You open your closet with plenty of clothes and somehow still have nothing to wear. Shirts you forgot that you owned are pushed behind pieces you never reach for, clothes you might never wear again are taking up room, and getting rid of anything can be surprisingly difficult.
Charlotte Slankard and Madyson Rodgers with CHAR & CO. Professional Organizing hear one complaint again and again: “I have too many clothes.”
But what if cleaning out your closet became easier once you knew which colors actually complemented you?
It’s a question connecting CHAR & CO. with Color Lab STL, the new color analysis company led by Rodgers, Slankard’s granddaughter. The connection is giving the grandmother-granddaughter duo a new way to help people decide what belongs in their closets and what they may want to stop buying in the first place.
What actually makes a closet so hard to clean out?
Getting everything out of the closet is the easy part. Deciding what deserves to go back in can take a little more convincing.
As a CHAR & CO. professional organizer, Rodgers has seen how quickly a closet can become tied to memories, guilt, and plenty of “maybe someday” thinking. A high school shirt may stay because of the memories attached to it, while an unworn sweater can be difficult to give away because it was a gift, and clothes in different sizes often remain tucked away in case they fit again someday.
Slankard sees another side of those decisions when clients struggle to give themselves permission to let something go. “There’s a whole psychological element involved,” she says. “It’s more about giving them permission.”
CHAR & CO. helps clients work through those decisions before organizing what remains by clothing type, sleeve length, and color. Once everything has a designated place, they recommend a “one in, one out” rule to keep new purchases from slowly taking over again.
But deciding what deserves a hanger in the first place can still be difficult. Rodgers soon discovered that knowing your best colors could make those decisions clearer.
The closet cleanout that started Color Lab STL
Slankard had been interested in bringing color analysis into her organizing work for years. Then Rodgers saw just how useful it could be during a master closet cleanout.
While helping a client edit her wardrobe, Rodgers noticed that she was moving through her clothes unusually fast. Pieces were going into the donate pile without the hesitation that she was used to seeing during seasonal wardrobe edits. “I was like, ‘OK, what inspired this purge?’” Rodgers recalls.
The client had recently had her colors professionally analyzed and realized that many of the clothes in her closet were not part of her palette. Watching how quickly this helped her make decisions gave Rodgers an idea of her own. “That was when I realized how much easier color analysis could make these decisions for people,” she says. “I knew it was something I wanted to pursue.”
What began as one surprisingly easy closet cleanout eventually sent Rodgers down a new career path. She became dual-certified in color analysis and launched Color Lab STL, bringing her eye for design into a business that Rodgers and Slankard now co-own.
Knowing your colors changes what you see in your closet
So how do you actually figure out which colors belong in your wardrobe?
Rodgers starts each Color Lab STL session with a crash course in color theory, explaining how she identifies colors that complement a client’s natural features. She then compares different colors to evaluate undertone, contrast, and intensity, followed by a metals assessment that explores a range of metal tones and finishes to determine which best complement the client’s natural coloring.
“Everything is customized to them,” Rodgers explains. “I want them to understand what they’re seeing and why.”
Clients leave with a digital color wallet featuring their personal palettes, neutrals, and color combinations, as well as guidance for makeup, jewelry, shoes, and accessories. The idea is to give them something that they can pull up while standing in their closet or shopping for something new.
Knowing your colors can make a closet cleanout easier, but Rodgers hopes that clients also use what they learn the next time they shop.
But for Rodgers, color analysis is only the beginning. Color Lab STL also offers wardrobe styling and closet services designed to help clients put their palettes to work. That can mean going through an existing wardrobe, identifying what works, creating new outfit combinations, or helping clients transition their closets for a new season.
For clients who are ready to shop, Rodgers can take the guesswork out of that process, too. Personal shopping allows her to help clients find pieces that fit their coloring, personal style, lifestyle, and existing wardrobe rather than simply adding more clothes to an already-full closet.
“Once you know your colors, shopping becomes a lot less of a guessing game,” Rodgers says. “You know what you’re looking for, and you’re less likely to keep buying clothes you never end up wearing.”
The goal isn’t to convince clients to replace their entire wardrobes; it is to help them become more intentional about what they own and what they bring home. A color palette can provide the starting point, while wardrobe styling and personal shopping help turn that information into a closet that feels more cohesive, wearable, and personal.
It also gives CHAR & CO. another tool when the team steps into a crowded closet. A personal palette can help clients narrow down what they want to keep, instead of staring at a packed clothing rack and wondering where to begin.
Rodgers plans to expand Color Lab STL with virtual analysis using client photos, giving clients beyond St. Louis access to the service as the new business grows.
The best business ideas can start in a closet
Building Color Lab STL has also given Slankard and Rodgers a chance to work together in a completely new way. Rodgers jokes about figuring out what to call her grandmother in front of clients, while Slankard gets to share lessons from more than 40 years in business as her granddaughter creates something of her own.
The family connection also reaches another generation, with Rodgers’ mother, Amanda, contributing her background in graphic design, marketing, and communications. “We all bring something different to the table,” Slankard says.
The same is true of the two businesses. CHAR & CO. Professional Organizing can help a client tackle the clothes, memories, and “maybe someday” pieces filling a closet, while Rodgers can offer a new perspective on which colors clients will actually want to wear.
It’s a connection that neither expected to find hanging between shirts and sweaters. Rodgers went into one closet expecting to help a client clean it out and walked away with an idea for a business that she now gets to build alongside her grandmother.
This post was created by SLM Partner Studio on behalf of CHAR & CO. Professional Organizing. Visit colorlabstl.com to learn more about Color Lab STL, or visit charandcoorganizing.com to learn more about CHAR & CO. Professional Organizing.
