I don’t mean wear less clothing… I mean have less things to wear. Well, what I am trying to say is buy fewer quality items that all work together to save time, money and the earth. You have probably heard of capsule wardrobes. I love the idea of a capsule wardrobe. I am working in that direction, but I am not quite there yet. When It comes down to it I really only wear a few things in my closet and especially now with limited social activity, I have my standard favorites.
There are several motivating factors for simplifying my wardrobe.
- The first is time savings. This one is two-fold. Saving time making decisions was what drew me this direction at first. How many mornings did I go through three different wardrobe changes because I don’t really like this shirt, but I keep trying? Or I just don’t feel amazing in this and I need to feel amazing today. The second side benefit is now that I have commited to a simple wardrobe I don’t spend my time mindlessly clothes shopping on line or wandering through the clothing sections just in case something jumps out at me. So it is a big win-win!
- The money savings. Buying less pieces means spending less money overall. However, I had to change my mindset. Since I am buying for the long haul and trying to shop ethically the individual pieces may cost a bit more than I am used to spending. Learning to consider quality and wearablity of each item and making sure the money spent is worth it over all. I still love shopping at consignment stores. I tend to label shop. I only buy labels that I have found to be quality. I also spent a bit more on the core pieces since I knew these would be worn and washed often.
- Ethical reasons – consuming less is better for the environment on so many levels. Also focusing on limited quality items means I can wear things longer, therfore I am buying less in the big picture. I am still learning about this angle, making baby steps towards loving the earth by being mindful of what I buy.
“there’s no future in which we imagine we’ll look back and say: our lives would have been better if we had thought of others less, had a bigger wardrobe, focused on accumulating more things, or cared more about the way that we looked than the planet we lived on.” – Anna Lisa and Porter Grieve
So that is the why of wearing less. How do we take what we have and turn it into the magical wardrobe of simplicity? Well…I first started by finding a list on line from those that have gone before me and blazed the trail in the capsule wardrobe world. I am not a clothes person so I needed help. It quickly became super overwhelming. There are many great options and ideas out there. I was able to find one that had many of the items that I already had in my wardrobe. So I felt this would be a great start. Taking that list I put all of the items from the list that I already had in my closet on my bed. Then I went through my closet piece by piece. With each piece I asked my self: When is the last time I wore it? Do I feel good in it? Does it honestly make me happy? If it was yes it went back into my closet. The ones that did not make the cut will get to go to loving new homes.
After taking what was on the bed and adding it back to the few items I had left in my closet I had a very good start to a simpler wardrobe. I compared what I had left to the list I started with and was surprised how close I was to having a workable capsule wardrobe. I made a few changes to the list to fit my lifestyle a bit better, and made a note on my phone of the pieces I could look for at the consignment stores. I stepped back and enjoyed the feeling of an emptier, more wearable closet.
“Dress with less and create a life that is full of what matters most to you.” – Project 333
Below is the list of items I settled on for my wardrobe:
- Basic T- shirt – one black and one white
- Basic white long sleeve button up blouse
- Neutral color light sweater – my neutral this year is blush pink
- Denim shirt
- A couple V-neck blousy shirts – I added these to my list because I like them
- Neutral cardigan – getting down to only one was hard for me
- Several of the lists recommend white jeans – I went with a colored pair of jeans
- Light/medium pair of jeans – I have a couple since I wear them daily
- Black hoodie
- Denim jacket
- Beige jacket
- Military green jacket
- Two or three dresses – preferably ones that can be dressed up or down with a cardigan or jacket. I have a few because I prefer dresses to shorts
- One skirt
- Camel sandal or flat
- Beige ankle boot
- Neutral sneaker
- Chunky heeled beige sandal
In the end I was surprised at how empty my closet was but it feels good. Added bonus: I didn’t realize the guilt that I had from all of the unworn clothes that I just kept choosing not to wear. I guess I could have said four reason to wear less. Less guilt is always a win.
Overall I learned that having less clothes feels better for me. I don’t have negative emotions towards what is in my closet. I am spending less money on clothes and I have more time to do something other than mindless clothes shopping. I understand that there are others whose love language is clothes. Embrace that! I love that about you. That is not me so this is an option that I found to be super freeing and in the end easier than I thought it would be.
Through this process I learned that I am a little attached to my black hoodie and just can’t live without it. I would love to hear what item in your closet you could never do without.