To me, style and organization are interrelated. I don’t know about you, but I find that when my clothing is organized, easy to access and whittled down to what’s most loved, getting dressed and pulling together a look becomes so much more enjoyable. Getting dressed should be an adventure — never a battle!

Though I rely on solid, tried and true basics for most days, I always try to dress things up with great accessories. A simple t-shirt and black skinny jeans can be elevated with a unique pair of shoes, a well constructed jacket and a favorite bag.

When I am investing in my wardrobe, I tend to buy shoes, jackets and bags. My theory is that I can use them every single day and get a better cost per wear. For instance, I would never buy yellow jeans because they’d be so recognizable that I wouldn’t want to wear them more than once a week. But yellow shoes? I could wear the yellow shoes on a daily basis and add a pop of color to any outfit, no matter how casual.

One of my biggest pet peeves is having to buy the same item over and over again because it was poorly made and wore out. Give some thought to what you use the most and buy the best you can afford whether it’s a white t-shirt or a black cardigan.

Back to the topic of organization. I have a strange closet set-up. When I moved into my house over a year ago, I had no closet space (typical of most older homes) but oddly enough, a ridiculously huge bathroom with an abundance of empty space. My two oversized IKEA wardrobes were a perfect match for the wall space but the tops were cluttered with a mish-mash of irregular-sized shoe boxes. Over the weekend, I picked up a bunch of Kassett boxes which now hold everything from shoe bags to hats and spare purses to childhood costumes. They add that look of polished uniformity that random shoe boxes just can’t equal!

Another thing that my closet was sorely lacking were nice quality hangers. At almost 30, it was time for me to trade in cheapo plastic hangers for sturdy, beautifully minimal Erling steel hangers. They make every piece of clothing feel worthy of display!

Everyone has their own method for organization but arranging clothing by color works well for me. I have two IKEA wardrobes that hold all of my clothing. The first consists of all coats, skirts and dresses while the second is all shirts and sweaters (above).

Of course, I have a sizable amount of black clothing (as you can probably tell from my outfit posts). Looking up, there are still some lingering plastic hangers that will eventually be replaced. And, though I recycled a number of shoe boxes, I kept a handful of the Dries ones, tucked away at the very end.

This is the ‘other side’ of my closet, half of which is stuffed with jackets and blazers. Dresses are at the very end, mostly in black. I keep items that are more costume-related and not for every day wear (including fancy dresses and lederhosen) tucked away in the spare closet in my office (also organized by color).

A true Virgo doesn’t stop at just organizing their clothes. My tights (above) and socks (not shown) are both sorted by color and stored in clear plastic trays that I found at Target.

Every mouse needs a place to rest their ears. And, a full length mirror to check out their daily costume. This is the wall next to my IKEA wardrobes.

The jewelry that I reach for most is stored in a plastic container on my windowsill that I found at Target.

Longer necklaces have began to take over the door knob to my office. Some day, I’ll come up with a better solution. Until then, I like the decoration!

I’m a big fan of treating my favorite clothing and accessories like art. If you have something that’s beautiful, let it sit out and become a decoration instead of lurking in a dark closet. I have a love of shoes so I have my favorite pairs organized by color on a book shelf in my office. It’s nice to see them every day and a way to remind myself of what I already own so I can rotate them instead of lazily reaching for the same tired pair of black boots. Since I have fairly small feet, the sale racks and Ebay have been incredibly generous over the years! Fashion may change but well made, unique shoes never go out of style.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my mini sartorial journey and in the process, discovered your own passion to get organized. Show your closet some love and appreciation and return, your personal style will shine through!