As I’ve mentioned before, my aunt is one of my style icons. She’s worked in the fashion and interior design worlds for as long as I can remember and has probably cultivated a stronger sense of style than anyone I know. Every time I see her, whether we’re hanging at her pool in the summer or dressed up for a holiday, she’s incredibly put-together and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything that didn’t have some kind of color coordination, interesting layering, or eye-catching jewelry. And don’t even get me started on her closet—or should I say closets, plural— which are color coordinated with custom hangers and the whole nine yards.
But as anyone with a great sense of style, she also tends to shop a lot, and therefore cultivate a very full closet. Last week, we sat down over FaceTime to go through her closet and make some much-needed edits. My aunt is starting a new job soon and is generally in spring-cleaning mode, so we had our work cut out for us. After a few hours of cycling through her collection of pants, shirts, jackets, shoes, and bags, I’m pleased to say that we removed a healthy amount of items that were not longer serving her and merely filling up prime real estate in her closet. We tossed things like like the frilly boho blouses that now feel outdated or a the leather pants she hasn’t touched in years.
I weighed in on which pieces were holding her back from honing in on her style and which pieces felt worthy of keeping. Get all the details about our joint closet clean out ahead.
Tossed: Oversized Sweaters
Kept: Jacket-Style Cardigans
The first thing my aunt was ready to remove from her closet was a pile of big oversized sweaters. “I realized all of them were making me feel kind of frumpy and not doing anything for my overall silhouette.” Instead, she’s been reaching for cardigans that have more of a boxy jacket shape to them and loves the way they show off her waist when styled with high-waist trousers.
J.Crew
Emilie Sweater Lady Jacket in Stripe
English Factory
Crop Knit Cardigan
Alex Mill
Paris Sweater Jacket
Mango
Striped Cardigan With Jewel Buttons
Tossed: Leather Pants
Kept: Wide-Leg Trousers
Now that the winter months are behind us, we tackled her section of cold-weather items to remove what she didn’t wear at all this year and leather pants were the first on the list. While she’ll keep one or two pairs on hand that have a more relaxed fit, we removed the others with skinnier fits that she hadn’t worn at all recently. “Anything in the realm of a leather jean—they’ve got to go,” she insisted, and based on the way trends are going, I couldn’t agree more. Instead, wide-leg trousers are the go-to pants she’s wearing the most right now.
Nordstrom
Double Pleat Wide Leg Pants
Aritzia
The Effortless Pant
Reformation
Mason High Waist Wide Leg Pants
Tossed: Block-Heel Pumps
Kept: Skinny-Heel Pumps
She loves a good pair of heels, but some of hers were starting to feel more dated than others. Block heels with a rounded toe is one such style we both agreed didn’t feel as “now”. “I’m craving something with a slimmer heel,” she told me and showed me a pair of the Tony Bianco suede point-toe mules she recently bought.
Vagabond Shoemakers
Lykke Pointed Toe Slingback Pump
Reformation
Wilda Kitten Mule
Tossed: Moto Jackets
Kept: Lady Jackets
“While I do think everyone should have a moto jacket, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll just never been that girl,” she admitted. So with that, we removed an excess of the edgy jackets from her coat closet. “I’m so glad these lady jackets are trending because it’s more true to my personal style,” she continued, sharing a recent J.Crew jacket purchase that she’s been living in.
Mango
Pocket Tweed Jacket
Nili Lotan
Paige Cotton Blend Tweed Jacket
Tossed: Crossbody Bags
Kept: Top-Handle Bags
While we didn’t remove every single crossbody bag in her closet, we did agree that we should only keep the more everyday styles on hand and remove any bags that veered too evening because as far as going-out bags are concerned, she’s much more interested in carrying a polished top-handle bag out to dinner or an event.
Savette
Symmetry Pochette Leather Clutch
Tory Burch
Mini Leather Swing Crossbody Bag
Reformation
Monica Crossbody
Zara
Metallic Handle Mini Bucket Bag
Tossed: Boho-Style Tops
Kept: Classic Poplin Shirting
Mid-way through our call, she pulled out a series of boho blouses that I personally hadn’t seen in years. They featured bright floral prints with ruffle sleeve and just had an overall dated feel to them that I honestly couldn’t see my aunt wearing today. We kept her classic poplin and silk button-down shirts that she loves to wear with jeans on more casual days.
Nordstrom
Poplin Button-Up Shirt
Madewell
The Oversize Stripe Straight Hem Signature Poplin Shirt
Tossed: Tangerine Orange
Kept: Cherry Red
“It’s all about red right now,” she proclaimed, ” and I’m loving it through a shoe or a sweater for a pop of color.” I couldn’t agree more with the scarlet hue being trendier than ever right now, and she pointed to several orange pieces in the very back of her close that we ended up removing to make way for a few red additions.
J.Crew
Cashmere Classic-Fit Crewneck Sweater
Mansur Gavriel
Square Toe Ballerina
Reformation
Julia Ribbed Sweater Tank