How Does Your Closet Make You Feel?

Ah, the feels! All the feels! Splashing around in one’s emotional puddles can feel utterly liberating, especially when it comes to our closets. We fall hard for hand-beading, get butterflies over beautiful fabrics and feel like a Marvel superhero in the mere presence of a jumpsuit.

But then there’s always that really murky puddle – the one we try to avoid. You know, the one that sends brown splatter all over our smug faces. (I’ll show you feels!) The one that harbours more uncouth impulses then we’d ever own up to – fear, anxiety, shame, regret – icky, smelly and embarrassing. So we don’t go near that puddle. We keep a wide berth. Why? Well, apart from the fact that mud is a b*tch to get out on a cold cycle, we don’t like to admit that our closets can make us feel anxious. And so, instead we feel silly. I mean, it’s only clothing? So why the stress levels?

Perhaps, it’s the fact that your wardrobe might actually be a worm hole to another dimension (which could explain the disappearance of last week’s haul) or that the last time you went shopping was 1996 and although the moths have become a bit like family; you know deep down that mildew is doing you no favours. And for those expecting the fashion apocalypse? It’s happened already (see: bodystockings, Yeezy Fall 2015) so you can stop stockpiling and/or starting every sentence with ‘But what if I need…’.

The trick to creating wardrobe wellness? Acknowledging your shadow side: facing up to those murky feelings and showing them some compassion. That’s right. Go easy on yourself. The only way we can remain present and be accountable to our closet happiness is with a healthy dose of forgiveness.

So, you’ve stashed away more contraband than a Columbian drug cartel (hello, Secret Shopper!). Maybe, that shoe collection of yours could be worth a decent retirement plan. Relax. What’s done is done. Ignoring these persistent puddles won’t make them go away but identifying and acknowledging them is the first big step to clearing up your closet health. In the meantime, have fun splashing around. Just don’t forget those wellies…