The Ease of a Capsule Wardrobe

Did you hear about the Australian news anchor, Karl Stefanovic? He was in the news last fall after he revealed that he had been wearing the same blue suit during his news spots... not for a few weeks or months, but for a whole year!

He had become fed up with how people always gave advice to his female co-anchor about her wardrobe. He wanted to make a point that sexism was alive and well. Even though he wore the exact same suit for a year, not one person noticed or commented on his attire. Interesting, no?

They say that "clothes make the man"... but clearly the truth is that clothes make the woman. Nobody really notices what the man is wearing as long as he's wearing something presentable. They also say "don't judge a book by its cover", but clearly that too only works for men... not for women. Although... things are changing.

Sincere Spaces blogpost on Capsule Wardrobe

There's a movement in the minimalist world to move in the direction of what's called a capsule wardrobe. A certain number of clothes that work well together and make around 20-30 outfits. Think about it... who needs more than 30 outfits? There are about 30 days in a month and only 20 working days. At that rate, you'd wear each outfit once a month. In most cases, nobody would notice if you wore the same outfit once a week.

I know this goes against the modern trend of consumerism - buy more and more and more. Some people have dozens of shoes, hats, purses, scarves and what not. But really... do we need all of that? What are we telling the world when we feel that we only get noticed based on our clothing? Good question... isn't the book more important than the cover? As long as we look presentable, shouldn't that be enough?

I think it's interesting that most people on home-improvement shows (think HGTV) drool over walk-in closets. The wife usually walks into the closet and coos in excitement: "Ooooooohhhhh, this would be perfect for all my clothes! Oh... and Honey, you can have the hall closet." Seriously? When I was growing up, my parents made do with a standard closet. It says something about our society that closets and houses keep getting bigger while storage lockers are doing a rip-snorting business. Stuff, stuff and more stuff.

When I look at my own closet (or rather half-closet), I have a bunch of long-sleeved shirts that I never wear anymore. I have a few dress shirts and dress pants that I used to use when I facilitated workshops. But I never wear them anymore. I have about 15 pairs of jeans but only wear 3 on a regular basis. My standard attire for the day is usually t-shirt and jeans. If it's cool out, I throw a fleecy sweater on top of it all. Done. Which means that of late I have been eying the clothes in my closet and wondering... do I really need all of them?

Because even in terms of t-shirt and jeans, I am starting to notice that I am favouring black t-shirts above the other colours. My three jeans are beige, brown and blue... and black t-shirts go with all three. It seems that I am moving in the direction of a wardrobe uniform. The idea is to find a look that works for you and then stick with that. One writer wears black turtle-neck sweaters with skinny jeans. As she says " It’s almost never inappropriate, and it has the magical quality of taking on the connotations of its surroundings. In a bookstore, I look bookish. At an art gallery, I look arty. On the subway, I am invisible. I can look young or old, rich or poor, cool or humble. In my uniform, people see me as they want to." And it's not just unknown writers. Steve Jobs (of Apple fame) always wore black turtle necks and jeans. Rumour has it that Einstein bought several versions of the same grey suit so that he wouldn't have to waste brainpower on choosing an outfit each morning. Same with President Obama, except he mixes it up by having blue and grey suits. That's what I want. Something simple.


Now, the hosts of "What not to Wear" might have a conniption fit but... they don't have to live my life. Yeah, sure, I could look like a million bucks if I got a fancy haircut, wore make-up and bought clothes from high-end boutiques. Meh... that's not me. I buy my black t-shirts and my jeans from Value Village. I have one pair of shoes, one pair of sandals, one pair of hiking boots. And that's good enough for me.

Am I going to declutter my closet? That is a good question. I hang onto things in there because I think that someday I might need some long-sleeved shirts... even though I live in a mild climate. I think that someday I might need a dress suit, even though I have no intention of ever wearing it again.I think it's time to take a look and start paring.