Simplifying the Wardrobe

Princess Leia had only 1 dress color, style and harido.  How much simpler can you get?

I love having less clothes in my closet and wearing them on a weekly and monthly basis.  It's so much easier to figure out what to wear in the morning when I don't have to weed through hangers of the clothes of my past dreams, past lives, and even future hopes.  It's just stuff that I love to wear.  But it wasn't always that way.

Newly married and just out of college, I tried hard to have a closet full of clothes that would reflect me and the latest trends.  But we couldn't afford to buy much or store much.  And then I heard a story on the radio about a woman who had simplified her wardrobe more drastically than any other person I had known. 

This woman had decided long ago that she would only wear 1 color - cream.   She didn't need to buy a lot of coordinating shoes and accessories and everything went together.  I was floored at the concept and toyed with the idea for about 10 seconds.  I love wearing color, and as a "winter" complexion, jewel toned colors love me too.  But I was inspired.

I decided that I would wear neutral bottoms - pants, shorts, skirts, etc. and wear color on top.  No more buying trendy pants or skirt colors and having to find the shoes, stockings, socks, etc. to match.  I would stick to blacks, browns, creams and whites for my shoes and socks.  This concept worked so beautifully and I never missed my navy blue pants or even that pair of red capris that were probably an unfortunate idea anyway.

A few years ago, I improved on my idea.  I decided that I would no longer wear brown since that color didn't look good on me anyway.  I no longer had to find brown shoes, stockings or socks.  And I also nixed gold tone jewelry, save one set that was from my mother's things.  Silver looked much better - so why not just wear what really looks good?

This last year I once again pared down my choices.  I decided that my jewelry drawer which resembled a junk drawer, had to go.  I would have 1 pair of earrings that could go with about everything and wear them all the time.  There would be a few other pairs for other occasions but I would put them away out of sight.  I got a necklace tree and limited my necklace and bracelet choices to what fit on there.  Gone were the worn, broken and unloved things.

Another benefit of these choices is streamlined shopping.  I can zero in on what I can put in my closet and easily turn down those things that I've said no to.  Gone are the afternoons at the mall where everything is a possibility!  Limits really do improve our lives.

All these things have helped me to keep only what I love and need in my closet.  It's been a process over time and it still continues.  I still haven't limited my pairs of shoes or dress scarves.  But it all came down to knowing myself; what I liked, what looked good and what I was comfortable living with.  

And I'm taking another bag to the consignment store today. 

Closet Love

I am convinced that to really get control of your closet doesn't start with a clever organizer, or a method, it starts from within.   When you can really look at yourself at be okay with your body, your limitations, your assets, your style - then you can really know what you need in your closet.  There's a whole lot more I could say on this subject - but I'll save that for another time.

We have a basic middle class suburbs style 70's home with reach in closets - the kind that spans a wall with 1 rod, 1 shelf going the length and bi-fold doors. A new closet construction would require a bit of work and money so we make do, and I think I have made do very well.  My husband and I share our bedroom closet, I get 3/5, he gets 2/5.  Here is a breakdown of what we fit in there:

• Closet rod with his shirts, my shirts, pants, dresses, seasonal wear, dress scarves
• Organizer drawers for necessaries, night clothes, occasional wear like swim suits
• Cube storage on middle top shelf to divide and keep organized - our pants, sweats, etc.
• Extra blankets and pillows on the shelf in the back

My shoes hang in a cloth organizer on the back of our closet door.  Everything we need to wear, with the exception of some outdoor wear, fits easily for both of us in our reach in closet.  

I used to wish for a large walk in closet with special organized places, but I have made peace with my reach in closet.  If I had more room, I would want more stuff.  This forces me to pare down my things to what I really wear and love.  I've learned that limitations increase creativity.

Yesterday I decided to go further in my closet limitations and have limited myself to:

• 10 tops for work and going out (current season) - 2 weeks worth
• 5 tops and 5 bottoms each for working out (if I ever use them all up before washing clothes, it will be a miracle)
• 10 pairs of pants or jeans

I have the winter season's clothing to go through yet, and my skirts and dresses.  But I will be paring them down as the season winds down.  This morning, my system already started to work.  I had 6 shirts in my "workout tops" section so I got rid of one, into my open box for charity.   

The closet is a work in progress still, but as I limit myself to what I really need, what I love best will be what I am left with.