Lindsay is a qualified personal stylist, shopper and colour expert living in West London. She helps women and men who are time-poor but looking for a fun, efficient way to find their own great style. She makes them look and feel their best through wardrobe edits, colour consultations, body shape analysis and personal shopping and styling.
Lindsay is passionate about curating a stylish, functional wardrobe full of clothes you love that fit and flatter and reflect your lifestyle and personality. Her ethos is, ‘buy considered, buy better, wear more’ - and this is why BLANC loves Lindsay! 💚
With her honed eye and in-depth training she offers expert styling advice to guide you through a seamless shopping experience across high street, designer, pre-loved stores and vintage markets. She loves witnessing her clients' confidence soar with the joy of getting dressed every day!
Originally from the U.S., Lindsay has acquired impeccable taste and knowledge from over 18 years working in the luxury fashion and beauty industries with some of the world's largest brands, such as Burberry and Estée Lauder. In 2019 she qualified with Distinction from the London College of Style, the UK's leading styling school, before setting up Styling L.A.B.
Today she walks us through a ‘Wardrobe Edit’ - and why we all need at least one!
1. Can you explain what a wardrobe edit entails and why it's an important process for individuals seeking to refine their personal style?
A wardrobe edit is a process of reviewing, organising, and refining one's clothing and accessories collection. It is an important process for individuals seeking to refine their personal style because the first thing you do in the morning is get dressed, and you want to look and feel great with minimal effort, feeling confident to take on your day.
By removing outdated or ill-fitting clothing items, it allows you to make room for pieces that truly reflect your personal style. As we are constantly evolving people (you are not the same person you were 5 or 10 years ago), it is important to seasonally evaluate your wardrobe to ensure it remains current, functional, and aligned with your individual style and lifestyle.
I start my wardrobe edits with a colour draping analysis to first determine your best colour palette, which sits in harmony with your hair, skin and eyes. From there, we then evaluate everything with the main objectives including:
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Decluttering: Removing items that are no longer worn, don't fit properly, or are out of style, thus reducing clutter and making it easier to find and use the remaining items.
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Identifying Key Pieces: Recognizing and keeping essential, versatile pieces that form the foundation of a functional wardrobe.
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Creating Outfit Combinations: Assessing which items can be mixed and matched to create various outfits, maximising the versatility of the wardrobe.
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Personal Style Refinement: Identifying one's personal style preferences and ensuring that the wardrobe reflects and supports that style.
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Assessing Gaps: Identifying any key missing items in the wardrobe and making a shopping list that will fill those gaps and make getting dressed easier.
Imagine opening your wardrobe and feeling excited about getting dressed, knowing you have all the outfits needed for any occasion. Imagine everything fits and flatters you, and makes you look and feel amazing!
A decluttered wardrobe = a decluttered mind. When you have a tidy, curated wardrobe full of only things that you love, getting dressed becomes much easier and more fun.
2. When would you recommend a wardrobe edit service to your clients?
I recommend a wardrobe edit to all of my new clients as a starting point to refining their style. Not only does it declutter and provide a starting point for evaluating their style, it gives them the style foundations of colour, body shape and style personality, which is key to dressing well. From there I then suggest a seasonal wardrobe review. Here are some signs that it might be time to go through your wardrobe, and are stages at which most clients contact me for help:
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Clutter: If your closet is overflowing with clothes and accessories, it might be a sign that you have too much and it's time to declutter.
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Boredom: If you are bored of wearing the same items on repeat, it can help to look at how these items can be restyled.
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Outdated items: If you have clothes that you haven't worn in a long time because they are out of style or don't fit anymore, it's probably time to let them go.
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Worn-out clothes: Clothes that are worn out, stained, or damaged beyond repair should be removed from your wardrobe to make space for items that are in better condition.
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Seasonal changes: With the change of seasons, it's a good time to review your wardrobe and remove items that are no longer suitable for the current season.
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Lifestyle changes: If your lifestyle has changed (e.g., new job, new hobbies), you might need to update your wardrobe to better suit your current needs and activities.
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Weight changes: If you've recently gained or lost weight, it's a good idea to go through your wardrobe and remove items that no longer fit properly.
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Emotional attachment: Sometimes we hold onto clothes for sentimental reasons, but if you're keeping items that you never wear just because they have emotional significance, it might be time to let them go or find a way to store them more efficiently.
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Goals for a minimalist wardrobe: If you're aiming for a more minimalist lifestyle, regularly editing your wardrobe can help you maintain a curated collection of clothes that you truly love and wear regularly.
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Your clothes just don’t feel like YOU: You have probably evolved emotionally and are seeking clothing which suits your unique individuality and where you are in life currently.
Overall, a wardrobe edit can help you assess what you have, identify what you need, and make room for items that you truly love and enjoy wearing.
3. How do you approach conducting a wardrobe edit with your clients? Could you walk us through the typical steps or methodology you follow?
Ahead of the edit, I give my clients prep-work, to ensure our time together is most efficient.
I have them go through their wardrobe and put everything into 1 of 3 piles:
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Pile 1: Recycle - these items are stained, ripped, irreparable, lost their shape (stretched fabric, etc.) and would not sell in a charity shop
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Pile 2: Give away or sell - items you no longer want, but are in good condition and you would like to donate to a charity shop or sell
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Pile 3: Items that you like and want to keep, but haven't worn, hardly wear or are just unsure how to style them or if they suit you
On the day, we look through pile 3 to assess each item and evaluate whether to keep it or not. Clients try on items so I can assess the fit and whether items worth keeping could benefit from tailoring. Often we have items in our wardrobe that would look amazing with just a few small alterations.
4. What criteria do you use to determine which clothing items to keep, discard, or potentially replace during a wardrobe edit session?
I consider colour and fit unique to the individual, style-personality, condition of the item, function and purpose for my client’s lifestyle, and then I recommend what to keep, donate or sell, and recycle or repurpose.
5. In your experience, what are some common challenges clients face when undergoing a wardrobe edit, and how do you help them overcome these challenges?
Helping clients decide what to let go of can be challenging. Many of them struggle to see the bigger picture, and that's where my role as a professionally trained, impartial guide comes in. Emotionally attached to their wardrobe, they find it difficult to part ways with certain clothing items. Whether it's due to sentimental value or a significant financial investment, letting go is tough. Despite recognising the need for change and seeking my assistance, they often struggle to part with items on the day. They might justify keeping certain pieces, like jeans for future weight loss or a beloved dress that's seen better days. As their guide, it's crucial for me to remind them of their 'why' – why they wanted to reassess their wardrobe and how my guidance can help them achieve their goals.
6. How do you tailor your recommendations and suggestions during a wardrobe edit to align with each client's unique style preferences, lifestyle, and wardrobe goals?
With each new client, I provide a comprehensive questionnaire to gain insight into their lifestyle, personality, and style preferences. My role entails understanding their individual tastes, challenges, and guiding them towards refining their style through education. For instance, I recently assisted a client transitioning into a leadership role at a luxury beauty company, unfamiliar with the dress code in the luxury sector. By assessing her current wardrobe, I discerned the appropriate attire for her new position, advising on pieces suitable for work and those more fitting for leisure. Considering her busy schedule, I also recommended fabrics and footwear conducive to her commuting needs.
