Q:
I am moving in with my boyfriend and I couldn’t be more thrilled! The one black rain cloud over my parade? His clothing storage situation isn’t exactly . . . sufficient. Let’s just say that I’m coming with a fair amount of clothes. More clothes than I think he can imagine. I’m worried that he’ll take one look at my luggage and lose it. I know that you’re supposed to be yourself in a relationship, but I’m afraid that if I reveal my status as a clothes-obsessed pack rat, he’ll kick me to the curb! But more importantly: Let’s say he accepts me, Louis Vuitton trunks and all—is it fair of me to commandeer 90 percent of the closet space?
A:
Long ago, when I was a graduate student of Marxist political economy, I had a very intriguing liaison with a guy I picked up on a picket line. At least until one fateful evening at my East Village apartment, when I followed his horrified gaze to the giant stack of foreign fashion magazines stashed under the kitchen table. (I was a woman of many shades, even then.) I am ashamed to admit that I made up a story about how I was doing a project on the oppression of women and needed this source material, which was a total lie. Why didn’t I just tell him I wanted to be like one of those gorgeous girls at the barricades, like the chic left-wing Frenchies in Godard’s Tout va bien?
Your partner in life deserves to know everything about the real you! Okay, well, maybe nearly everything. Why not take this opportunity to edit your wardrobe, a task you have been contemplating since college. Make Housing Works happy and donate the excess! If, even after that, you require far more real estate than your share of closet space will accommodate (let’s be fair, the fellow should be allowed at least 30 percent) don’t be embarrassed to do what so many have done before you—rent a storage space.
Vogue Contributing Editor Lynn Yaeger dispenses sartorial wisdom to help you stylishly navigate the modern world and solve your fashion dilemmas. Tweet your questions to @voguemagazine using #AskLynn.
The post Ask Lynn: When Sharing a Closet Might Kill Your Relationship appeared first on Vogue.