Daye has been invited out for the evening to have dinner with friends. She intends to look her best, even if it means wearing jeans. She breathes in deeply as she scans her clothes arranged in a neat row along her closet wall. Her roaming eyes fix suddenly on a pair of peep-toe, open-back, mauve-coloured sandals with the kitten heels. She likes the way they show off her toes. It was then that everything started to come together, and she just knew they would pair perfectly with the black cotton dress pants and the black silk blouse with the bell sleeves. To complete the look she decides to accessorize with colour.
To celebrate her speedy decision, Daye does a quick happy dance... 'cause you know, finding a cute outfit ain't always this easy. An organized closet makes all the difference!
Did you notice how Daye went about selecting her outfit? Have you ever taken notice of your own technique? If you answered no, don't worry, you are not alone. For most people it is a habit that goes unnoticed.. and this is why this question is so thought provoking! Daye chose her shoes first and based the rest of the outfit on that.
Take a few minutes to think. What do you reach for first? Is it the top or the bottom; shirt/pants, blouses/skirt? Do you decide first on the top and then find a bottom to match it, or do you select the bottom first and then find a top to match?
Because I love to organize, curiosity got the better of me and I was then inspired to conduct a survey. I asked 100 people this question. Of the people surveyed, 60% were women, the remaining 40% were men, all randomly selected. For your information, the people surveyed were a mix of office employees, health care workers, and teachers. However; I do not believe that the profession had any effect on the outcome of this survey.
Both men and women stated that they owned less pants than tops and that the colours of their pants were usually grey, black, khaki or denim. This survey also showed that women tend to own more tops of varying colours, styles and patterns than do men.
Both men and women in the ‘top first” category felt that the top was more important because it is worn on the top half of the body where it is noticed. “Its the blouse that makes the outfit” one women said. There is much truth to this because people tend to keep their eyes focused above the shoulders when engaging in conversation. Doing otherwise, might be considered “cheeky.”
What was obvious was that even though "bottom" also refers to other articles of clothing, such as skirts and shorts, 95% of women surveyed forgot that skirts even existed and continued to refer to “bottom” as pants only. I believe that this phenomenon is because here in North America, women wear pants almost as much as men. Just take a look around you the next time you go to the mall.
Skirts are sold in an array of colours, patterns, styles and lengths just like ladies tops. If we had a warmer climate all year around, would bottoms have done any better...? I wonder….
I went into this certain that bottoms would prevail! You can imagine my astonishment when the numbers were finally in; a 50/50 tie. A tie was not what I had imagined but there it was, the numbers don’t lie.
My daughter was wonderful, she assisting me by surveying people in her office. Thanks Keesh!
Knowing your technique when choosing your daily dress, can be of great help to you when it comes to organizing your closet. For example, if you choose your pants first like I do, than probably, the first articles of clothing that is visible as you approach your closet, should be your bottoms. So whether your closet is a walk-in or not, organize it well.
Knowing your technique and having an organized closet makes getting ready in the mornings, or going out in the evening a breeze.
Angle from inside closet
Here is another angle, taken from inside the closet.
Notice that the folded bottoms and tops on the shelf are also coordinated, to match those hanging below.
This is obviously a woman's closet version, but the same principal may be applied to the male closet.
Angle from outside closet
This closet has its clothing aligned along the left wall. The dimensions: 8'-4" x 4'-6" There are no definitive closet sizes, so closets can vary in width and length.
This view is upon entrance to the closet. Note the bottoms (pants), are first, followed by the tops. The least used clothing are arranged further towards the back in the same order.
This makes it sooo easy, especially when going to work in the mornings.
I hope this article was not only a good read but also helpful. I hope it made you think that often simple things are worth knowing.