Necessity is the mother of invention so what happens when you have just too many clothes? Keep calm and capsule wardrobe.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no minimalist. I absolutely hate the words “Marie Kondo”, have at least three rugs layered up in the living room, am in possession of a trunk full of batik, keep several odd teacups and saucers which I refuse to part with – basically, I just love stuff. But when it comes to clothes, I can get practical and I mean really, really practical. Which was why I embarked on my capsule wardrobe experiment.
What is a capsule wardrobe?
It’s simply a mini wardrobe made up of essential and versatile items of clothing. But how you work on your capsule wardrobe can differ. You can have one specifically for the week or season, for work, or for casual and fancier days – it really depends on what your style is and why you’re doing a capsule wardrobe.
Why a capsule wardrobe?
They say necessity is the mother of invention so for me, it was just a good way to be more frugal and organised. Having recently moved in to a new place, unpacking boxes made me realise just how much I’ve spent over the years on clothes. What I found: the same shirt in four colours, the same shirts in the same colour (3x), the same pair of pants in five colours, ugly jumpers from my Salvos days in uni, band tees I’ve never worn… I was basically a hoarder.
Old habits just have to die
Funnily, my first course of action was denial. I stuffed them back into boxes and got on with other new-house stuff, vowing to return to the store room only when I needed to get clothes. It was only when our clothes rack for our open-style wardrobe arrived that the concept for the capsule wardrobe started to kick in.
I started with 30 essential things which included shirts, pants, t-shirts and shoes. My rules were simple: keep it practical. In the mash-up of clothes, I could pull out one decent for work, one that was cool for the weekend, and one for the more formal gatherings. Most importantly, they were clothes that I felt I could wear again and again. Sometimes, it’s okay to not be so emotional when it comes to clothes. IT’S JUST CLOTHES.
Life… finds a way
After a few weeks I found myself cutting down to about 20 pieces and there were also lesser trips to the store room to find clothes. That was three months ago, and it has also been three months of not shopping for clothes. I sealed up the boxes of clothes and gave it away.
There’s so much to love about having a capsule wardrobe. Getting dressed in the morning is less of a hassle, I never have problems making decisions anymore and can spend more time in the shower or playing with the cats in the morning. Priorities!
The best part was realising that I had drastically curbed my mindless shopping habits like buying the same thing in all the Pantone-approved colours or snapping up something just because it’s trendy or on sale. Plus, I take my job as a contributor to the less waste movement very seriously now. Sale season? Watch me walk past without any temptation to shop. It does seem hard to believe, but the less you have, the less you realise you need.
Like this story? Check these out:
How to get rid of your unwanted stuff and get new things for free
Who’s who of Singapore’s ethical fashion brands
We’re saying no to single-use plastic
Cutting down on shopping, one outfit at a time