A Wardrobe Stylist's Guide to Wardrobe Editing

Ivy Costa March 25, 2020

As we are at home navigating through the shelter in place order, I thought that I could share helpful hints on how to get your wardrobe into shape. Taking care of your closet organization and preparing the wardrobe for Spring and Summer is a great way to pass the time. I always feel accomplished and excited when I finish prepping a client's closet for the season change. Here are a couple helpful tips to get you started!

The number one rule that I use as a stylist is ensuring that every piece of clothing fits my client perfectly.

Closet Edit

If you have a rolling rack or something that can act in place of, begin by pulling everything to the rolling rack by sections. For example, start with your blouses and move through your closet from top to bottom layer. There are two different ways to look at this

Bigger the Better

You have a sizeable wardrobe and love to have many options. In this case, take a look at trendy pieces that are no longer relevant and pull aside. Next consider how many pieces are clones. For example, how many white t-shirts do you have? At most, you should have a total of 3 white t-shirts. Each one should have a different shape and function. Use this thought process as you move through each section of your wardrobe.

Minimalist

You have a well edited wardrobe with mostly staple pieces and prefer to own quality over quantity. In this case, take a look at every piece closely and ensure that your staple pieces are in good condition. If you need to replace items, make a list of needs. You could consider adding a few trendy pieces to give your wardrobe a pop for the season.

There are so many different personalities, style’s and shapes out there. Start with a simple wardrobe edit and move to organizing! Over the next few weeks I will cover:

Organizing the wardrobe
Smart Shopping
The top Spring/Summer trends to purchase
Donating vs. Re-selling

My favorite trends of the week

Chunky Chains and layering by Jenny Bird

I am available for FaceTime appointments to help guide you through the edit process! Contact me through text 513-470-2358 or email ivy@ivycosta.com

Stay healthy everyone!

XO,

Ivy

Renee Kohl July 4, 2014

This week I was fortunate to catch up with longtime friend and fellow troublemaker, Mel Holmes. I think I was 24 when Mel stole my heart. Stole it by way of aesthetic sensibility, superabundant love & that way she headbanged when we saw TV on Radio tour Return to Cookie Mountain. I’ll run at a moment's notice to catch up with her.

This time, I had to show Mel my favorite new breakfast and lunch spot, Cheapside Cafe, in downtown Cincinnati. Go there and get their impossibly good Cheapside Kale salad or the delicious, appetizing smoked salmon sandwich. The decor is nordic-fresh, the coffee legit, and they have wifi - so cozy up.

BOUND BY FASHION

This may sound crazy, but I confess, Mel and I are head over perfect heels for fashion. Like identical twins long separated, we both arrived in simple black and white summer looks. Conscientiously departing from prints and heavy accessories in favor of a simple, minimal look that eschews a less is more lifestyle.

Follow @the_melholmes on instagram and watch for Mel’s guest blog post about summer beauty next month!

Erin Pinkley April 23, 2014

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SKID ROW AND HANDSOME

A highlight of my recent trip to Los Angeles was spending the day catching up with my good friend Nate Koach. Nate owns the So-Cal clothing line and brick & mortar Sub Urban Riot. You might recognize his wares populating your tv screen or favorite fashion blog. The guys on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia are big SUR tee fans, and their trendy Kale sweatshirt can be found outfitting any number of slub-chick celebs.

I met Nate in 2007 while he was on a cross country roadtrip looking for boutique stores to carry his budding clothing line (SUR). Nate walked in, his friend Cooper in tow and demanded that I see their clothing line. Full disclosure, I was used to random reps or designers dropping in, completely unannounced, trying to sell me on their product. Nate was different. He wore his heart on his well-tailored sleeves and he was honest and passionate about his creations. Long story short, within a week, Sub Urban Riot was flying off of my store’s shelves.

In the Fall of 2012 Boca Restaurant Group contracted me to design uniforms for the newly opened Boca and Sotto in downtown Cincinnati. Boca was a dream project. I can’t say enough about their commitment to quality. As a wardrobe stylist it was exciting to work alongside their enthusiastic team. For their concept Sotto, a dark sexy place underneath 6th street I wanted to do something custom. So I reached out to my go-to collaborator, Nate. He was thrilled about the project and jumped right in. We used an SUR oxford shirt, designed its look and picked out custom fabric and finishes. The unique process led us to custom gingham and chambray button-downs and emroi shirts for Sotto’s serving staff. They fit well into Sotto’s modern, found-material driven aesthetic and the group was ecstatic.

My latest visit to L.A. was focused on my newest project with Boca Restaurant Group (BRG), designing uniforms for the fun "Mexican-inspired" restaurant, Nada. The restaurant group is expanding Nada to multiple cities over the next couple years and refreshing the design of their Cincinnati location. It is an exciting time to work with BRG. This time around, Nate and I are collaborating on a custom shirt and apron for Nada. Prior to arriving on the West Coast we sent fabric swatches and design ideas back and forth until we landed on the right mood for Nada’s uniform.

I caught up with Nate in L.A. to check out what’s new in his flagship store, source fabric for Nada’s aprons and discuss future design collaborations. When we arrived, I found Nate huddled over drawings, he and his business partner working on their Spring 2015 line. Their workspace is part design studio, part office and part warehouse, from sketch to delivery of goods, it all happens here. Nate and Jason are cool, ambitious yet laid back guys - there is no ego involved. Their positive outlook on life and the the fashion industry feeds our growing relationship and I look forward to many years of collaboration.

FIELD TRIP

Once we got the first round on business out of the way, Nate, Erin and I went on a field trip.

First stop, Handsome Coffee in the Arts District downtown. Nate insisted that we see their aprons which are custom made by Nudie Denim. Not to mention we needed a caffeine fix. I have to say, Handsome Coffee does coffee and vibe just right. After some lengthy deliberation on Twitter and the L.A. food and art scene, we set back out on our path to find the perfect apron fabric.

Somewhere between Skid Row and the coffee shop, we found the fabric suppliers. What fun to finally put a name and a face to the people from whom I have purchased thousands of yards of fabric. Back in Cincinnati, when I look for new fabric, Nate ships me boxes full of fabric headers to study. This time, we could pile through the samples together, in real time as a team. I came out the field trip with possibilities to take this apron in a whole new direction. A restaurant apron may not seem worthy of a blog, but to me every detail of an outfit, whether business or personal, can be a decision well made. One that exudes confidence and personality.

I look forward to the next adventure with Nate and the SUR team. Check out my Instagram posts as we begin to finish the design and production of Nada’s new uniform! The uniform drops Fall 2014.

Sotto Cincinnati staff member's. Photo by Aaron Conway.

IVY COSTA