When I first started my minimal wardrobe the focus was on decluttering my clothes and curating outfits I love with a heavy focus on identifying and defining my personal style. I started with the 5-piece wardrobe technique and developed my own anti-capsule wardrobe method, which ditches the arbituary numbers and adopts a more pragmatic approach to styling.
Three years on, I've experienced a shift in mindset when it comes to purchasing new clothes; I'm more focused and considered when it comes to curating my wardrobe and I'm a lot more comfortable with my personal style. Although I want to continue shopping responsibly and moderately, I also want to focus on some new goals that will hopefully help me expand on my style and improve the purchases I make.
1 | Challenge The Comfort Zone
I don’t think I’m alone when I say I have a tendency to rotate the same three or four outfits using the same or similar pieces on a weekly basis. A comfort zone develops where getting dressed becomes super easy (no thought required!) but there’s nothing exciting about the process - and that’s what I miss.
This comfort zone I’ve developed for myself is made up of easy-to-wear combinations, which look nice enough and feel comfortable to wear but zaps all the fun out of personal style. There’s no room for trying something new or taking a risk when I instantly grab a “tried and tested" outfit I know will look good. I want to feel excited about the clothing I already own by discovering new outfits from my existing wardrobe. I want to challenge myself to take more risks, break the style rules I’ve imposed on myself, and totally commit to wearing what I want.
The biggest hurdle I face when challenging my comfort zone is committing to the style of outfit I love to wear. The style I’m most inspired by is not particularly designed for my body type but I don’t want insecurities to dictate what I wear; I want to stop telling myself I can’t pull an outfit off and banish the idea that for an outfit to look good it must be flattering.
2 | Accessorise More
When it comes to accessorising my outfits, I'm terribly forgetful; I am always forgetting to accessorise my outfits. Although I typically wear a pair of tiny studs regularly, I’ll avoid taking a bag with me if I can (I hate carrying things) and I always forget, too late, to put on a hat or any other jewellery. I love jewellery and want to wear it more often, I really feel it gives every outfit the final touch that pulls everything together.
Everything in my wardrobe I wear regularly but for some reason accessories are the only thing I reserve for special occasions; if we’re going out to dinner or seeing friends, I’ll take a handbag, put on a watch, stack up my rings, and wear my favourite necklace and earrings. On a daily basis, I seem to overlook them far too easily.
I want to invest more in accessories and make it a daily habit to wear my jewellery daily. It’s a simple habit shift that I think can change the way you feel not just about one outfit but your entire wardrobe. Layering necklaces and stacking rings are a really subtle way to add detail to the styling on an outfit, and when you have a minimal wardrobe like I do, accessorising with minimal jewellery can make all the difference.
3 | Consider Every Purchase An Investment
Everything we buy costs us money and takes up space in our lives. The monetary investment of a new clothing item is something I already take into great consideration when I shop; but I’ve been feeling lately that I could be even more focused in terms of considering the longevity of the items I buy and the space they take up.
Personal style eventually changes over time and wear and tear inevitably takes its toll so there will always be a need to buy new items, clothes only last so long! I want to consider every new piece I add to my wardrobe not just in terms of its monetary value but the space it takes up in my life and how frequently I will wear it; Will I still be wearing this in three years? What about five? Does this item deserve the space I’m allowing it to take up? When you put something new into your wardrobe it takes up space and leaves less room for other things; if you’re filling your wardrobe with “not-quite-right-but-it-will-do” pieces you’re not leaving space for the perfect fit when it finally comes along. All these ‘off the mark’ pieces can skew the balance of your wardrobe and leave you feeling like you don’t have a cohesive wardrobe.
My hope is that I not only continue to shop in a moderate and responsible way but that I also consider every purchase I make as an investment in time, space, and money so that the things I buy stay with me longer and serve a greater purpose. That also means being more pragmatic when it comes to brand collaborations, letting go of items that don’t serve me well, and being thorough with my seasonal wardrobe declutters.
