The Couturier of Closet Organization Spills Her Secrets

By Nandini D'Souza
March 24, 2011

Melanie Fascitelli “What’s the closet space like?” That’s the first thing anyone asks when looking at a new apartment in a city as cramped as New York. Questions about view, square-footage and neighborhood are all secondary to this first one, whose answer is often disappointing.

It takes a rare kind of person—equal parts artist, architect, Type-A personality—to look at a two-by-three-by eight-foot “closet” and see potential. But that’s exactly the kind of gal Melanie Fascitelli, President and Creative Director of Clos-ette, is.

Vogue has called her a ‘closet cleaner,’ but her clients—fashion industry pack rats, celebrities and regular folks among them—call this closet organizer a magician, a life-saver, a marriage-saver (she works with men, too). She can scan a space in disarray, woefully in need of organization and editing, and in seconds understand how to make it all easier, more efficient and, yes, prettier. Beyond the nuts-and-bolts design of a luxury closet, the former Style.com fashion editor will also, if asked, be brutally honest with you about what you should keep, store or let go of. After all, she’s not emotionally attached to those high school jeans you can’t seem to say goodbye to.

Melanie Fascitelli’s background as a fashion editor, press rep and designer consultant plays beautifully into Clos-ette, a luxury closet orgnaziation company she launched in 2002 as an top-to-bottom organization and styling service. “It ended up being my widget,” she said. “The accumulation of all my prior experience and careers. It mixed fashion with customer relations with design and merchandising.” She and the Clos-Ette team also recently launched Close-Ette Too, a line of organizational products like skinny, non-slip hangers, jewelry cases and travel accessories designed to maximize minimal spaces.

Closets by Clos-ette

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Photo Credit: Clos-Ette

With spring cleaning just around the corner, we asked Melanie Fascitelli for her tips on how to organize a closet.

The Inside Source: What's the number one mistake people make when organizing closets (outside of buying one too many outfits each season)?

Melane Fascitelli: They don't keep it simple and maintain categories, which are visual and make it easier to find items. Break clothes down into separates and color code, light to dark. Left to right. It is that easy. That trick, along with using the same type and color hanger, are the simplest tools for maintaining an organized closet!

The Inside Source: What are a few easy tips people should remember when organizing a closet?

Melane Fascitelli: Actually, that is an editing question. I like to ask myself a few questions and stick to a few rules when editing or culling a closet. 1. Always use a partner—someone who will be honest with you and whose opinion you trust. 2. Ask yourself: would I buy and wear this today? 3. What kind of shape is it in? 4. Have I worn this in the last two years? These questions and rules help keep the closet current and well edited!

The Inside Source: Tell us a little bit about Clos-ette Too. What are the pieces you think best maximize closet space?

Melane Fascitelli: Clos-ette Too is the brain child of the design firm I have built over the last 9.5 years designing and building out high-end residential closets. I created some of these products, if not all of them, with some of my discerning clients. You can try the Clos-ette Too signature hangers in an array of hanger types and colors. They're thin; they're flocked; they're space-saving both vertically and horizontally, and they're real garment care hangers meant to handle anything from a suit to a dress or to pants. Our signature travel jewelry case is also a cult favorite. It looks almost like a Trapper Keeper. It holds two-sided pages which snap together or can be used individually. The pages are covered in vinyl and have zipped compartments to hold everything from necklaces to watches. It has a separate ring holder. You can use it for travel or for storage at homem as it fits into a standard size drawer or shelf.

The Inside Source: We're based in New York City, home of notoriously tiny closets. What's the smallest closet space you've ever organized and how did you do it?

Melane Fascitelli: We've designed, built out and organized an entire studio into a closet before. We maximized and used every inch of the space including the bed as storage. It was a fun and challenging project!

The Inside Source: Do you ever find organizational pieces on eBay?

Melane Fascitelli: Once in a while I will pick up boot trees—old antique ones. And before I designed my hanger line, I'd seek out particular, rare hangers.

The Inside Source: What was the first thing you bought/bid for on eBay online auctions?

Melane Fascitelli: A Louis Vuitton Speedy bag.

The Inside Source: Are you a fierce eBay bidder or a "buy it now" kind of girl?

Melane Fascitelli: I'm a bidder and negotiator! I only "buy it now" in the rare occasion when I just have to have the piece and can't wait. But time and wisdom have proven to me over the years that nothing is not worth waiting for.... So I learned to be patient! eBay has so much psychology to it. It's almost like being in Vegas for the shopping obsessed! I enjoy the process.

The Inside Source: What are your favorite eBay search keywords?

Melane Fascitelli:

Hermes Jige bags—I collect and love them.
New Isabel Marant—She is my current favorite designer; some of her pieces are always sold out.
Chanel bags, usually quilted—love them as well.
Oscar de la Renta, J. Mendel, Roberto Cavalli gowns—I notice editors sell them on eBay all the time! Great way to snag a fabulous dress for less when you need it.
New Christofle silver—I need to replace pieces from time to time and you can get new and old pieces at a discount.