The worst part of putting together an outfit is missing the last piece of clothing that would complete the look. In cases like these, borrowing something from your roommate can be the perfect fix.

Unfortunately, you can’t just go raid your roommate’s closet whenever your heart desires, so here are some tips and tricks to doubling your closet by just talking to your roommate.

First, coming up with an agreement between you and your roommate about when to borrow clothes from their closet is important. No one would want someone going through their stuff without permission, so always ask before borrowing.

Senior Megan Moore and junior Mackenzie Langford are roommates who have mastered the art of sharing closets.

“It’s kind of like go fish. I’ll ask Mackenzie if she has a black shirt and if she does, she lets me borrow it,” said Moore.

It is also important to establish how long you can borrow each other’s clothes. By agreeing on a certain amount of time, you can avoid possible conflict when your roommate needs to wear the blouse that you borrowed two weeks ago.

“We usually borrow each other’s clothes till we do laundry, so we can return whatever we borrowed back clean to each other clean,” said Langford. “It’s the polite thing to do.”

Sophomore Brigitte Paul is a commuter who lives alone, but still finds ways to trade clothes with her friends.

“I usually share clothes with my friend who lives on campus. When I want to borrow something, I go to her and when she wants to borrow something of mine, she comes to me,” said Paul.

The  idea of sharing clothes with someone is already difficult, especially if you’re trading with someone who doesn’t live with you, but it is still possible.

“We mostly borrow from each other shoes, jackets and tank tops,” said Paul.

Moore and Langford also have select items they borrow most often.

“We like to share shirts, tank tops, and bandeaus,” said Moore.

Knowing your body type is an easy way to decide what clothes you would like to borrow from your roommate. Personal style also comes into play when choosing what to wear.

If your roommate is shorter than you, chances are jeans and pants won’t be something you will borrow. But if you both are similar in size for everything else, then the sky is the limit for what you can trade.

“We can’t borrow jeans or pants, because she is taller than me. Otherwise, we’re the same body type, which makes it easy to trade everything else,” said Paul.

You don’t have to be exactly the same size to make this idea work. Styling for body type is an alternative way to make different pieces of clothing work for you.

“She’s the only person who I share with because she’s closest to my body type. Not everything is the exact same size, but there are ways to make something that doesn’t fit you perfectly still look good,” said Paul.

Sweaters, T-shirts and cardigans don’t necessarily need to fit perfectly to still look great. If a T-shirt is too big, wear it off the shoulder. By doing this, it makes it look like that is how it is supposed to fit, even if it isn’t.

Establish rules on what you both can’t borrow. Everyone has that one item in their closet that they love and don’t want to share. Make sure you both understand what is off limits to eliminate future drama.

“We don’t share makeup or jewelry. I’m too protective of my jewelry to share it with anyone,” said Moore.

By following some of these quick tips you can easily make an agreement with your roommate or friend that will ensure you always have something to wear.

Lindsey Walton
Staff Writer
Published March 13, 2013