#YearOfChallenges: 30 days wearing only 10 clothing items
Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg wear the same clothes everyday in order to minimize decision fatigue. While I’m not the world most busiest person, and don’t have to optimise my life to such an extent, I wanted to see if — and how — I could benefit from this, while not having to throw away half of my wardrobe and replace it with copies of the same stuff. So, I worked with what I already have, granted I was already trying to incorporate some wisdom from the “interchangeable wardrobe” concept and from the minimalism/capsule enthusiasts.
I got my idea for the challenge, and, by extension, my #YearOfChallenges, when I was 3 days into the week and realised I wore the same things over and over again lately and was not really missing anything. So, I thought to myself, why not try to do this for an entire month? Starting January 25th. Ending February 24th.
Clothing items (10):
- 2 pairs of pants (both black)
- 6 t-shirts (4 plain black, 1 white)
- 2 cardigans (black and red)
Accessories (5):
- 2 scarves (green and red)
- 1 winter coat (black)
- 1 handbag (black)
- 1 pair of black boots
Jewelry:
- 1 pair of green earrings
- 1 pair of silvery/crystal earrings
- 1 watch
- 1 necklace
So, if you *really* want to count everything, you get 19 items per total. Also, you can observe from the gif that all of them were duplicates. So, I was basically wearing the same outfit over and over again, in different colors. I guess that would make a sort of personal uniform. The t-shirts I wore are made in Moldova, which means cheap (under 5$) but also very high quality. They lasted me a lot more than the ones I bought from H&M / similar stores, the dye and the stitching is way superior. Too bad their range of designs is quite limited. But I digress. The pairings would be something like:
black pants + black t-shirt + black cardigan + red scarf / green scarf / necklace
black pants + black t-shirt + red cardigan + red scarf / necklace
black pants + white t-shirt + black cardigan + red scarf / green scarf / necklace
black pants + white t-shirt + red cardigan + red scarf / necklace
So that makes it 10 possible pairings — the number could have been higher if the second cardigan was in a neutral color, such as gray or white. I could have added more variety by having more jewelry, tying my scarves in more types of knots etc. but frankly, I didn’t even wear the white t-shirt that much, so I was not missing the variety.
My makeup didn’t change either during that month — so it was not an exercise in “surviving” the “dreadful” limited wardrobe. I didn’t wear scarves as cardigans or employing a lot of different types of jewelry, as I’ve seen a lot of people going through this type of challenges do. While I understand that this has its place and shows a lot of creativity, I believe the purpose of minimalism is to embrace limitations, not defy them. But — I didn’t feel limited at all.
I work in an office, 8h/5 days/week and nobody seemed to notice. If anything, I began to notice that the majority are also wearing the same clothes and the same combinations over and over again. Then, why bother? Keeping your daily wardrobe small and having some special items for special occasions makes more sense. Also, let’s face it, it’s easier in winter — during summer you’d probably need a couple more tops. Which reminds me — a definite con is having to time your laundry day right, so I’m not ready to minimise my closet to only 10 items. But I’m definitely minimising more — I already did a closet cleanout, and I’m waiting for the right moment to give away some clothes, because even if they’re in a great state, they don’t serve me any more.
Also, guess what I wore on the 1st day after the challenge? The same things.
Got any ideas for what challenge I should take next? Comment below.
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