Minimalism Research: 10 x 10 Challenge
When I discovered that minimalism is a form of sustainable fashion, I wanted to dive deeper into the topic. Minimalism, as stated in a previous post of mine, is something I have had a prior interest in for quite some time now. So, after learning that minimalism is an extremely efficient form of sustainable fashion, I decided to put more effort into minimalism.
Just to reiterate what exactly this all means, minimalism is a lifestyle in which someone only owns what they need. Minimalism has its origins in art and sculpture but has evolved into a lifestyle in which many today live by. In this case, I am focusing on fashion minimalism.
Minimalism in fashion means to own only a small amount of clothing that satisfies your style needs and is easily matchable with your other clothing. In this way you will be able to change up your look with only a few pieces of clothes.
Through online research, I discovered a minimalism challenge called the 10x10 challenge. You pick ten items of clothing and wear only those for ten days. I thought this was an interesting way to enter myself into a more extreme version of a minimalist lifestyle.
I started this challenge on the 11th of March 2021 and will be concluded on March 20th, 2021. The night before the beginning of my research I picked out ten items of clothing and laid them out.
My ten items consisted of…
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 1 pair of corduroy pants
- 1 sweatshirt
- 2 button-up sweaters
- 1 top
- 1 white tee
- 1 jean jacket
For this challenge, I am not including undergarments, pajamas, shoes, jewelry, and winter clothing.
Initially, I had some hygiene concerns. I am a bit of a clean freak, so cleanliness is really important to me. I knew I would have to wear certain articles of clothing over at least two or three times to fill the quota. However, I didn’t want to always be washing them as that would not be environmentally intelligent.
I would be aiming to be a minimalist for environmental reasons while simultaneously hurting the environment through extensive water and energy usage. In this case, I would only be washing less than ten pieces of clothing, so in my eyes that makes it even less environmentally conscious.
So, to solve this problem, I needed to research the number of wears each article could have before I needed to wash it. It sounded unhygienic to me at first, but I soon came to realize that we are raised with the idea that after one wear clothing needs to be washed. In certain cases, such as sweat and dirt accumulation on clothing require immediate cleaning but otherwise, it is unnecessary to wash our clothing after every wear.
An article written by Whirlpool, a company widely known for its washing machines, determined that the following are acceptable amounts of wears before washing
- Shirts and blouses: after 1–2 wearings
- Dress pants or slacks: after 2–3 wearings
- Jeans: after 4–5 wearings
- Sweaters: up to 6 wearings, if worn with an undershirt; 1–2 wearings if worn without an undershirt
- Suits/blazers/casual jackets: after 5–6 wearings
- Workout clothes: after 1 wearing
- Sleepwear: after 2–3 wearings
As of today, March 17th, I am more than half-way through this challenge. The challenge has not been that difficult so far. It was quite easy for me to find pieces of clothing in my closet that I can play around with to mix and match with the other clothes I chose for this research challenge. It also helps that I also have two pairs of jeans that look practically the same, so I know the tops I chose to go well with either.
This challenge reminds me of when I was traveling, pre-pandemic. My family has always preferred doing carry on luggage rather than checked bags. So, from a young age, I knew how to prioritize my clothing choices based on my travels. However, this time I am prioritizing my clothing choices based on minimalistic and environmental standards.
This project has allowed me to reflect on my material needs. I’ve discovered that I am more than satisfied wearing the same articles of clothing several times rather than impulsively shopping and buying more clothing than I truly need. I actually feel incredibly guilty when I buy too many clothes and spend money I things that I don’t truly need.
This once again relates to the impacts of fast fashion on our society and how it has impacted our mindsets surrounding shopping and fashion. The way my generation has grown up with the influence of fast fashion has shaped our minds and habits surrounding shopping and increased our frequency to create textile waste.
I have also realized that this project is most likely not easy for some people, it’s actually quite subjective and depends on the person. This research project is most likely successful with people who are somewhat set in their style goals and content with the clothing in their closets. People who are not satisfied with their closets will get easily tired of their clothing choices and will want to go buy more clothing, therefore not allowing for a minimalistic lifestyle to enter their lives.
This project is also quite difficult for people who are always willing to flip their style with changing trends. I understand this completely, I love the new trends that enter in and out of the fashion industry. However, with consistently changing trends there is a struggle to keep up while still doing the bare minimum, so this also conflicts with a minimalist lifestyle.
Yet, I think there is still hope for people who have these issues concerning discontent in style and keeping up with trends. I think there comes a point in everyone’s life where you pick a style and it just sticks. You are finally mature enough to realize, ‘this is how I want to look for the rest of my life’.
Of course, this is always subjective to change as people change throughout their entire life, but I think the foundation of people’s styles remains constant throughout their lives.
When this foundation is determined, it then becomes easy to build a more minimalistic lifestyle. With a concrete idea of how you want to look, you become sure of what you need and what you don’t. Therefore, cutting out the unnecessary clothing that we buy on impulses due to our uncertainty.
This research project allowed me to consider the reasons why people buy as much clothing as they often do, and I think it all dwindles down to this uncertainty. I have also determined that I am not safe from this uncertainty, I am just as uncertain as any other 18-year-old girl with practically no idea where she is going in life.
However, even with this uncertainty, it made me feel good to know that by just using what I have I can help the environment through minimalism, even if it is just a little. There are several benefits to this lifestyle, not only from a fashion perspective. If incorporated into your overall life you can learn to save money, create a better understanding of quality goods, and most importantly help the environment. With consumerism being the main issue creating climate change, minimalism can help reduce it by lessening our purchases and therefore decreasing our waste levels.
I really enjoyed this research project. Though it seemed a little easy from an outside perspective, it has allowed me to understand my purchasing power and what I need to be content in life. I think I will try my best to dive deeper into a minimalistic lifestyle even after this research project is over.
Works Cited
How often should you wash your clothes? (n.d.). Whirlpool.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021, from https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/how-often-should-you-wash-your-clothes.html#:~:text=Shirts%20and%20blouses%3A%20after%201,if%20worn%20without%20an%20undershirt
Vosburgh, L. (n.d.). 10x10 Challenge. Https://Stylebee.Ca/. Retrieved March 1, 2021, from https://stylebee.ca/10-x-10-challenge/
