I’m a minimalist…. right?
I am definitely a minimalist.
I feel it in my heart, I see my house (here are ALL my posts and pictures of my house) has just the right amount of things in terms of furniture and it really isn’t cluttered in the slightest.
And yet… I have A LOT of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.
It is the one area where I read things like: cultivate the perfect minimalist 10 piece capsule wardrobe … and I cringe because I know it would be doable for two weeks, maybe a month before I would get bored.
How would I even do that? TEN PIECES TO WEAR?
…and why would I do that to myself?!?
I would let’s say pick a pair of utility pants as my “casual wear” but would not be able to limit myself to just navy blue pants, I’d want them in the olive green too.
Or just ONE pair of jeans?
My basic Jean wardrobe has expanded to one pair of dark rinse jeans, a pair of black ripped jeans, a pair of distressed girlfriend jeans and maybe another pair of jeans but not quite as dark as the first dark rinse pair….
It turns out that I just really like variety.
I like the idea and option for instance of being able to pick a black leather jacket to wear over my silk shirt… or the exact same moto style but in red. Or dark grey suede.
Each colour change makes me feel differently about the outfit.
With black, it would feel very classic, with a sort of NYC cool chic feel, but very tough, “don’t screw with me” sort of vibe.
With red, it would feel like a statement piece, I’d feel artsier and cheery.
With the dark grey, it would feel more like a calm, but slightly liberal Upper East Side, museum-visiting, cultured lady of leisure.
All from ONE jacket colour change.
So capsule wardrobes are very cute in theory but in reality, I have an urge to own no less than 4 white skirts, all different from each other — pleated, wrap, eyelet lace and pencil of course….
Each one serves a different purpose for a different outfit and makes me feel different. They are, for me, not made equal.
This is why I am a minimalist in all aspects of my life except when it comes to money and clothes — I prefer to maximize both.
What say you? Have a hoarding love of something?
8 Comments
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
I suppose you wouldn’t consider an ebook reader? I too love books and the look of libraries and so on, but for space purposes, I have an ebook reader.
You sound just like a minimalist to me. Actually more than a minimalist!
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Shawna
I am very minimalist with clothing but not books. I am a literature snob. I love non-fiction. My books make me happy, speak to who I am and I like the look of a home with bookshelves that are full. There may come a time when I clear them out but that time has not come yet.
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
I love the look of a great library, I am such a fan of these looks but cannot put it in my own home.
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Alexis McKenzie
I could wear the exact same outfit every day as long as I had unlimited accessories to change it up with 😀
I actually like the tv characters that always wear the same stuff… like Rosa on Brooklyn 99…
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Anne
I have been traveling for several weeks before, with just a cabin bag. But now that I am on the second month of a three month tour in Europe, with weather conditions varying from summer to winter, I find myself being bored with my limited choice of clothes. Everything works laundrywise and I can cover all the situations from hiking to fancier dinners but I really miss my collection of dresses, scarves, earrings and lipsticks! At the same time, it has been a good reminder that I actually can manage with less… I am so going to enjoy the variety when I get back home!
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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.
I’ve done that before — same outfit different accessories but I have greatly missed each time the variety in my wardrobe.
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ENSJ
Where to begin…
I want to be minimalist, but I probably am not. I keep 1 box of decoration per season (so 4 boxes, all the same size, but some boxes are more full than others). 1 box of personal memento’s through the years and that’s it.
I also have just the bare minimum I need to cook, eat and bake.
I do however have a lot of books. I used to have five bookcases full and overflowing, but thanks to downsizing to a studio had to get rid of four of them (it hurt me so much to make a selection and it’s harder still now that my bookcase is full and I keep wanting more but I just don’t have the space).
With clothes it’s… complicated. My mother loves fashion and she always comes home with pieces for me that are so beautiful but I know I won’t wear (I like simple, clean lines). I do however have a ton of dresses (even though I don’t wear dresses all that often, I want to have a variety to choose from when I do wear them). So on the one hand I am kind of minimalist in the clothing department but then again not as well. I prefer layering basics over each other (with sometimes a more upscale item thrown in) but I do have a lot of variety in the basics. I have 4 white shirts, all different, 4 black ones, all different, 4… you get it.
So in my heart I’m not a true minimalist, I do dislike clutter and love order so I have perfected my organizing skills and come up with my hard rules (if I like something for decoration but it doesn’t fit in the box of the season? Not getting it. If I really want that book or dvd but bookcase and drawer are full? Get rid of one or don’t get this one). It’s helping me stay on top of things.
I was really proud this year because, like my father, I tend to hoard things because I’m a sentimental sap. But I did a thorough spring clean and could donate three full boxes and three large bags of things (and the same amount that could be thrown away with the trash).