Stacy Smallwood is passionate about fashion. As owner and head buyer of Hampden Clothing, an upscale women’s boutique, Smallwood goes to Paris, New York, Milan and London to buy the most up-to-date stylish clothing and accessories not only for her store, but also herself. Over time — call it an occupational hazard — she has acquired a lot of clothes. So her closet — an extra bedroom she had transformed into a large walk-in — was a disaster, nothing like the sleek, well-edited and organized displays in her shop. Clothes, shoes and bags were jumbled; she had never bothered to edit out older or unworn items. And she spent years rationalizing the dilemma, saying, “I love it and might wear it again.” But most mornings, she would stare blankly at her closet and, like many women, gravitate to the same pieces again and again. “Despite being in fashion, I was struggling to get dressed every morning,” Smallwood says, “so I would often start my day in a bad mood.” One day, she said, “I looked around and was sick of the mess, and I knew the only way for me to get clarity of my mind was to start with my environment.” Smallwood enlisted the help of professional organizer Julia Pinsky, founder of Pinsky Project. Pinsky, who had a long career in fashion and merchandising before beginning her organizing business, says she specializes “in making a home look minimal yet maximized.” She began tackling Smallwood’s closet as she does all projects. “You have to take everything out… [Read full story]
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