A bit of Fashion Zen
One thing people don’t often know about me is that I’m a bit of a Buddha at heart. I like a bit of deep breathing, positive thinking and simple living from time to time, and I tend to feel a bit lost if I forget to keep up with the regular postings on ZenHabits.net.
Now, I know you’re probably wondering why I’ve started to bang on about spirituality all of a sudden. And no, don’t worry, I haven’t gone completely cuckoo. I hope.
Instead, I’m going to bang on about the concept of fashion and living simply. The inspiration for this post came from a previous article over at ZenHabits entitled “How to live a better life with less”, as well as a little inspiration from the absolute legend that is Gok Wan (love him or hate him, you know he speaks the truth!)
You see, one thing I’ve always noticed about the fashion world is that it is filled with clutter. We swoon and rave over the latest must-have trends, labels and accessories one day, then toss them to the back of the closet the next. Over time, this clutter builds up to the extent that we struggle to keep ourselves organised, thus resulting in feelings of frustration, stress and even failure.
Now, I know it sounds hard to believe that a messy wardrobe can lead to such depressing feelings. However, if we all ruled out the excess clutter in our lives, starting with the contents of our wardrobe, we’d find ourselves leading much simpler lives, devoid of unnecessary decision-making and stress.
Our current obsession with celebrity culture has given us the illusion that we should constantly be changing our outfits from one day to the next. And we seem to try, at all costs, to avoid wearing exactly the same outfit more than once. This leads us to believe that we should always be buying more; more accessories to mix and match with, and more garments to experiment with.
Which is all very well if you can afford it. But the vast majority of us can’t afford to do that, yet we still insist on buying more garments than we can effectively manage.
One thing I have learned during my time at university is that there is no need for excess clothes. Whilst the likes of Ugly Betty and Devil wears Prada encourage us to believe outfit repetition is a hideous and furthermore disgusting sin, the mundanity of university life and the lack of storage space in my ghetto student room remind me that it is possible to pull off a billion zillion different looks with only a relative smidgen of garments to choose from.
So how on earth do we go about keeping our wardrobes minimalist, you might wonder? Well the answer is simple. Stick to the basics, and vary the little things. And now for a list on all the things one must own in one’s wardrobe:
1.) A STUNNER ITEM
For females, this refers to one dress which fits like a dream. This could be either a daytime or evening piece, but it must look absolutely fabulous and be more classic chic than bang on trend. For me, my stunner item is most probably my silver and black sequinned dress.
For males, a stunner item refers to a beautiful suit, preferably tailored to ensure a perfect fit.
2.) A DAMN GOOD PAIR OF JEANS
We can’t live without a really good pair of jeans. Often, it’s worth investing in a relatively expensive pair to ensure maximum comfort and a brilliant fit. Indigo and darker colours are usually best as they are more versatile.
3.) RELIABLE AND IMPOSSIBLY COMFORTABLE SHOES
Whether they’re flats, boots or heels, these are the type of shoes you reach for time and time again, and could quite possibly live in for the rest of your life.
4.) THAT PERFECT BAG
We might own more handbags than we have underwear, but that doesn’t stop us having a favourite we just can’t live without. So forget all those other handbags you swear you’d use for “special occasions” and discard of them. As long as you have your classic bag, you’re all good.
Now, it’s going to sound very hypocritical of me if I say my wardrobe doesn’t bulge with unnecessary items that would be better off in a bin liner outside Oxfam. but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to consider only shopping for staples and useful things next time it comes to garment shopping. After all, all that money spent on fast-fashion pieces which shrink and fade in the wash after half a wear could be saved and put towards something more useful and… possibly… designer!
Question time: What are your thoughts and opinions on minimalising your wardrobe? Do you have lots of fashion clutter, or do you prefer to have fewer, but more useful garments?
Posts might be a bit few and far between around here up until the end of November. This is due to a sudden influx of damned essay deadlines, but I will try my best to keep you posted at least once a week!
My closet is tiny so just cause of that I can’t keep all my clothes. I do give away bags and bags full of clothes etc. every year to give better home to the ones I don’t use/ don’t fit me. I think less is better when it comes to possession of things. I like it clean, and not just the wardrobe, I mean the whole flat. If the place is messy it distracts my thoughts.
juliet xxx
This is so true. My wardrobe is so cluttered and I always feel the need to be updating it. But I suppose all we need is a few key items and we can mix and match them into outfits. I really will be taking your advice her to heart.
When I back from France I really tried to de-clutter my closet. And I promised to add more black items to it also (i always grab random colors). This resulted in my buying all white. I have yet to purchase anything black. Ugh. Wait, I bought a pair of black gloves.
I like the idea of having a more minimalized wardrobe, but I need some more refined shopping skills. I do have this one H&M top that I literally live in. I should go back and by more in different colors. Maybe that could be my wardrobe. LOL.
Amber
ambersmouthwash
oh! living in NYC with a tiny apt means clusters everywhere …. i really just miss space!!!
Great post, xx
I do feel clutter messes with our focus; it’s so weird but having a lot of accumulated stuff doesn’t translate to more quality in the variety of our outfits. I have a big closet so storing things is never a problem but when dressing time came about for lack of time or plain laziness instead of rummaging thru to create something striking I found myself often combining the same pieces over and over. So lame. So I successfully purged the excess baggage and now I put more effort into rotating every piece in there. So far so good, although all that empty space has been calling for new residents.
I have a lot of clutter but have accepted that this is difficult to change, I like to acquire new things on a weekly basis. I have a few favourites I wear religiously, but have held on to certain items as I’m sure I’ll go back to them eventually. Despite this, I am looking forward to moving away and being forced to edit my wardrobe down and I hope to come up with some more exciting combinations.
i like the idea in theory but i love clothes so much i feel i can never have enough! but, i am incredibly organised & have a dressing room devoted to the cause!
Absolutely amazing post. I actually keep my wardrobe purposefully small because I can’t bear the idea of a piece being forgotten at the back or not worn for months. Plus this way I make sure that every piece is one I love :) I linked you in my sidebar dear! Hope you’re having a beautiful weekend :)