Minimalist Creative Wardrobe Challenge: I Created 5 New Outfits Without Buying Any New Clothes

Samantha Andrews
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

My shopping ban has been going great, but I do notice myself getting into a slump with my wardrobe. I’ve been wearing the same pair of pants 5 days a week and neglecting some of my favorite pieces. Instead of going on a shopping spree to alleviate my boredom, I decided to create five new outfits made up of items I already own.

Here’s the challenge:

Make 5 new outfits with items I already own. At least 3 of the outfits must be work-appropriate, keeping in mind my workplace is very casual.

I started by pulling out various shirts, pants, and shoes that I would like to wear more frequently. This left me with a stack of two skirts, two shirts, and two pairs of pants. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to use all of the items I had selected, but it was a good starting point.

Here are the outfits I came up with. I can wear four of the five to work! Challenge crushed!

Lessons learned:

  1. Taking pictures of yourself wearing your clothes is a great way to see how they actually fit. I created one outfit that I thought would be cute, but after snapping a few photos I realized it looked frumpy. It didn’t make the cut.
  2. Play with color! I tend to wear a lot of black and grey. Shopping my own closet gave me the chance to put together more colorful outfits.
  3. Planning your outfits in advance is a great way to eliminate decision fatigue in the moment. I can now wake up and put on each of these outfits without wondering if they look good together.
  4. Shopping your own wardrobe is a simple yet effective way to rejuvenate your look, which can help you to feel more creative and put together on a daily basis.
Samantha Andrews

Written by

The Minimalist Creative | Developer, designer, writer | Blogging about starting over and chasing big dreams at theminimalistcreative.net.

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