I get it all the time, the same message from different people: I have nothing to wear. I need to shop. What is behind the message is always the same: a full closet. Late-night purchases. Things still with their tags on. Things that were perfect in the store but have not recovered from the trip home.

At some point you stop replying with suggestions. You do something else instead. You go to the closet. You stand there. You say very little. This is the most useful—and the most uncomfortable—thing anyone will do for the closet owner all year.