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The Curated Closet

A Simple System for Discovering Your Personal Style and Building Your Dream Wardrobe

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Is your closet jam-packed and yet you have absolutely nothing to wear? Can you describe your personal style in one sentence? If someone grabbed a random piece from your closet right now, how likely is it that it would be something you love and wear regularly?

With so many style and shopping options, it can be difficult to create a streamlined closet of pieces that can be worn easily and confidently. In The Curated Closet, style writer Anuschka Rees presents a fascinatingly strategic approach to identifying, refining, and expressing personal style and building the ideal wardrobe to match it, with style and shopping strategies that women can use every day. Using The Curated Closet method, you’ll learn to:

• Shop smarter and more selectively
• Make the most of your budget
• Master outfit formulas and color palettes
• Tweak your wardrobe for work
• Assess garment fit and quality like a pro
• Curate a closet of fewer, better pieces

Including useful infographics, charts, and activities, as well as beautiful fashion photography, The Curated Closet is the ultimate practical guide to authentic and unique style.
"it never hurts to take inventory of what's in your closet already in order to make good decisions when you're staring at a pile of "yeses" in the dressing room. That's where Berlin-based blogger Anuschuka Rees comes in. . . [she] is dedicated to helping women curate their perfect wardrobes using all kinds of handy charts, infographics, and lists that make the process less emotional and more data-oriented."
– Glamour.com

"Fans of the author's blog, Marie Kondo devotees, and anyone who's tired of having a full closet but 'nothing to wear' will treasure this superb resource."
– Stephanie Klose, Library Journal 

"Does your weakness for sales leave you with clothing you’ll never wear? Do you love buying dressy clothes but seldom have an occasion to wear them? Do you have a full closet but still have trouble finding something to wear? Style blogger Anuschka Rees may have a solution for you. In The Curated Closet. . .she outlines how to analyze your wardrobe and lifestyle. She counsels discipline, suggesting you make a list of the items you need and shop with that list in hand, looking for quality and durability."
– The Boston Globe

"Lifestyle blogger Rees’s first book, based on the blog Into Mind, is a fun and practical guide to discovering one’s personal style. The goal is for women to easily choose an outfit that they like every single morning, to wear a large portion of clothes from their closet, and to be able to dress for their own lifestyles. Focusing on what one likes to wear and what one does most often, Rees provides a variety of methods to achieve a wardrobe that works. To begin, readers are encouraged to document their own outfits for two weeks (taking a photograph every day), observing their favorite and least favorite looks, colors, fits, and garments. From there, Rees advises readers on how to revitalize their personal style and build a fully wearable wardrobe. The book uses simple but eye-opening graphics to emphasize its points, such as side-by-side pie charts comparing lifestyle to current wardrobe. Refreshing and thorough, Rees delivers a fashion-forward guide that’s awesomely sensible."
Publishers Weekly

“Have you ever walked out of your house only to later regret your less-than-perfect clothing choices? The Curated Closet [is] about ten steps above and beyond most other closet make-over books. You'll get a walk-through into building a dream wardrobe that you will actually be happy to wear. Author Anuschka Rees guides the reader through a series of questions that will hone choices to your personality and your varied lifestyles. (Hiking, office work, semi-formal, hanging out, etc.) Once the wardrobe is pared down to what you really need, Rees works on teaching methods to put together outfits that work. In her own words, she'll teach 'the secret to making sure you never again have nothing to wear.' I heartily recommend The Curated Closet to anyone who has ever stood in front of their closet, baffled by its contents.”
– Tracey Trudeau, Powell's Books


“In a world inundated with fast fashion and rapidly changing trends, it’s easy for our closets to become graveyards of misguided purchases. In the midst of plenty, identifying our personal style can feel harder than ever. Anuschka Rees’s The Curated Closet is a smart, straightforward manual that encourages readers to discover what they like and to develop a wardrobe that makes getting dressed easier. Anuschka's pragmatic book should be required reading for anyone familiar with staring at a closet full of clothes and still feeling like they don't have a thing to wear.”
– Erin Boyle, author of Simple Matters

