Knowing your personal strengths and weaknesses helps you build a workable wardrobe all your own. Your strengths are the areas that you do well, without working at it. Build off these strengths by applying yourself to your weak areas and stretching your clothing comfort zone into new areas.
I have included a list of the most common wardrobe skills, and how a strength or weakness in each can be used to build a better closet.

BASICS

Strength: By having a good grounding in basics, you will always have clothes to wear. Your clothing will match and go anywhere with you in life.

Weakness: If you have too many basics, you may feel somewhat bored by your clothing. It may feel like something is missing. Perhaps you don't have a color variety and everything seems to blend together. Maybe all the styles seem nondescript, with no personality. Nothing stands out as "YOU." You have stayed too long in the safe zone with your garment picks. If you have too many basics, try picking a few lively colors or prints. Buy a colorful scarf or fun earrings. Try buying new fabrics or textures that you don't already have in your wardrobe.

FOCUS PIECES

Strength: Focus pieces are the garments that really stand out in a crowd. They are NOT the same-old-same-old. These are the garments that really proclaim your style. By picking fabulous focus pieces, you show the world that you know who you are, and you are not afraid to be that person.

Weakness: Focus pieces become a weakness when your inner magpie (the part of you drawn to pretty things) takes over, and you lose sight of coordinating your pieces so that your wardrobe works for you. Perhaps you have a closet full of clothing that doesn't match, or you have a ton of garments that only go with one or two pieces. You might have too many conflicting prints, colors or textures without enough neutral basics to support them.

If you have too many focus pieces, you will want to add some neutral basics to bring your fun styles together in harmony. Choose basic styles and colors that will bring together as many pieces as possible. These colors need not be black, brown or gray. If teal or burgundy, olive or gold go with a large portion of your wardrobe, those can act as neutrals for you.

SEASONAL RUT

Strength: In your chosen season, you are dressed to the nines and have everything you need.

Weakness: You may find that your closet seems bare in certain seasons. For example, you may have great clothes for winter and summer, but your spring and fall transitional wardrobes are lacking.

Spring is a time for lighter/brighter colors in heavier fabrics to get you the chill. Fall is the time for darker colors in lighter fabrics for the warmer fall and the weather begins to cool. Perhaps you don't have much for summer, because you don't like showing skin. Find lighter and brighter colors in lightweight fabrics, even for long sleeves shirts, if necessary. Perhaps you live in a warmer

climate, and you are a bit light on the winter clothes. Try looking for pieces that you can wear most of the year, if you layer and add in a few lighter weight jackets and soft sweaters for the cooler evenings and nights. By objectively assessing your wardrobe strengths and weaknesses, you can focus your energy (and money) where it is most needed, building a wardrobe piece-by-piece that works for you.

About the Author :

As a fashion design and sewing instructor, Heather M. Claus meets women every day who want to develop their personal style. She has taught 5,287 women around the world via her interactive online classes at: Style Upgrade - Personal Style Development

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