When I went to Europe I had to live out of a 46 liter backpack for 9 weeks, so I limited myself to 8 pieces of clothing: 3 shirts, 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 pair of jeans, 1 light rain jacket, and 1 pair of Converse sneakers. I also packed a shirt and a pair of shorts for sleeping, as well as shower shoes, so we can call it 11 total pieces utilized if you want. Yes, this meant I was doing laundry every night in hostel sinks, but it did show me how little I actually need.
As a result, I've been thinking a bit about how I can live a more minimalistic lifestyle, starting with clothing because it's easier to control despite my lack of income right now (thank you, Thrift Trader). I think I'm also reaching the stage in life where I prefer to invest in a few quality pieces rather than a ton of cheap things. As a last note, I would like to say that I'm not doing this for the sake of self-abasement or asceticism (see Colossians 2:20-23), but rather to challenge myself to think more creatively about how I can better utilize what I have now. Also, the second half of the previous sentence pretty much sums up my motivation for being an engineer.
What is a capsule wardrobe? It is a limited set of clothing and accessories (usually around 30 pieces) that make up one's entire set of outfits. Basic premise: choose your "essentials" wisely. Naturally, the best things to include in a capsule wardrobe would be pieces that you absolutely love and ones that can be mixed and matched easily. I'm not going to be traveling anytime soon, so I'll try to keep my limit to about 30 in this exercise.
Main goals:
- Establish a complete wardrobe that offers variety based on cohesiveness, not quantity.
- Find a good balance between neutrals and accent pieces, and identify any unusual color biases. I tend to have a lot of black and blue things, but then end up with a disproportionate amount of other random colors when I try to add variety. Personally, I wouldn't mind having only neutrals and subdued colors, but I also want to find out if I can incorporate the few random pieces I do have.
- Cut down on repeats. I KNOW I have a problem when it comes to jackets and coats.
- Figure out what I'm lacking.
Preliminary capsule wardrobe:
35 items total. Not too bad.
Lessons/realizations:
- Just a few non-neutral colors, so I'm happy about the "mixability" of this set. There is also a decent assortment of patterns and solids, though I'm not sure how I feel about having both the navy striped sweater and the solid navy sweater. I also had a friend yell at me for improperly mixing the white/blue colorblock skirt with a patterned shirt, so that probably has to go too.
- Need more pants, particularly a black pair.
- I really like simple classic styles, which is why I have all these collared shirts and sweaters. Not sure if this means I should continue working on this preppy grandfather look, or if I should incorporate more flowy and drapey shapes (or just something without buttons). I'm thinking a solid dark gray v-neck would be a good addition.
- Surprisingly more shoes than I expected. I'm not really a shoe person, but I wouldn't mind swapping out one or two of my current pairs for some legit oxfords.
- Need to add "nice watch" to the miscellaneous section.
- So many jackets... and four of them are black! I don't even have a practical reason to wear a trench coat on most days; I think I'm only holding onto it for sentimental reasons. I'm considering swapping out some items out for a light colored blazer.
