Well, I made it. 3 months, 33 items of clothing.
Blue jeans/black jeans/green jeans/tan cords/black pants/striped long sleeved shirt/striped t-shirt/black long sleeved shirt/leopard print t-shirt/teal tank top/black pullover sweater/black pullover sweater/black cardigan sweater/teal sweater/grey sweatshirt/black skirt/black skirt/black leather skirt/green skirt/black boots/winter boots/brown boots/ankle boots/parka/grey wool coat/furry hat/scarf/gloves/blue dress/sweater dress/fancyish dress/black bag/gold hoop earrings.
OK, I may be exaggerating. I may have cheated…a little.
OK, fine. I totally cheated. I cheated on my perfect 33-item capsule wardrobe – the reliable, flattering, well-cut standbys that took me from business trips to book launches to the park through the 3 most frigid months of the winter – with these hussies: a couple of fancier dresses, some dangly beaded earrings, various gold necklaces (number unknown), a very large fur hat, a Russian wool scarf festooned with roses, red Newfoundland thrummed mittens, and a crazy ’70s batwing sweatshirt I love but for some reason thought I could make it through winter without wearing.
So….Project 40(ish). Or 45. Whatever. Who’s counting?
The bottom line: I was very successful in my quest to simplify my wardrobe and minimize my fashion-angst. I could get dressed on a work-morning in full zombie/snooze mode, it was so painless. My internal monologue went something like this:
Must. Get. Dressed (reaches into drawer)…something clean? (grabs closest shirt)…OK, find tights….(slips on black tights, one of three identical pairs)… pants/skirt? OK, that black (insert item here) is also clean (pulled onto lower half of body). Am I dressed? I appear to be dressed! Aaaaaah.
So that part was great.
I also saved a bunch of money. I escaped the pull of the January sale, though I recently bought 3 things – after deeply contemplating the possibility of a potential spring-P333 venture.
Sadly, I was less successful at keeping myself entertained and looking like I normally do. I mean, look at my 33 item list above. That’s a lot of black. Also a lot of solid colours (for me, anyway). Nothing against the Perfect Capsule Wardrobe, but is it possible to look more individual and unique, more like one’s most fabulous sartorial self, during this process? Janet at The Gardener’s Cottage is a huge inspiration to me in the simplified-style department. She manages to look utterly individual and stylish while dressing out of a tiny and seemingly streamlined closet. My fantasy is a small, perfect wardrobe composed of only versatile things I want to wear every day – just, like, with sequins, fedoras and gold chains, to keep things interesting.
Bottom line #2: I’m still drawn to the idea of owning and wearing fewer items of clothing, but I need to work out which items will make me feel like a fabulous version of myself while doing it. You know, more Barbarella, less Banana Republic.
What do you think, friends? Have you figured out a way to look ridiculously awesome while keeping your closet uncluttered? I’m planning my P333 spring leap…
Semi-Material World 