Would you try a super-streamlined wardrobe?
These women have radically simplified getting dressed
Podcast launch: I spent some quality time recording podcast editions of this summer’s top newsletters, which paid subscribers can access here. Please let me know what you think of the audio format.
Last year I wrote about how I’d accidentally stumbled into wearing a "capsule wardrobe” all summer. The idea of a simplified, minimal wardrobe struck a chord with readers–many of whom chimed in with the ways they had streamlined their own wardrobes. So I thought we’d revisit the topic of simplifying getting dressed.
Most people have a closet full of clothes, but regularly wear only a small selection of them. (We’ve all heard the theory that most of us only wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time.) This might be why the idea of a “capsule wardrobe” (a small, curated collection of clothing that can easily be mixed and matched) is so endlessly appealing.
I wish I could tell you that after my experience last summer, I finally got rid of all the clothes I don’t really love and achieved capsule wardrobe nirvana, but I’m still a work in progress (more on that at the end). So I reached out to four women who have all taken different approaches to simplifying their wardrobes to see what we could learn.
First, I want to share one highlight from my conversations about why editing your wardrobe is worth the effort. My friend
told me that she thinks of what she calls uniform dressing as a feminist act. “Wearing some version of the same thing each day has simplified my morning routine, freed me from decision fatigue and stress, and opened up so much more spaciousness in my brain for other pursuits,” she says. That sentiment motivates me to do the work to figure out what clothes I really love.A related podcast from the archive:
Here’s how four women radically simplified getting dressed:
1. Develop a “uniform”
Shira started experimenting with wearing a “uniform” over a decade ago. “I was always envious that the men I knew seemed to have a simple daily uniform and zero mental drama about what to wear each day,” she says. Shira describes transitioning to a daily uniform as a “slow evolution.” Eventually she settled on a daily outfit of a white blouse, vintage jeans, and usually a pair of classic sneakers. Any clothing that isn’t a white blouse or jeans (including a few maxi dresses and blazers) is white, gray, black, or denim, so she can mix and match it with her “uniform.” Shira also owns one simple black dress that she’s worn to every formal occasion for the past fifteen years (so impressive!).
Her shopping philosophy: While Shira has a narrow selection of clothes, she loves style and fashion. “If I love something and feel good in it, I will buy it,” she says. But it has to fit into her very small shared closet, so she’s constantly rotating things out to make way for new finds. Inspired by the #30wears challenge she says, “I always ask myself before buying, ‘Do I imagine I will wear this item at least 30 times?’”
Tip: “When I get bored I love to seek creative solutions that don't rely on shopping like a neon manicure, a new hairstyle, or a clothing swap with friends.” Shira wrote an excellent newsletter on this topic: How to Refresh Your Style Without Shopping
2. Radically limit your color palette
Alix, a reader of the Living Small newsletter, shared that she only wears black clothing (a true New Yorker flex), so I asked if she'd tell me about it. Previously, Alix had a wardrobe of all neutral, natural fiber clothes that could be mixed and matched, but she switched to all-black (also natural fibers) to simplify even further. “Having a singular color is actually really helpful,” she says. “I also think black can be dressed up a bit more easily, and practically speaking it doesn't get as dirty.”
Alix says she’s a minimalist in all parts of her life, but simplifying her wardrobe was also a way to align her clothing consumption with her values. “I care a lot about sustainability and reducing consumption,” says Alix, whose graduate degree is in consumer economics and post-graduate work in Sustainability Management. “I find it helpful to put some guardrails around what I buy for myself to reduce [my consumption].”
Her shopping philosophy: In addition to always striving to shopping secondhand and/or ethically, Alix believes if you find something you love, buy it in bulk. “If I find something I like, I stockpile it and wear the same thing over and over again,” she says, noting that 80-percent of her wardrobe is from Elizabeth Suzann.
Tip: Document your wardrobe. Alix has both a Pinterest board and a spreadsheet cataloging all her clothes (she is a management consultant in her day job!). The private Pinterest board is to “visually see all the pieces I have and what works together.” In the spreadsheet, she also tracks the date she purchased each item, so she can see the lifespan of everything she purchases.
3. Wear the exact same thing every day
, the author of the delightful newsletter Café Anne, has written about wearing the same thing every day, so I knew I had to talk to her for this newsletter. (She also wrote hilariously about letting someone else pick an outfit for her here.) I asked Anne how she narrowed her wardrobe down to just one outfit. “I used to spend a lot of time figuring out what to wear,” she says. Aiming to simplify, she first decided to wear only dresses. When she realized she gravitated to a particular machine-washable, wrap dress, she minimized further, ordering it in five different colors. “Then I realized I always felt the best when I wore the black one, and I thought, ‘I wish I could wear this one black dress every day.’ And then I realized I could: There was no one stopping me,” she recalls. Since then, Anne has chosen to wear the same thing every day.Today Anne buys five of the same thing and wears it every day (10 if she really loves it). She usually rotates to a new outfit every six months as the seasons change. In addition to her uniform, she has a couple of fancy dresses and a gym uniform (five pairs of the same yoga pants and five of the same tops). All of her socks are the same black ones. “It is the best feeling in the world. It doesn't matter what the occasion is, if it's a date or a party or going to church or to interview someone: I don't have to worry about what to wear,” Anne says. “I'm like a cop or a nun or a Catholic school girl. I don't have a choice—ever.”
Her shopping philosophy: Patience and persistence pays off. “Sometimes it's a real pain in the ass to find that one dress that I can wear all the time every day. But when I do find it, it's worth that trouble,” she says. “It does take some time to find an outfit that's good enough to wear to everything, but then after that, life is very simple.”
Tip: Seek excitement elsewhere. “My job is exciting. I find the city and all the people I meet very exciting. I feel like my life is full of adventure, so I don't need to be adventurous in my wardrobe,” she says. “If I had a boring life, I might need more interesting clothing.”
After the break, I talk to a woman who actually tried a true “capsule wardrobe” and hear how it worked out. I’m also sharing how I am approaching my own capsule-ish wardrobe right now.