The storage and maintenance of your vintage and high-end clothing should not be taken lightly. Whether you have an expansive walk-in closet or a dedicated area in your bedroom for getting ready, there are various aspects to consider when organizing and caring for your luxe apparel so you can continue to look your sharpest for many seasons to come.

1. Carefully optimize your space

An impressive collection of high-end clothing and accessories deserves to be showcased accordingly. Ensure your closet works for you and your clothes by optimizing the space and positioning your apparel where you can view it.

Focus on creating a well-organized closet that makes sense to you, sorting clothing into relevant categories. While functionality is key, consider leaving some room for decorative elements that complement the surroundings.

For regular-use items such as certain jewelry and perfumes, leave a few easy-to-access surfaces free so these items can be located effortlessly.

2. Include a vanity space

Invest in a vanity space, with luxury seating, sufficient mirrors, and even a wash basin to ensure each day starts with a healthy dose of pampering.

Add a full-length mirror for easy viewing of your whole outfit, as well as a tabletop mirror to make applying make-up and accessories as simple as possible.

3. Take extra care of your watches

Watches can be a particularly delicate accessory and should be handled sensitively—especially vintage varieties.

When storing watches, keep them away from magnetic fields—such as those associated with electronic devices—and ensure they are padded appropriately, stored face up, and with space between each item.

4. Consider seasonal wardrobe items 

To mitigate the risk of damaging seasonal wardrobe items such as skiwear, jackets, or boots, avoid storing in attics or basements; instead, opt for dry and airy spaces, free of sunlight.

Where appropriate, consider keeping seasonal items in vacuum-sealed bags—just ensure you have a steamer on hand to freshen them up when it’s time to reintroduce them to your primary wardrobe.

5. Correctly utilize lighting

Lighting is especially important for an efficient closet space, but appropriate lighting levels depend on the size of the room you’re working with. Smaller closets demand lower brightness levels—or lumens—with a closet under 25 sq. ft. needing up to 250 lumens, and a 100 sq. ft. closet requiring 1500-3000 lumens.

The direction of lighting is important too—consider installing directional LED lighting above clothing and your full-length mirror to make getting ready a much simpler experience.

6. Avoid clutter

Overbuying can make choosing what to wear a nightmare: the more clothing in your closet, the harder it is to navigate. Make a point to avoid clutter—as a rule, hung clothing should not touch the item next to it.

A good starting point is to look at the clothing currently in your closet and decide if it’s worth keeping—or at least moving to a secondary clothing space. Applying advice from organizing consultant Marie Kondo works great here—if a piece of clothing doesn’t spark joy, it’s probably time to ditch it.

Another important aspect to consider is, generally, keep things off the floor. Not only does it look untidy, but items you might expect to be safe at floor level, like shoes and bags, can pick up mold and mildew.

Your best bet is to keep your shoes in a bespoke shoe organizer or wrapped in cloth dust bags.

7. Keep air circulating

Air circulation is vital to the freshness of your clothing, so consider keeping your closet door open at regular intervals—or better still installing a ceiling fan in the closet.

To ensure your clothing isn’t a target for pesky moths, introduce cedar-scented hangers or blocks to keep them at bay.