Less is More! How the Minimalist Approach can help you rebuild a signature wardrobe.

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When you hear the phrase “minimalist fashion,” chances are a few things come to mind. You probably picture those tightly curated wardrobes you see all over Pinterest filled with wispy, shapeless-looking pieces in various shades of black, grey, and taupe, with the occasional color thrown in there for good measure.

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Or maybe it’s a general feeling or vibe. The possibility of a few items of clothing might excite you because getting dressed in the morning would be that much easier, or it might make you cringe because getting dressed in the morning would now be super boring.

All of these things represent pieces of a much larger puzzle, but none give the complete picture of what a minimal approach to fashion looks like.

Those wispy, neutral-filled wardrobes are one aspect of minimalist fashion, specifically minimalist fashion as an aesthetic. Similar to minimalism as a décor style, where you’ll find nary a tchotchke on the white furniture in the room with white walls. You can have a maximalist wardrobe, filled with hundreds of pieces, but have a minimal aesthetic just as easily as you can have a minimalist wardrobe, filled with a limited number of pieces, but with a maximalist aesthetic.

A Minimal Approach

A minimal approach to fashion, as opposed to a minimal aesthetic for fashion, is more about the attitude and thought process behind things than it is about your color palette (or lack thereof) or the specific number of items in your closet.

Having a minimal approach to fashion means that you approach your closet with intentionality, not aiming for the largest (or smallest) number of things. Rather, your aim is a wardrobe that fits your lifestyle, and is filled with high-quality pieces you absolutely love that will, hopefully, last years.

The goal isn’t getting your shoes or dresses down to single digits. The goal isn’t only having shades of black, grey, cream, and taupe. The goal isn’t to make you hate your closet. In fact, it’s the exact opposite.

Did you know that the average person only actually wears 20% if their wardrobe! That means 80% of those clothing items we simply couldn’t live without spend the majority of the time on a hanger in the dark, while we reach for the same well-loved dress or sweater again and again and again.

If you’ve ever looked at your closet and thought, “I have nothing to wear!”, that probably isn’t the case. Rather, you’re most likely plagued by decision fatigue or the paradox of choice—the more choices you have to make, the harder it is to make a decision, and the less confident you are in the decision you ultimately make.

But what if that didn’t happen anymore? What if every single day, you opened your closet and saw only things you absolutely love so that no matter what you picked, it would make you feel confident, amazing, and unequivocally you? Thatis what a minimal approach to fashion is all about.

Declutter Your Closet

So you want to have that amazing feeling of looking in your closet and only seeing things you love, but how on earth do you get there? Chances are, looking at your closet is a little bit overwhelming, but decluttering it and ridding yourself of all those items you can’t stand or only feel ‘meh’ about is the first step to that dream wardrobe.

The Four Piles

We begin by pulling everything (yes, everything) out of your closet and dresser and putting it on your bed. The reason for this is it forces you to finish the process of sorting through it all before you can go to sleep—otherwise you’ll have to push it all on the floor and deal with the aftermath in the morning.

Once you’ve got it all out in one giant pile, you’re going to create four other piles—“love”, “nope”, “maybe”, and “seasonal”.

1. The “love” pile.

The “love” pile is for any piece that you adore without a doubt. These items will be pretty easy to spot because they’re most likely the ones that you reach for all the time anyway.

2. The “nope” pile.

The “nope” pile is for any piece that you look at and immediately think, “Ugh, nope!” These items are also probably fairly easy to spot because they’re the ones that you never take out of the closet.

3. The “maybe” pile.

The “maybe” pile is where things start to get a little bit gray. These are the items that aren’t solidly in the “love” or “nope” pile for…some reason. Maybe you used to love it, but it doesn’t fit quite as well now as it did when you picked it up two years ago. Maybe it looks amazing, but the zipper is broken, there’s a tear in the seam, or the straps need shortening. Maybe you don’t really like it that much, but it was a gift or you spent a lot of money on it or it reminds you of a certain time in your life. Whatever the reason, any item you don’t definitively love or hate goes here.

4. The “seasonal” pile.

The “seasonal” pile is an optional one, based on where you live. If you live somewhere with definitive seasons and different wardrobe pieces necessary for each, it’s for you. What goes in the “seasonal” pile will depend entirely upon the time of year you go about decluttering your wardrobe. If you’re decluttering in the spring or summer, then fall/winter pieces like boots, sweaters, and heavy coats will go into this pile. If you’re decluttering in the fall or winter, then spring/summer pieces like sandals, tank tops, and swimsuits will go into this pile. Saving items for their actual season allows you to go through those items when you’re already wearing them, rather than when you haven’t or won’t wear them for another 3-6 months.

Once you’ve divided everything into the four piles, place everything from your “love” pile back into your closet and box up your “seasonal” pile and set it aside. Then the analysis begins.

Once you’ve gone through everything, start with your “love” pile (that’s now hanging up in your closet again) and “nope” pile and search for similarities and patterns.

It could be the cut, color, silhouette, or fabric, but chances are, there are some similarities between the items you absolutely love and the ones you didn’t hesitate to get rid of. As you look for these similarities, make a note of them on your phone or a notepad. You’ll be coming back to them later.

Next, go back to that “maybe” pile. Just like with the love and “nope” pile, look for some of those similarities or patterns. Do you have a few shirts with a cut you love, but the fabric is a little itchy or the color isn’t your favorite? Maybe you have a few dresses that would all look amazing, but the straps are too long. Whatever gives you insight into creating that dream closet, write it down.

Now it’s time to make some decisions.

Starting with your “nope” pile, decide whether you’re going to sell, donate, or trash those items. If they’re still in good shape but just not for you, they’re probably great candidates for selling through local yard sale groups or online sites like ThredUp, or for donating to a local homeless shelter or thrift store. If they’re not in good enough condition to do either of those things, consider finding ways to reuse them—like turning old t-shirts into cleaning rags—and if you do actually dispose of them, look for a textile recycling facility in your area rather than dumping them in the trash.

With your “maybe” pile, look at your list of notes again. If you have items that would be perfect if you took them to the tailor, do that. If you have items that would be perfect if they were made of a different fabric, make a note of what you love and don’t love about it for future reference and set it aside for selling, donation, or recycling.

If your “love” pile is looking a little sparse, supplement it with your favorite items from the “maybe” pile, then box everything else up and store it along with the seasonal items. Pick a designated amount of time, like three months, and when the time has passed, pull out the box again. If you haven’t missed or wanted any of the pieces in the box, sell or donate it all.

Now that you’ve boxed up and stored your seasonal and maybe items and handled your “nope” items accordingly by selling, donating, or recycling them, it’s time to take a breather.

Shifting to a minimal, intentional approach to slow fashion is a big change, so give yourself some time to get used to having a smaller wardrobe. If you struggled to identify commonalities between your favorites, use this time to do so. As you spend more time with your minimized wardrobe, you’ll become even more aware of the things you love and the things you wish were in your closet.

Credits:

Sarah Anne Hayes, No Side Bars