When Did Custom Closets Become the Ultimate Status Symbol?
October 03 2020 - 10:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Rory Satran
WHEN DID closets become more than just a sliver of space to
stuff your clothes in? Somewhere between Cher's fantastical
computerized-rack system in 1995's "Clueless" and Reese
Witherspoon's costume mausoleum in the new Netflix show "Get
Organized with the Home Edit," many women -- and men -- decided
they deserved more. Namely, a meticulously organized room
showcasing their clothing and accessories. We're not talking about
the California Closets-shelved "walk-in closet" that constituted
luxury in the 1980s or '90s. This is more like a fashion
museum.
Let's call it a Princess Closet. This high-status approach to
storage has become a potent symbol of self-worth in our collective
imagination, with pristinely organized racks of clothing and shoes
communicating a sense of control. On Pinterest and Instagram,
images of "closet porn" proliferate. Closet tours with celebrities
and influencers are among Youtube and TikTok's most rabidly watched
videos, with billions of views. This fixation on flawless closetry
has become particularly pronounced during the pandemic, becoming a
source of calm for some Americans as we strive to impose order
during an unpredictable time.
Blame the phenomenon on TV and movies. Just as a 13-foot
Carrara-marble kitchen island telegraphs opulent hominess in a
Nancy Meyer flick, the Princess Closet has come to signify that a
rom-com heroine lives a life of aspirational order. You know the
scene: A character bounds through her racks of colorful feathered
frocks and rows of pristine Louboutins before alighting on the
Perfect Look to tackle her day. She's usually on the phone with her
best friend. Or better yet, her best friend is there, wisecracking
on a Moroccan pouf because the Princess Closet is always big enough
for a coffee klatsch. (Related: The Weapons Closet -- as seen in
"Men in Black 2," the "Kingsman" franchise and last year's
"Charlie's Angels" reboot -- is a twist on the cinematic shoe
closet, illustrating a different kind of preparedness.)
And just as the ex-husband in a boomer movie will eat a Sloppy
Joe in the spotless marble kitchen, messy reality will inevitably
disrupt a rom-com heroine's orderly existence. In an extreme
example, Nicole Kidman's character was battered by her husband in
her Architectural Digest-worthy his-and-hers closet on the HBO show
"Big Little Lies." And while in last year's South Korean Oscar
winner "Parasite," the actual closet escapes a bloodbath, its
pristine, Hermès-packed calm could not save Mrs. Park from a gory
tragedy.
Perhaps no one knows more about how to design a lust-worthy
walk-in than Lydia Marks, the set decorator behind "The Devil Wears
Prada" and both "Sex and the City" movies, cornerstones of the
Princess Closet pantheon. A key plot point in the first "Sex and
the City" movie revolves around closet-storage conflict between
Carrie and Mr. Big, with the latter saying, "I can build you a
better closet," as the string score builds. Discussing closets'
role in movies, Ms. Marks said, "It's become kind of a clue into
who these people are and what level they're functioning on."
Ms. Marks's private clients often want closets like Big and
Carrie's...only bigger. "While the 'Sex and the City' closets were
very famous, they aren't even as elaborate as some that I do
privately," she admitted. Vast spaces once used as family rooms
become opulent master closets. Her clients, many of whom work long
hours, are looking for a sense of serenity while they're getting
ready for work. "It's a nice way to wake up," she explained.
The Kardashian family has done just as much for closets as
Carrie Bradshaw has. Lisa Adams of LA Closets has designed many of
their most famous wardrobes, including Khloe's "sport closet," with
its shelf for kettlebells and a wood-paneled Fiji-water fridge. A
closet design from Ms. Adams starts at $50k and goes up to over a
million (thus the name of her former HGTV series, "Million Dollar
Closets"). The client's wish is her command: She has installed a
stripper pole and a putting green in bespoke closets.
When it comes to their design inspirations, many of Ms. Adams's
clients are looking to replicate the feeling of being in a
boutique. She explained, "I think people like the idea that you're
shopping in your closet.... So the idea that it's not cluttered,
it's well-lit, I think, is attractive to homeowners." The most
coveted closets in movies and on social media do look almost eerily
store-like, a fantasy that takes on new meaning at a time when most
of us are shopping less outside the home.
Closet design, as spurred on by movies and reality TV, has gone
so far over the top that it can feel parodic. Last year, the
disgraced and drama-embroiled makeup magnate and YouTube
personality Jeffree Star shared a video-tour of his closet, which
he calls "the Vault," that has amassed over 25 million views. With
an unending ardor -- "Sometimes I sleep in here" -- he shows off
the Vault's pristine selection of rare handbags and garments. And
then, the kicker: Mr. Star claimed that his closet is secured by
armed guards and can only be accessed after a prescreened user
submits to a fingerprint and retina scan. Such features might be
appreciated by Paris Hilton, whose closet break-in was recreated at
her own home in Sofia Coppola's movie "The Bling Ring."
But the Princess Closet is not just a narcissistic ode to
consumerism. It's also a place to relax and escape. Tara Johnson, a
44-year-old Connecticut attorney and mother of two, was a "Sex and
the City" fan who built a photogenic closet to house her serious
shoe collection, chronicled on her Instagram page @esq_fashionista.
"That is my sanctuary, my closet," she said. "If I want to get away
from the family, I go in the closet. I could be having the worst
day at work and I go immediately to the closet and it just puts a
smile on my face." The stress and isolation of the pandemic, she
said, has fueled her appreciation of the room. During lockdown, she
often retreated there to organize her collection. "That was a good
distraction from all the craziness that was happening outside the
house."
The concept of imposing order on a wild world comes up a lot in
discussions about the Princess Closet. Just look at the phenomenal
rise of the Home Edit, a Nashville-based service that promotes its
chipper organizational methods through bestselling books,
personalized services and a Netflix show, "Get Organized with the
Home Edit." On it, they take the items of laypeople and
celebrities, from Khloe Kardashian's daughter's play cars to Rachel
Zoe's python accessories, and arrange them in rainbow-hued
gradients. The company's founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin
recognize the role of global unrest in their work. Said Ms.
Shearer, "I think that people are looking for any way to take
control of their lives...Everything feels so up in the air, so I
think to be able to know where your socks are and if you have a
matching pair in your drawer, I think there's some level of calm in
that."
As soothing as organization may be, the meticulousness of the
Princess Closet can feel daunting. The notorious "TikTok mom"
influencers are taking the idea of the closet as a sanctuary to its
satirical endpoint: the closet as a bar for one. Christi Lukasiak,
a former star of "Dance Moms," shared a video to her 1-million-plus
TikTok followers of herself retreating to her closet with a bottle
of rosé. The hashtags #momsduringquarantine and #closetwine reveal
similarly frazzled women holed up in their closets drinking. It's a
chaotic -- and comical -- response to perfect order.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 03, 2020 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024