Thought provoking thread and so relatable. This sentence sums it up for me: "'I've managed to separate shopping & getting dressed/personal style". I've not shopped much for the past 3 years as we've been on one income and most of my wardrobe is still what I brought with me when we moved from England and due to lifestyle change I've been wearing only a subset of what I have, yet I'm both finding ways to see my old pieces with fresh eyes and be happy with my wardrobe, as well as pair things down at the same time as my own preferences change. I've even limited my winter wardrobe to a subset of what I wore before, and it's been wonderful experiment. I've long ago realised that for me personally limitations mean a few things - more creativity when it comes to getting dressed, more appreciation of what I have and more focus: on myself, on what it is I truly like and why I like it. I still have the urge to duplicate (or even multiply) something that truly works, but I guess I'll never get rid of it, having had so many difficulties finding the right length or fit in the past, but I am ver aware how much I appreciate the ease of getting dressed, or easily pulled together combinations, over too many options.

Greyscale, it’s shocking to me how easy it is to ‘find’ wardrobe holes, even though I have at least 200 pieces in there! I suppose that’s just human nature, and at least I really only feel that way about my closet (vs my life in general, lol), but still. Weird!


I’m so glad you liked the post Celia! That’s a great analogy between closets & body image. And an excellent point about the time/energy taken up by the hunt; I’ve found myself focusing more on my other hobbies, since I don’t spend an hour browsing ebay/Like Twice. hehe I’m off to read your post!

Ornella, I’m so glad you chimed in! How fascinating that you feel most creative when you have fewer options…I like playing with colour combinations, which requires ‘duplicates’ in lots of colours, but I’m definitely finding that I’m self-limiting the closet more. For instance, it’s so cold here right now, it’s either wool trousers or wool skirts, which have very similar silhouettes for me (both full/voluminous w a fitted waist band & usually tucked in top) and I don’t mind at all. I don’t think I’ll ever be as minimal as you, but who knows? If I mange to sew a dress that fits me perfectly, I think I’d be happy with 2-3 of those, rather than fussing with all of the ‘almosts.'