How often have you pawed through your closet, feeling more guilty by the moment for clothes you rarely wear or should never have bought?

Good news: Los Angeles stylist Barbra Horowitz is ready to absolve our guilt. She, for one, doesn’t believe in mistakes. "There’s another market for everything," she says.

Her advice? Use your wardrobe as a "stock portfolio." "When you own something you have the right to do anything with it," she says. For Horowitz, that means selling, dyeing, shrinking and cutting.

Cutting? Yes, cutting. But more on that later...

Horowitz has captured years of experience helping fashion victims in her new book, "Closet Control" ($22.95/Sterling Publishing). She walks us, step by step, through the psychological side of our closets, counsels us how to part with old clothes or transform them, make money through resales and how to dress more dynamically.

She says we should shop with the understanding that not everything we buy will be a slam dunk. "There are no mistakes. You can tire of things, not have enjoyed it after the first time," she says. And just because something cost a little more, that doesn’t mean it should be immune from your closet purge.

"Weird evening wear," expensive items and - of course - gifts from husbands are the most common things her clients have trouble ditching.

So what’s in her closet that she just can’t let go? Not much, Horowitz admits. Though there is that cute red vintage cropped jacket with big sleeves and a poodle collar she’s had for 13 or 14 years.... She’s lost the sleeves, but a vest remains. Perfect, she says, for that casual Uggs and jeans look.

"Closet Control" shows off her knack for cutting with simple, illustrated T-shirt transformation projects. Skeptical? Consider this: Her Rigged Tee Shirt Couture tops, born after she cut boxy men’s tees into something a lot sexier, have been spotted on celebrities Paula Abdul, Cameron Diaz, Britney Spears and others.

While Horowitz is strong proponent of closet purging, her philosophy leaves room for splurging, too. "Boots are a great investment – they have the best longevity," she says. But why pay full price, she asks, when you can get great deals at the end of the season or shop last year’s hot styles discounted on eBay? Take her Jimmy Choo lavender suede boots she bought for a song on eBay or the taupe suede boots on sale from Barney’s Co-op. The colors weren’t great, but Horowitz had a solution: She spent $110 on each pair to have them dyed. Her lavender boots were transformed into a striking cobalt blue, and the taupe boots are now charcoal gray.

“Buy online a season behind and you’re still on time,” she says. That’s music to our ears.

More tips from Horowitz and "Closet Control":