Clean Your Closet, Unlock Your Style

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🗝️ Jennifer's Outfit Details

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🗝️ Featured in the video

🗝️ Time Stamps
0:00 Clean your closet, change your life
1:40 The first step
2:45 Reasons to declutter your closet
4:37 Blumene sponsor
6:12 The fun part beings!
8:00 The holes in your wardrobe
9:23 Thoughtfulness is essential
10:22 What if you don't like anything you have?
11:33 It's a journey

⚜️ Jennifer L. Scott is the New York Times bestselling author of LESSONS FROM MADAME CHIC, AT HOME WITH MADAME CHIC, and POLISH YOUR POISE WITH MADAME CHIC (Simon & Schuster) and CONNOISSEUR KIDS (Chronicle Books). On this channel you will see homemaking, capsule wardrobe (ten-item wardrobe), modern etiquette, ladylike and elegant living, and many other tips on how to become your own Madame Chic and Daily Connoisseur. New videos every week.

⚜️ Popular videos:

*NEW* The Ten-Item Wardrobe
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Carry Yourself with Poise
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How to be Efficient at Home

⚜️ Further Resources

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End music: Reflections by Borrtex

FTC: This video is sponsored by Blumene. Affiliate links may also be used which means the creator receives a commission from any purchases made at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.

[christaballerinarukavina]

One way of starting from scratch is to imagine you have experienced a catastrophe. Hopefully, this will never happen to you, but when I evacuated for Katrina, I had limited funds (local bank account was frozen). I went to Target and bought bargain versions of a presentable wardrobe: 2 pairs well fitting jeans, 2 nice T-shirts, a lightweight blazer in a plaid earthtone palette, and the Target version of Frye harness boots. En route to my final destination, I visited my brother's young family in a Chicago suburb. I was treated to a hair appointment and afterwards stopped at a hospital thrift shop where I 'scored' a new black cashmere turtleneck. I later found a man's smaller size Harris tweed jacket and an oversized denim jacket at another thrift. Fewer than 10 items got me through a Wisconsin autumn.

[laurarosanne]

What a lovely video, thank you Jennifer!
May I make a suggestion for the ‘maybe-pile’? It’s from the wonderful Diane in Denmark (she is also on YT).
She suggests wearing your maybe-clothes for a day ‘on probation’.
This way you will quickly experience why you never reach for this item (too itchy, too tight, etc).
After that it’s easy to let it go.
No need to store it for 6 months or feel guilt.
I hope this helps!
Best wishes from the Netherlands!

[carolynmaves]

It takes time but it is possible to find quality clothing at thrift stores. Some of us have tight budgets but that doesn’t mean we can’t dress nicely. 🙂

[masumispann]

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing the video. I am originally Japanese and your book (Lessons from Madame Chic) was introduced in a Japanese paper 7 or 8 years ago. The Japanese title of the book was like "French has only 10 wardrobe." I was so fascinated by this title and purchased the book immediately. I don't have so much clothes now as I used to do. But, thanks to you, it is so much easier to choose my daily outfit and enjoy combining the clothes that I have.

[karinas.]

I started completely over. I didn’t have a lot to begin with but I hated it. The key for me was shopping second hand near wealthy neighborhoods. My aunt told me about a second hand store near her that had incredible name brand clothing for under $4 a piece with specialty items marked at $10 or $20. It is right next to a wealthy neighborhood. I make the drive 1.5 hrs away seasonally and stock up for less than $100. Life changing! I am excited to get dressed now!

[christiana_mandalynn]

Thrifting helped me so much when I realized that I wanted to over haul my wardrobe from frumpy, baggy, unkept, stay-at-home-mom, to reflect my true personality. I made a lot of experimental mistakes and it was nice when I had only spent $4 on each item that I ended up realizing that I didn’t like, and vice versa.

Also, aligning with aesthetic styles that I was attracted to really helped narrow down what felt like “me”. I really love a rugged, feminine, Boho style. But I also love the look of a 1940s archeologist/explorer. So as long as I have both these elements in my wardrobe, I feel like “me”.

[liana]

I do keep older, less favorite garments for wearing while doing grungy chores, painting walls, etc. I have a work clothes section in my closet. Thank you for your great tips and encouragement. 💕

[missmayflower]

In Canada, I find the change of seasons helps in the culling. You can see which things you never used and what things packed away you never missed.

[lv]

Thank you so much for this video. I do have a capsule wardrobe. Interstingly, like you, I also have lost weight, and have quality items that are too large at this point. Instead of donating them, I have a wonderful tailor that I take everything to, and will do so in this situation as well. I look forward to creating new outfits with my once-again well fitting wardrobe!

[patdennis]

You introduced me to the brand Karina. I love their dresses with huge pockets and now, only wear dresses. If it’s chilly (I live in Florida), I add a sweater and/or leggings. Seven dresses make up my entire seasonal wardrobe. There is absolutely no thinking of what to wear each day! It’s simply the dress on the left side of the row of dresses.

[christinahaftmann]

I once knew a librarian from Southern California who admitted that she owned 73 pairs of jeans! Sacre Bleu!

[dianefish]

Thank you for this inspiring video! I have a tip-do this on laundry day. You can see all the clothes you chose not to wear that week-and then it's easier to notice what you are continually not choosing to wear, and make a decision 🙂

[dtayism]

So I don’t know how 10 items will work for me. Because our life style includes many different aspects. Church, Civic, government, corporate, maritime etc😊

[heather]

I’m so guilty of holding onto old items I went clubbing in 😂 ..but since watching you, it’s helped me to be more realistic about letting go of sentimental items. I’m almost 40! And I also have changed internally; desiring to be more modest ❤

[Dulce_Domum]

I love this whole philosophy! Thanks to you, Jennifer, my closet is a joy to walk into!

For me, it wasn’t easy. I was clinging to my comfortable sweatpants. Might I suggest that you mention that for some, The Lethal Option is the only way to go. What do I mean by The Lethal Option? Donate, kicking and screaming, your “safety blanket” clothes. Every. Last. Piece. Otherwise, you will do what I did and wear the ONE track suit (sweats and sweatshirt) you permitted yourself to keep, EVERY day🤣 while beautiful dresses hung in my closet, unworn. What on EARTH was preventing me? It was so strange, and I guess I really needed that wakeup call to take the leap and let go of “the old me”. It was a HUGE leap! But worth it!❤

[ewakrawczyk]

Jennifer, I have just finished reading your book and I must say that I really loved it, I found it very inspiring. We currently live so carelessly, that is is really refreshing to be reminded that it may be different. However, I found in your book one very problematic thing: promoting “fois gras”. Geese in France are treated with such a horribly cruelty, that United Kingdom and Poland even introduced a ban on importing fois gras. I hope you will make in any next edition a correction and remove this fragment. I wish you all the best!

[valeriejohnson]

Love all your content and books. My biggest challenge with the 10 item wardrobe is that I work full time and need to balance a professional closet with what I wear chasing toddlers on evenings and weekends. Would love to see a video illustrating how this concept would work for such a scenario.

[deannab]

Your hair looks great Jennifer. Thanks for these reminders, my wordrobe is so much better because of you!

[megsthriftedlife]

I always love cleaning out the closet when a season changes. It's nice to refresh!

[beccar]

This is wonderful Jennifer, thank you for sharing guidance and motivation in this area. I’d love to hear your views on the KIBBE body test and perhaps how you found your seasonal color palette. I find all of this so very helpful in building true style.
Gros Bisous ! ♥️