Pre-Shopping Closet Review

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Before you hit the stores, take stock of your closet. This will help you keep from buying things you don't need, duplicating purchases unnecessarily (Oh. Wait. I already had a pair of black ankle boots with buckles. Oops.), or forgetting to look for items you need.

Take Stock. Try on and critically assess everything, and put it into one of two piles: Absolutely Fabulous and Over.

Take the clothing in the Absolutely Fabulous pile and see what needs repairs or alterations. Make sure things are current.

Button up. Change buttons that look dated, or use button covers to update them.

Re-tool. Work the pieces of a dowdy suit separately--wear the jacket with jeans, the pants with a cute sweater. Try the skirt with a hip belt.

Alter. A good tailor can taper an oversized shirt, peg wide-legged pants, or make other transformations to update special pieces. (Don't bother unless they are really special, because tailoring can get expensive in a hurry. Make sure you'll wear the newly updated piece.)