Lifestyle | The Minimalist Wardrobe
Introduction
If you’ve been following me since at least December, you know that I started the winter season off by taking a minimalist approach to my wardrobe. I tossed old clothes into boxes, cleaned out my dressers, and started trying on different outfits. One of those outfits finally stuck and became my official winter attire: a beanie, a blazer, a sweater, a scarf, a pair of blue jeans, and a nice pair of (leather-free!) shoes. It has now been three months since I made this change to my lifestyle. How has it impacted me?
Forming a Habit
The most difficult part of taking a minimalist approach to my wardrobe was forming the habit. I had to develop a new routine in order to accommodate this change. The routine is fairly complex. It took about a month to make this routine a habit, but now it’s just second nature to me.
Every morning, I grab underwear, socks, and a sweater from my dresser. These are taken to my shower room and set down on a trunk beside the jeans that I laid out the previous evening. Then, I get into my daily workout, drink my protein shake, eat some breakfast, and hit the shower.
After I shower, I put on all of my clothes, then grab my blazer and scarf from a hanger in the bathroom (where I put them the night before). Then, it’s just basic hygiene; I brush my teeth, put on deodorant, spray cologne, fix my hair, and I’m gone for the day.
When I return home, my scarf and blazer are placed on a hanger in the bathroom, my jeans are swapped for sweatpants, and I perform my typical bedtime hygiene practices. If my jeans have been worn for 2-3 days, I swap them out with a fresh pair.
It’s all simple and now I do it almost robotically.
The Dry-clean Rotation
Because my blazers need to be dry-cleaned, I have three of them and they’re all on a rotation cycle. One blazer is being worn, one blazer is waiting in the closet, and one blazer is at the dry-cleaner. On Friday, I rotate each of them forward. The blazer in the closet is put on. The blazer I was wearing for the past week—now in need of cleaning—is brought to the dry-cleaner. The blazer I pick up from the dry-cleaner is put in the closet, where it will sit for a week.
The Benefits
Laundry
Laundry is so easy. I have whites (my sweaters) and colors (my sweatpants, socks, and undergarments). Jeans are washed in conjunction with towels and bedsheets.
Because I have so few clothing items, I have to do laundry every week, but it is quick and painless. The loads are never heavy, the clothes are easy to sort, and the piles are never high. I spend about ten minutes or so folding laundry every week.
Decision Fatigue
One of the main advantages of a minimalist lifestyle is the elimination of decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is the decrease in quality of the decisions made during an extended period of time dedicated to making choices. Every morning, we make tons of decisions. We decide to get out of bed, we decide what to wear, we decide what coffee to brew or tea to make, we decide what to have for breakfast, and more. My goal as a minimalist is to eliminate as many of these choices as possible so that I conserve my ability to make decisions regarding more important things.
The result? Excellent. As I mentioned earlier, my clothing habit is practically robotic and subconscious. Sometimes, I don’t even remember hanging up my blazer and scarf when I get home. I no longer waste time deciding what I’m going to wear: I already know what I’m going to wear. So do all of my friends. Everyone is used to me wearing the same thing every day, now; no one questions it.
In addition to the daily decision regarding what to wear, I have also eliminated the need to shop for clothes, browse for them, and try them on regularly. All I have to do is pick out a seasonally-appropriate outfit once, buy several copies of its components, and I’m good to go for the next three-to-four months. I won’t have to do that part after the autumn season’s outfit has been selected, because I’ll already have an outfit for each season.
I make numerous decisions every day and a solid chunk of my day job is problem solving. Then, my other work—music creation, day trading, game design, and writing—also requires a lot of decisions. By preserving my brain power as much as possible through minimalism, I’ve made all of these more-important tasks much easier for myself.
Branding
Branding myself is something I’ve been working on for a while. Having a consistent, dependable look and feel to nearly everything in my life has been a great personal and professional improvement. I now have a look that is easily recognized as my own. My logo is easy to spot, my color scheme is simple to follow, and people now know exactly what to expect from me in regards to my appearance. This has led to significant growth, both at my day job and for my independent branding. People know me and I stand out.
Like Elements of My Look?
Are there parts of my outfit that you’d like to replicate? Want to try the blazer, but in a different color? I’d love for you to check out these clothes. Everything that I wear is made from vegan materials. That means they’re completely animal and insect free! I strongly recommend checking out any of these items. Most are available in different colors, so you can tailor my outfit to suit your personal style!
Conclusion
Creating my own unique look felt like a big risk, at first; it was a massive change. I would no longer be picking out a shirt to wear every morning. I wouldn’t go to a clothing store and try on a multitude of items, then walk out with a cart full of different colors. Instead, I was pledging myself to a single outfit and a single color scheme. For good. Yet, after a month, I actually enjoyed this part of my life. I enjoy knowing what I’m going to look like. I enjoy the simplicity of a minimalist wardrobe. I enjoy the money, time, and energy I have saved. If you’ve been hesitating to get your own minimalist wardrobe started, hesitate no further! Jump in feet first, it will change your life more than you can imagine!
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