A properly organised closet just makes life easier. Instead of desperately hunting for your black turtleneck at 7am, you know exactly where it sits. What I’ve found even more satisfying is applying digital closet principles — like the ones used by DressedByAI’s digital closet feature — to my physical rails and drawers. It isn’t just about aesthetics; it changes how you get dressed, track what you wear, and even decide what (not) to buy next.
The Digital Closet Principle: Think Like an Algorithm
Digital closet tools don’t get sentimental or lazy. They categorise your clothes by item type, colour, formality, and season as soon as you upload a photo. Replicating that mindset for your real wardrobe keeps things sorted and highlights what you reach for — and what you don’t.
- Categories come first: Tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, shoes, accessories. Resist the urge to sort by colour before item type — it’s a rookie mistake. Finding all your trousers in one section is far more practical.
- Colour flows within category: Once you’ve grouped by item, order by colour within those sections (all your blue shirts, then your greens, etc.). Don’t let rainbow-ordered rails break up matching styles or silhouettes.
How to Physically Sort Your Wardrobe Like DressedByAI
Step 1: The Ruthless Empty Out
Take every single item out — yes, even the ones stuffed at the back of the bottom drawer. Sort into piles based on real categories:
- T-shirts (not generic "tops")
- Shirts and blouses
- Trousers and jeans
- Skirts
- Dresses
- Jumpers and hoodies
- Jackets and coats
Step 2: Fine-Tuning Categories
Digital closets make you choose between "knitwear" and "outerwear". Do the same:
- If you wear hoodies as outerwear, keep them in jackets, not jumpers
- Lounge shorts shouldn’t live with tailored trousers
- Sports leggings? Separate from daily-wear jeans
It's tedious, but you’ll thank yourself later.
Step 3: Order Items by Colour (But Not the Way Pinterest Tells You)
Don’t fall for those rainbow closets that separate all colour but ignore wearable combinations. Within each category, group your pieces by the way you reach for colour:
- Start with lightest neutrals (white, cream, beige)
- Next, medium neutrals (grey, camel, navy)
- Then your preferred colours, in a flow you find logical (I go blue → green → olive → burgundy → red → pink)
- Darkest neutrals last (charcoal, chocolate, black)
If you never wear yellow, don’t give it prime front-of-rail real estate — let your closet fit your actual style, not an Instagram grid.
Tracking What You Wear — Without Relying on Apps
You’ll hear advice that you should turn hangers backwards until you’ve worn that item. I disagree. It’s fiddly and makes a mess. Instead, borrow an idea from DressedByAI's digital closet: log wears in a physical way.
- Small stickers or safety pins: Attach one discreetly to a label each time you wear an item — when you remove them to wash, chuck the sticker
- Notepad by the wardrobe: Jot down the date you wore key items (helpful if you're trying to wear more of your little-used pieces, like a floral midi dress or black patent loafers)
- Photograph ‘fit repeats: Snap a photo and store in an album titled “March Outfits” or similar, then review at month’s end
This keeps your wear tracking honest, with less faff mid-dress.
Planning Your Outfits with a Properly Sorted Wardrobe
Once your closet matches the clarity of a digital system, outfit planning genuinely gets simpler. I start by:
- Picking the category I need (e.g. shirt for a client meeting)
- Scanning the colour options based on mood and the weather (crisp white or navy for formal; olive for casual)
- Swapping in another piece in the same category/colour slot depending on need — the search is speedy, decisions easier
The knock-on effect? No more impulse buys because “I forgot I had that navy shirt”. You’ll spot gaps, helping you build actually wearable outfits — not just pretty combinations.
Trade-Offs: Why ‘Organised by Colour Only’ is Overrated
Some bloggers swear by rainbow-ordered wardrobes. But unless you wear a pink hoodie and a pink blazer interchangeably, you’ll end up rifling past unrelated clothes. That’s why, even if your closet doesn’t look like a showroom, function wins over artful colour blocking. Your red cocktail dress doesn’t need to live next to your red tracksuit bottoms — unless you’re planning a hybrid outfit for a fancy dress party, and let’s hope you’re not.
The Hidden Perk: Seasonal and Formality Sorting
Pulling from digital closet logic, you can also track your wardrobe by season and occasion:
- Store out-of-season or very formal items away (that wool tuxedo jacket is not needed in July)
- Within each section, give ‘everyday’ wears easier reach than event pieces
- Use slim dividers to separate, say, knit dresses (autumn) from summer linens
Next time it snows, you won’t be stuck accidently grabbing only summer camisoles. There’s satisfaction in seeing structure and practicality trump a visually pleasing, but ultimately inefficient, closet.
Done right, organising by category and then colour, with tweaks for season and formality, means less thinking on Monday mornings — and fewer style ruts. I’ve even caught myself looking forward to outfit planning now. When each shirt, jean, or dress is easy to see and recall, getting dressed takes seconds, not stress.