“This chic, thoughtful book is full of genius methods for taking control of your look, your habits, your budget, and your wardrobe. Best of all, it helps you discover your own unique style rather than follow the trends—authenticity is always in fashion!”
– Alison Freer, author of How to Get Dressed
© Anuschka Rees
Anuschka Rees is a writer, personal style expert, and the author of The Curated Closet and Beyond Beautiful. Her website is the go-to online source for all things personal style and minimalism. She lives in Berlin and has a master's degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics. View titles by Anuschka Rees
Introduction: A tale of bargains, impulse buys, and seasonal must-haves 2
Closet Diagnostics: Why you don’t have anything to wear 6


PART I: THE BASICS
01 / The Curated Closet philosophy 10 
02 / Getting started: Define the status quo and set style goals 30


PART II: DISCOVER YOUR PERSONAL STYLE
03 / What your clothes say about you 40
04 / Discover your style, phase I: Get inspired 48
05 / Discover your style, phase II: Experiment and fine-tune 62
06 / Putting it all together: Your style profile 78


PART III: BUILD YOUR DREAM WARDROBE
07 / Closet detox: The complete guide 92
08 / How to build a wardrobe that fits your life (not your fantasy life) 102
09 / Closet composition 101 112
10 / Selecting a versatile color palette 124
11 / Working with outfit formulas 138
12 / Business hours: Tweaking your wardrobe for work 148
13 / Overhauling your wardrobe: A step-by-step roadmap 156
14 / How (and when) to build a capsule wardrobe 170
15 / Become your own best stylist 182


PART IV: THE ART OF SHOPPING
16 / How to shop like a conscious consumer 192
17 / Decision time: When to buy and when to keep looking 202
18 / How to stop overspending and make the most out of your budget 214 
19 / Assessing garment quality: A beginner’s guide 222
20 / Practical pointers for finding clothes that fit well 238
21 / Maintaining and updating your wardrobe throughout the year: a timeline 248

About

Is your closet jam-packed and yet you have absolutely nothing to wear? Can you describe your personal style in one sentence? If someone grabbed a random piece from your closet right now, how likely is it that it would be something you love and wear regularly?

With so many style and shopping options, it can be difficult to create a streamlined closet of pieces that can be worn easily and confidently. In The Curated Closet, style writer Anuschka Rees presents a fascinatingly strategic approach to identifying, refining, and expressing personal style and building the ideal wardrobe to match it, with style and shopping strategies that women can use every day. Using The Curated Closet method, you’ll learn to:

• Shop smarter and more selectively
• Make the most of your budget
• Master outfit formulas and color palettes
• Tweak your wardrobe for work
• Assess garment fit and quality like a pro
• Curate a closet of fewer, better pieces

Including useful infographics, charts, and activities, as well as beautiful fashion photography, The Curated Closet is the ultimate practical guide to authentic and unique style.

Praise

"it never hurts to take inventory of what's in your closet already in order to make good decisions when you're staring at a pile of "yeses" in the dressing room. That's where Berlin-based blogger Anuschuka Rees comes in. . . [she] is dedicated to helping women curate their perfect wardrobes using all kinds of handy charts, infographics, and lists that make the process less emotional and more data-oriented."
– Glamour.com

"Fans of the author's blog, Marie Kondo devotees, and anyone who's tired of having a full closet but 'nothing to wear' will treasure this superb resource."
– Stephanie Klose, Library Journal 

"Does your weakness for sales leave you with clothing you’ll never wear? Do you love buying dressy clothes but seldom have an occasion to wear them? Do you have a full closet but still have trouble finding something to wear? Style blogger Anuschka Rees may have a solution for you. In The Curated Closet. . .she outlines how to analyze your wardrobe and lifestyle. She counsels discipline, suggesting you make a list of the items you need and shop with that list in hand, looking for quality and durability."
– The Boston Globe

