I follow some folks on Instagram who talk about dressing minimally, others who advocate for conscious consumption and purchases of clothing (the fashion industry is an ecological disaster that exploits humans to make sure you can buy a cheap t-shirt). I also follow Dacy Gillespie of Mindful Closet, who is a stylist whose mission is to help women spend less time getting dressed by helping them find their style. These have had me thinking about clothes, my body, and using clothes to suit the life I have rather than some vague self I might want to be.
Thus, over the past few years, I've been trying to reduce my consumption, consciously donate or give away clothes I no longer need, and mend/renew clothes that need repair. All of this is caught up in my growing desire for body acceptance in light of the inevitable body changes that come with age, children, and living--I no longer want to rely on chasing the whims of fashion for how I feel about my body. I want clothes that work with the life I have now. I want to wear soft, comfortable clothes that are durable and work for the life I lead--a mix of professional and active, whimsical/fun and durable, natural fibers that are also nice to wear.
Anyway, so in all of this thinking about clothes and making more of my own and buying pieces from sustainable makers (who also pay their employees living wages), I had another baby, which meant that some of my wardrobe no longer fits, some of it no longer suits me, and some of it I no longer like. After reading about Project 333, where you whittle your wardrobe down to 33 items for 3 months, I figured I'd use my furlough day to clean out my closet and see if I could build a capsule.
So on Friday, I pulled out every article of clothing I owned and dumped it on my bed. Then I began to sort, pulling out the stuff I've been happily wearing over the last year and putting it back in the closet/drawers, and then considering all the other stuff. Obviously, I have a lot of dresses and things I can't wear (or don't need to) because pandemic (and also breastfeeding--all my clothes have to be easily adjusted to feed my chunky milk-hungry baby). Some of these items I want to still wear, like the awesome Pyne and Smith black dress that is one of those wardrobe workhorses--great for traveling, able to be styled a zillion ways, etc (again, can't wear it because I'd have to pull it allllll the way up to feed a baby and I don't have time for that). But a lot didn't fit or didn't feel good or just didn't work for me anymore--so it got washed and will be sent out of the house.
I found that the act of pulling all of my clothes out and touching them and having to really just understand why they are in my closet was enormously helpful. I also listened to my immediate gut reaction when I picked up an item or tried it on. I also paid attention to what I was drawn to and what I reacted against. I also noticed a color palette emerging--definitely heavy on the reds/rusts. And in the end, I piled up quite a few items that were in good condition to sell on ThredUP or give away or send to a friend, but I still have lots of clothes in my closet, but all things I love and will make the most of.
Ultimately, I decided I didn't need a capsule, though I did create a "highlight" section of the closet for clothes I'm currently wearing in heavy rotation (the snuggly cardigans, the soft flannels, the cheerful or the cozy shirts). It means I can just zoom (haha) into my closet and snag what I need, so hopefully will reduce the time I might spend picking an outfit (though, let's be real: these days, it's usually a pretty quick process anyway). My goal, though, is when we do go back that I'm able to just rotate through those pieces, shifting the highlight section as seasons change. So it turns out the capsule isn't really useful for me--but the process of thinking about what I would pick for a capsule wardrobe really helped me appreciate the clothing I have.
I'm planning to avoid buying clothes anytime soon (I really have enough of what I need), though I am planning to make things I have fabric and patterns for, so that will be a fun way to mindfully and carefully add new items to my closet that fit me well and serve my needs. And that's all I really need right now, even if all the ads on Instagram are telling me to buy buy buy.
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