As a result, Ms. Fitzpatrick now makes sure to hold onto beloved pieces that are in good shape. She has learned, she says, that alterations can easily update looks.

These days, Ann Fitzpatrick, director of the personal-shopping team at the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills, cleans out her closet with surgical precision.

She has regretted the loss ever since. "I am still pining for those pieces I let go that are not replaceable," says Ms. Fitzpatrick, who spent many years helping clients shop and weed through their closets and now oversees the service.

Thirteen years ago, before she moved into a home with smaller closets, Ms. Fitzpatrick purged her wardrobe of pieces she no longer needed.

She changes buttons on old cardigans and jackets to create a more modern look and has hemlines taken down or up as the style dictates;

on one Calvin Klein skirt, she has let the hem out twice. If she has a hole in a cashmere sweater, she often looks for an artisan who can reweave it.

Avoiding large purges, she weeds through her wardrobe every season, getting rid of items such as shoes with worn-out toes or chipped heels, sweaters that can't be rewoven.

"I believe that there has got to be a home for any of the things I've owned," Ms. Fitzpatrick says.

She'll let her two daughters have first pick of the cast-offs and then will give the rest to charities. Nothing gets thrown away.

She also weeds out items that don't fit or have colors she no longer likes.