Fashion Question: How Old Should Your Clothes Be Before You Get Rid of Them?

Dear Glam Gals,

I know that I have too many clothes in my closet and I really want to get rid of some of them.  I am still the same size as I was over 10 years ago and just can’t bring myself to let go of some of my classic pieces.  How long should I keep a dress or outfit before getting rid of it?

Gaye M.~Sarasota, Florida

Hi Gaye,

There is no hard or fast rule about how long to keep something.  Some items do become dated looking over time and some never seem to go out of style and can be worn year after year as long as they hold up.

Here is a guest post on this topic by Lisa Taylor Richey :

Tracy Elliman in her classic dress.  This is a great example of a timeless piece that is still in style after many years of hanging in the closet!

Part of the journey of becoming a successful woman is accepting change, moving through life with an open mind and embracing adventure and newness in your life.  All of this gives you the skills to teach your daughters, nieces and granddaughters and develop meaningful relationships in your life.

Because of my career choices and my husband’s, I have lived in 9 different cities.

Whether you work for a corporation or you are an entrepreneur, your professional life crosses into your personal life and vice versa.  When I landed in Philadelphia ten years ago, again I was faced with not knowing a soul.  To start the growth of my business, I attended as many networking events as possible. One day, about 9 years ago, I attended a networking event just for women.  A woman on the panel of speakers stood in front of the group and “wowed” us with her innate sense of style and charisma.  That woman happened to be JoJami Tyler and I instantly knew we would become friends.  And boy did we ever!

You never know who, where or when you are going to meet someone special and I feel lucky that we have been best friends since that fateful day!

Once you start networking, it all becomes six degrees of separation.  We really do live in a small world.  Not long after we met, JoJami introduced me to photographer Laura Novak  who took my headshot that has served me and my business well over the years.

Ten years later, I ran into Laura again at  Femfessionals, a networking event/organization for women.  Laura suggested I meet with Tracy Elliman, her business development manager.  As Tracy and I were meeting and discussing ways in which we could partner on events for children we discovered something we have in common, the love of fashion!  I happened to compliment Tracy on her Jackie O style shift dress.  It was timeless and so pretty.  As women do at times, we started talking about style and discovered she, too, knew JoJami.  Not only did they know each other, JoJami had been the one to help pick out and styled the dress she happened to be wearing!  She confessed that it has been one of her favorite classic  ”go to” pieces and has worn over and over.  Of course we talked about how great it is to have a piece in your wardrobe that is still stylish and works well for so many different types of events (note her closed toed wedges; perfect for a casual business meeting).  A big part of networking is establishing a connection or commonalities and making sure you dress classy especially when you are over 40. What a small world.

Lisa Taylor Richey is a recognized etiquette expert and creator of the popular program, Manners To Go for children. She also provides business etiquette training programs for corporations and universities. To learn more about Lisa, go to www.americanetiquette.com.