait until you are calmer. I have had instances where clients think they really want to clear out, but actually they aren’t ready to do so. The best way to tackle this is with an interim move. I ask clients to make a box of pieces they are unsure about and put them away for six months.”

Little and often

Charlotte Reddington and Gemma Lilly, stars of the highly-addictive decluttering Instagram service Style Sisters, agree that I should have settled into my new lifestyle before assessing what I needed. “Anything that looks like it could even remotely be a regret, we recommend holding on to,” they say.

The friends perform routine, seasonal detoxes for clients including Rochelle Humes and Rita Ora, and suggest that if, like me, you are time-poor, you should adopt a little and often approach – break the task into clear sections (even a drawer at a time) and reassess each category frequently. They ask a more comprehensive series of questions: When was the last time you wore it? How does it make you feel? What will you wear it with?

There’s no need to worry that I’ve truly left myself with nothing to wear. I’ve still got plenty of clothes (as a fashion editor, it’s an occupational hazard). But there are some huge gaps in my wardrobe that now need to be refilled - many of which only become apparent when it’s too late, I’ve got the invitation, and it dawns on me that I used to own the perfect outfit to wear for it.

I wish I hadn’t got rid of so many classic party clothes. When surveying the rail, I surmised that I had too many black tops that I’d worn in too many pictures, over too many years. I didn’t buy any to replace them, so when party season came around I found myself scrambling for something to put with a skirt.

Different coats, I remembered once it got cold, work well with different hemlines during the winter. Ditto that some trouser cuts work better with boots versus shoes. There is merit in having options to play with in combinations, and I wish I had taken more time to try things on during the great purge. I should have kept more of my “statement” items (they make getting dressed interesting) and more workwear choices. You really can’t have enough.

Some of my giveaways were also just bad luck. How was I to know that an invitation for a black-tie wedding reception would arrive mere days after I had sold a metallic Needle & Thread maxi dress on eBay, and shipped it off at the Post Office? So I’ll need to buy something new for that. I also went to a funeral at the start of December, and worried about whether I had a smart enough dark coat.

A helpful exercise was to go through what remains and to try things on, making complete outfits. This allowed me to identify gaps, many of which seemed to be pacified at least with a few staple buys like the M&S long-sleeve cotton T-shirt I am wearing in the pictures here. I bought two, both in black, and have plugged them with everything from bold printed skirts to chunky cardigans this winter. 

As summer comes around and there are holidays to pack for, I’m sure even more of my errors will become clear. I would advise anyone who is detoxing to make a list of what they got rid of – from it you can create a more useful shopping list to take forward.

The good thing about having donated so much to my local charity shop, of course, is that some of my not-trash-actually-treasures might still be on the shop floor. Is it lunacy to go in and buy it all back? Please do send your answers on a scrappy Post-it Note. 

Keep or cull?

Left to right: Khaki ribbed T-shirt, £17.50, marksandspencer.com; Penelope skirt, £175, oliviarubin.com; Boyfriend shirt, £95, withnothingunderneath.com

Keep – good basics

Don’t throw out good staples unless they are genuinely tatty. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve worn them, honestly, no one remembers, and a stash of black tops can solve so many sartorial problems.

Keep – party separates

The same party season trends come around year after year; velvet, embellishment, lurex, satin. If you have the space to store them away from your daily wardrobe, hang on to separates (not dresses) as they can suddenly prove useful when trying to cobble together an outfit for a last-minute invitation.

Keep – timeless shirts

Whatever your work dress code, check that you have enough clothes that will pass muster covering at least 10 days. Having lots of shirts to rotate is never a bad thing.

Left to right: Panelled swimsuit, £37.50, boden.co.uk; Jasmine dress, £189, Stine Goya at dominostyle.co.uk; Arty coat, £282, BA&SH at theoutnet.com

Cull – old beachwear

There’s no need to hang on to swimsuits that don’t fit, or that are sun-faded. But do make a note of exactly what you’re ditching, so that you are not caught short and have time to buy good replacements before your next holiday.  

Cull – surplus occasion dresses

This is one category that you can easily attack. That dress you wore to several weddings was expensive to buy, yes, but also will fetch a higher return than other clothing items if you sell it on. Recycle, and wear something different to the next one.

Cull – excess coats, but carefully!

Before deciding to get rid of any coat, think about both the occasions you wear it for and the hemlines you wear it with – eg smart dinners out, with long skirts. This will help you to determine whether you already own another that does the same job, or if you need to find a new one to fill the gap.