How To Make Your Closet Look Like A Store

Next time you’re out shopping, keep an eye out for these four things retail stores do that you can incorporate into your own closet organization to make your clothes, shoes, and accessories tidy and more aesthetically pleasing.

When you visit your favorite clothing store, you’ve probably got only one thing on your mind, “What can I buy?” But next time you head through those doors, I want to encourage you to look at how the clothes are displayed. As someone who worked in retail clothing stores for over ten years and then transitioned into home organization, I can tell you that the way stores are set up directly correlate with the way your closet should be.

So if your closet needs some tidying and Pinterest photos just aren’t doing it for you, head out to the mall and look for these four things for inspo.

Learn The Right Way To Fold Stacked Clothing

Here’s the biggest lesson you can learn from a retail clothing store—the right way to fold a stack of clothes. Whether it’s a pair of jeans or a hoodie, folding them neatly and correctly allows your closet to look and feel more organized. Simple things like how to fold pants so they fold up into a neat little square are an easy method you can copy just from looking at a wall of denim.

And I learned how to fold a hoodie by looking at a big stack of them on a table at H&M. In my entire retail and organizing career, I had never seen anyone fold the hood over the sweatshirt they way they do in the store. I went home to recreate it in my own closet and I’ve never folded a hoodie any other way since.

Arrange Hanging Clothes By Category, Style, Or Color

Every store arranges clothes on hanging rods differently, and if you aren’t paying attention, you probably don’t even notice. But just by walking through a few stores in the mall, you’ll start to see a variety of methods you can try in your own closet. Some stores have clothes arranged by color, flowing from rainbow order and then moving into neutrals. Other stores arrange by sleeve length, weight of material, type of material, or type of clothing.

And you’ll also notice that clothes are arranged by occasion. Stores don’t typically have casual lounge tees hanging out next to a LBD. There’s a casual section, a dressy section, and a folded section. You can easily recreate this in your closet, no matter how big or small it is, just by grouping items by their occasion.

Check out a few arrangement options in your favorite stores to see what feels and looks best to you, then try it out at home. It doesn’t cost anything to move clothes around in your closet, but you instantly get a new look.

Create Displays To Fill Gaps & Highlight Accessories

The easiest way to make your closet feel more like a store and less like a storage space is by adding some displays. Stores typically use the top shelves and middle gaps between hanging tiers to face out handbags, shoes, and jewelry. It makes the whole space look more intentional and maximizes every inch of storage.

To get this look at home, look for any gaps in your closet and fill them with a favorite pair of shoes, a pretty handbag, a great hat, or a piece of statement jewelry. You can buy display stands on Amazon that look just like the ones stores use so the highlighted pieces you’re showing off really stand out. (I linked my faves at the bottom of this post)

Just be sure not to overload your closet with displays. Remember that you need actual storage space for the majority of your clothes, and too many displays will start to look cluttered. Let everything breathe by allowing empty space around displayed items, and rotate the things you have on the shelves seasonally so it always looks fresh and new.

Try Out Creative Storage Solutions

Retail clothing shops are always trying to find new ways to show off their clothes while fitting as much as they can on the walls and tables. Their merchandising teams are constantly testing out different methods for hanging clothes, and a lot of them work really well in a home closet.

Hanging jeans folded in half from a boot hook looks really nice and doesn’t take up much room, hanging shorts by the belt loop is much easier than having clip hangers, and storing hats on pegs in an otherwise empty gap of the wall is a cheap and accessible alternative.

When you’re duplicating a storage “hack” from a retail shop, just be sure that it’s actually functional and easy to do. Some things may look nice but they’re a pain to put away on laundry day. If the method makes your closet more tidy and your daily routines faster, it’s a win. But if you try it out and it’s more work than it’s worth, chalk it up as an experiment and find a new storage solution you like better.

Shop My Favorite Retail-Inspired Closet Organizers

I put together a list of the best closet organizers and display pieces to make your closet look more like a fancy boutique but still functional enough for everyday use. Let me know in the comments if you’ve learned a clothing storage hack or closet organizing tip from a store before, too. I’d love to hear what you’ve been able to duplicate at home!

1. Handbag Stand
2. Necklace Display Bust
3. Perfume Tiered Organizer
4. Shoe Stand
5. Belt Organizer
6. Valet Rod
7. Sunglass Stand
8. Hanger Organizer
9. Bracelet Display Organizer
10. Shelf Dividers
11. Cedar Shoe Trees
12. Motion Sensor Lights
13. Clutch and Wallet Organizer
14. Pants, Shorts, & Boot Hooks
15. Jewelry Tray 4pc Stackable Set

Shop more of my recommended organizers on my Amazon Storefront and LTK shop.