Cardigan Empire Preview: Closet-Palooza: Your Personal Clothing Boutique

A few sneaky peaks into the upcoming grand reveal

As dessert forks are rested upon diminished pillows of flakey crumbs, it is unlikely that you will invite your dinner party to admire the confines of your closet. In fact, an emaciated slice of the home-visitor pie-chart will ever glimpse the edges of your clothing closet grounds.

With far more prominent spaces to ornament and arrange some may woefully whine against the effort to assemble a custom closet. Follow me to a change of heart.

First, your wardrobe is, or should be, a carefully curated collection: the perfect ikat pencil skirt that you fished from between velour hot pants and a brocade tapestry jacket at the discount outlet, the immaculate fit jeans you discovered after three hours of slipping your thighs in and out of denim, the quilted handbag you watched until two in the morning until the eBay auction ended with your winning bid. You have sought these pieces out. You waited for them to blossom into sale. You altered them to your exact measurements. The collection of garments cooperates as a team, the sum more than any one part, confiding in one another their flattering secrets. Having a custom closet allows you to create a space specifically tailored to your collection, showcasing each and every masterpiece. Rods set at exactly the right height, shelves of the appropriate depth, and enough storage for every item in your collection.

This is not the realm of storage but display. Your closet is a demi-temple of peace and sanctuary. A space harmonizing yourself and your body. An opportunity to shroud your external self with your internal desires, free from anxiety or conflict.

A personalized boutique where each piece offers a comfortable fit, a blush inducing hue, a style that unifies your internal and external being. Hunting should be done on the sales rack, closets are for efficient decadence. If you cannot fit your fingers between hangers, if you hang wool next to eyelet, if you can identify a range of 6 sizes on a single rod, it is time for a closet makeover.

I've been in hundreds of closets from the catacombed bays of retail establishments to voluptuously decadent celebrity closets as large as small cottages ornamented with walnut and marble while evaluating dainty apartment models with plastic and wire in the same day. The best closets offer efficient organization, they make exquisite use of space. Just as a competent wardrobe will be selected based on your figure's genetics, and proper closet accounts for your dressing room's architecture. Custom closets are not just for dressing rooms the size of Rhode Island. Custom closets employ every tiny nook and cranny. Particularly if you're tight on storage space, consider going custom.

And just in case your still prioritizing your outdoor dining set, remember that a perfectly poised closet adds value not only to yourself, but also to the future buyer of your castle. After the kitchen, bathrooms, flooring and lighting, luxury upgrades like strategic storage make your home ever more alluring to prospective buyers.

Welcome to the Cardigan Empire Closet-Palooza!

Open the doors to closet organizing tools, creative inspiration, and how-to tutorials to tailor your closet to your your wardrobe, home and lifestyle