In a measure of how neurotic I can be, I have had a color-coded closet since I was 15 years old. Although I organize by type and THEN by color- ie, all long sleeves and sweaters are together and organized by color, then short sleeves, then tanks.
^That's how I organize as well. Especially helpful when trying to decide between 4 different purple blouses. (They're different styles and shades, I swear!)
Joining late but have just read this whole thread and enjoyed it immensely. SO much of what you all have said has resonated with me. I've been working on this as well for the past few months, and along the way I've learned oodles about color theory, figured out which colors, styles, and contrasts work best for me, ditched nearly everything black (as someone mentioned, almost heresy around NYC), and purged a
ton of unused, unloved, loved-but-unflattering, not-me/wishful-thinking/another-life clothing. On my first massive purge a couple months ago, I sent 83 items to consignment plus untold items to donation (so maybe 130-150 total). Yesterday I packed up another 15 items for consignment (including a dress that sparks a ton of joy on the hanger but makes me feel like a poseur while wearing). All this from someone who doesn't even
like clothing.
I'd actually done a purge months
before that massive purge, but because I hadn't had a plan in mind, it was not terribly productive. What helped me the second time was to work things out on paper first, especially when it came to narrowing down color options. A lot of capsules suggest 4 colors (2 neutrals, 2 accents), but I just couldn't make it work. I didn't want the whole rainbow, but human cannot live on purples alone. So I worked at it by trying everything on, noting what colors and color groups worked best (and may have been complimented in the past), and playing with color combinations (on paper and thrown together on the bed) until I found the right combo and number. I also gave myself a pass on a small handful of outliers/outlying but still complementary colors so I can't get possibly get bored.
My results:
Uniform: jeans/slacks + tee/blouse + blazer/cardigan
Personal coloring: soft summer
Clothing neutrals: grey and navy
Clothing accents: red-purples/eggplant/wine, blue-purples/violet, teal green, teal blue/peacock blue/dark turquoise/petrol blue
Acceptable outliers: 1 dark cobaltish blue sweater, 1 burgundy t-shirt, 1 burgundy tank top, 1 taupe sweater, 1 heathered taupe t-shirt, 1 damask-pattern purple/black dress
Value contrast: Medium/low
Other color properties: Dusky and/or muted = good, bright, clear, and/or icy = bad; medium shades = good, too dark or light = bad
Patterns: Mostly avoided; must be minimal/subtle
The patterns that work best for me are subtle, like tone-on-tone pinstripes or tiny polka dots. The one exception here is that dress mentioned above, which is a bit brighter and more patterny than I would prefer, but it's my one formal outfit and I absolutely love the thing so I just go with it. I work much better with texture, though, so while obvious stripes look jarring on me, ribbed textures work great.
It's still a work in progress (who isn't?), but like many others have said, the process has been quite freeing. Figuring out what does and doesn't work for me and coming up with a plan to keep emphasizing the first and eliminating the second has been one of the
best things I've done for myself, both for my mental and my financial health.
Thanks for this thread, MsPeacock. And btw, I especially loved that blue and white horizontal striped shirt from a few pages back on you.