Take a Tour of Rebecca Minkoff's Stunning Closet in Her Brooklyn Home
Compartments Galore
"I constantly have to self-edit," Minkoff says. "You're in New York City, you don't have the luxury of storage. I've learned that once I've worn something to death and I'm sick of it, someone else can benefit from it."
The Closet
"I wanted a closet that was neutral, elevated, but won't detract attention away from the clothes," Minkoff says. "You walk in here, and it feels like a really nice dressing room. And with limited space in New York, it's really just about function and smart space utilization." Just like her design aesthetic, it is a blend of luxe modernity and comfort, which was achieved with an antique Safavieh rug, a cool spiky starburst Dutton Brown chandelier, a gold floor-length Bo Concept mirror, faux marble Candice Olson wallpaper, and The Container Store's Elfa shelving system.
The Shoes
"I have a shoe problem," Minkoff admits. "Fifty percent of the shoes are Rebecca Minkoff and the rest are other brands. It's more of a closet for shoes than anything else."
The Bags
"You will find no other purse brands in this closet except for Rebecca Minkoff," the designer says. "It's organized by occasion and/or size."
The Necklace Hooks
"I used to keep my necklaces in a drawer, but they were always tangled," Minkoff says. "Hanging them has solved that problem."
The Pouches
"I have an obsession with pouches," Minkoff says. "I use them for packing, jewelry, cosmetics, or going out, so this is my pouch land."
Pops of Color
"If you go into my living room, I have colorful pillows everywhere, so I think colorful pottery is my way of doing that in my closet," Minkoff says, pointing out her Anthropologie bowls that hold some of her jewelry. "It makes me happy to see fun printed pottery—they're little pops of personality."
Jewelry Storage
"This is awesome—it's storage for jewelry, earrings, small knick-knacks," she says. "There are very few things that are kept hidden because I find that if you can't see something, then you forget about it."
Rebecca Minkoff has made a name for herself for her downtown-cool designs that cater to the super-trendy girl, but it's her accessories that serve as the bread and butter of her eponymous line. From fringed backpacks to sleek moto boots, Minkoff never fails to churn out the ultimate must-haves season after season. Not surprisingly, those coveted extras take up prime real estate in her own personal closet in Dumbo, Brooklyn.
"I have a shoe problem," Minkoff admits to InStyle during a tour of her closet. "Fifty percent of the shoes are Rebecca Minkoff and the rest are other brands. It's more of a closet for shoes than anything else."
She sums up her closet in one word: "Accessory-ville," a truly accurate description of the space. After taking in her massive collection of footwear (on shoe racks that pull out, no less), the rest of the closet comes into focus. Minkoff tapped the brains behind Laurel & Wolf, an online interior design company, to transform her closet into what it is today. When she moved in two years ago, the closet, she says, felt manly with hard cabinetry and simple compartments. She wanted a space that echoed the warm California feel of the rest of her house. Now, it is a blend of luxe modernity and comfort, which was achieved with an antique Safavieh rug, a spiky starburst Dutton Brown chandelier, a gold floor-length Bo Concept mirror, faux marble Candice Olson wallpaper, and The Container Store's Elfa shelving system.
RELATED: Watch Rebecca Minkoff Prep Her Spring Collection During New York Fashion Week
"I wanted a closet that was neutral, elevated, but wouldn't detract attention away from the clothes," Minkoff says. You walk in here, and it feels like a really nice dressing room. And with limited space in New York, it's really just about function and smart space utilization."
Everything she owns has a neat compartment—buckets for her pouches, drawers for jewelry, separators for jeans, individual racks for dresses and her indoor jackets ("These are jackets I wear inside," she explains, "they're my outfit-completers"), and those cool pull-out shoe racks. And even though she knows that her closet is big by New York standards, accumulation of stuff is still an ever-persistent problem.
"I constantly have to self-edit," she says. "You're in New York City, you don't have the luxury of storage. I've learned that once I've worn something to death and I'm sick of it, someone else can benefit from it."
See Minkoff's closet, straight ahead.