Photograph by Mark Gilliland
Shed some extra baggage the easy way — drop a few pounds from your closet. What's even easier? Have someone do the dirty work for you. Offered by some local boutiques, closet consultations are the answer to diminishing that stockpile of decade-old duds in less than a day.
Former Boutique Chartreuse owner Lori Allen gave us an abbreviated version of this "What Not to Wear" extravaganza, which she says can normally last anywhere from six to eight hours, inside Amy Suelzer's pristine walk-in closet. One by one, Allen took each item off its hanger and separated the worn-out from the to-be-worn. "I find that most of my clients have a whole lot of stuff, and they are burdened by it," Allen says. "I try to pare it down for them so they have only what really, really works — it's a 'less is more' kind of thing."
BLUE FLORAL SHIRT: Allen giggles when she takes the shirt off the hanger and mentions she had something like it in the early '80s. Not only is it outdated, she says, it's too boxy: "There's a woman who needs boxy, but it's not you."
RED TARTAN SKIRT: Allen's immediate thought: It's too dated. "It's one of those things that we think is classic, but it's not," she says. "It only comes back in style every 10 years, and otherwise this shows up on some guy for Halloween."
RED SIMPLE SHOES: Suelzer wore these shoes in Chile when she was four months pregnant — more than four years ago. One glance at the shoes, and Allen tells Suelzer the only place she can use them from now on is to walk the dog or in the garden — either very early or late in the day.
DENIM SKIRT WITH PATCHES: The first thing out of Allen's mouth: "Where do you wear this?" Suelzer admits wearing it to work. "Do not wear it to work," Allen warns. "It's too casual and a little on the frumpy side." She places it in the repurpose pile.
POLKA-DOT SKIRT: When Allen pulls out this skirt, Suelzer blushes and confesses, "I bought that in grad school in the early '90s." Allen shakes her head and drops it in the to-be-donated pile.