"Lifestyle blogger Rees’s first book, based on the blog Into Mind, is a fun and practical guide to discovering one’s personal style. The goal is for women to easily choose an outfit that they like every single morning, to wear a large portion of clothes from their closet, and to be able to dress for their own lifestyles. Focusing on what one likes to wear and what one does most often, Rees provides a variety of methods to achieve a wardrobe that works. To begin, readers are encouraged to document their own outfits for two weeks (taking a photograph every day), observing their favorite and least favorite looks, colors, fits, and garments. From there, Rees advises readers on how to revitalize their personal style and build a fully wearable wardrobe. The book uses simple but eye-opening graphics to emphasize its points, such as side-by-side pie charts comparing lifestyle to current wardrobe. Refreshing and thorough, Rees delivers a fashion-forward guide that’s awesomely sensible."
Publishers Weekly

“Have you ever walked out of your house only to later regret your less-than-perfect clothing choices? The Curated Closet [is] about ten steps above and beyond most other closet make-over books. You'll get a walk-through into building a dream wardrobe that you will actually be happy to wear. Author Anuschka Rees guides the reader through a series of questions that will hone choices to your personality and your varied lifestyles. (Hiking, office work, semi-formal, hanging out, etc.) Once the wardrobe is pared down to what you really need, Rees works on teaching methods to put together outfits that work. In her own words, she'll teach 'the secret to making sure you never again have nothing to wear.' I heartily recommend The Curated Closet to anyone who has ever stood in front of their closet, baffled by its contents.”
– Tracey Trudeau, Powell's Books


“In a world inundated with fast fashion and rapidly changing trends, it’s easy for our closets to become graveyards of misguided purchases. In the midst of plenty, identifying our personal style can feel harder than ever. Anuschka Rees’s The Curated Closet is a smart, straightforward manual that encourages readers to discover what they like and to develop a wardrobe that makes getting dressed easier. Anuschka's pragmatic book should be required reading for anyone familiar with staring at a closet full of clothes and still feeling like they don't have a thing to wear.”
– Erin Boyle, author of Simple Matters

“This chic, thoughtful book is full of genius methods for taking control of your look, your habits, your budget, and your wardrobe. Best of all, it helps you discover your own unique style rather than follow the trends—authenticity is always in fashion!”
– Alison Freer, author of How to Get Dressed

Author

© Anuschka Rees
Anuschka Rees is a writer, personal style expert, and the author of The Curated Closet and Beyond Beautiful. Her website is the go-to online source for all things personal style and minimalism. She lives in Berlin and has a master's degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics. View titles by Anuschka Rees

Table of Contents

Introduction: A tale of bargains, impulse buys, and seasonal must-haves 2
Closet Diagnostics: Why you don’t have anything to wear 6


PART I: THE BASICS
01 / The Curated Closet philosophy 10 
02 / Getting started: Define the status quo and set style goals 30


PART II: DISCOVER YOUR PERSONAL STYLE
03 / What your clothes say about you 40
04 / Discover your style, phase I: Get inspired 48
05 / Discover your style, phase II: Experiment and fine-tune 62
06 / Putting it all together: Your style profile 78


PART III: BUILD YOUR DREAM WARDROBE
07 / Closet detox: The complete guide 92
08 / How to build a wardrobe that fits your life (not your fantasy life) 102
09 / Closet composition 101 112
10 / Selecting a versatile color palette 124
11 / Working with outfit formulas 138
12 / Business hours: Tweaking your wardrobe for work 148
13 / Overhauling your wardrobe: A step-by-step roadmap 156
14 / How (and when) to build a capsule wardrobe 170
15 / Become your own best stylist 182


PART IV: THE ART OF SHOPPING
16 / How to shop like a conscious consumer 192
17 / Decision time: When to buy and when to keep looking 202
18 / How to stop overspending and make the most out of your budget 214 
19 / Assessing garment quality: A beginner’s guide 222
20 / Practical pointers for finding clothes that fit well 238
21 / Maintaining and updating your wardrobe throughout the year: a timeline 248