Hi my fabulous friends! It's still plenty hot here in Phoenix, but by the end of this month I will be transitioned out of my Summer clothes. Here's the post where I showed my S/S *10 Item wardrobe and another where I talk about what led me to want to try a minimal wardrobe.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ems-for-ss
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....drobe-long
As expected, I will not have a high carry-over rate for next S/S. To begin with, all the the items I purchased for the season were second-hand, and having only 10 things meant they were laundered frequently. I wore the 5 dresses the most, and they were a good value. I didn't do the math, but at less than $20 each, I'm pretty sure the CPW was low. One of the dresses will transition nicely into Fall but the rest will be/have been retired, as well as one top and one pair of clams. I'll keep the denim pencil skirt, chambray shirt and snake print sweater since they will make good transitional pieces. They're in reasonably good shape--for now. Oh, and I forgot the floral sweater that I bought as a mid-season refresher. That's still going strong, of course.
The good news:
After a few years of this, I love the 10 Item Wardrobe. I can't see myself going back to having 100+ pieces of clothing in my closet. Each item is carefully chosen to fit perfectly, not itch, irritate, ride up, gap, stretch out or have any other annoying faults. I make sure I like the fabric, the shape, the cut, the color and the style of everything I buy. Well, at least that's the idea. I don't always hit a home run. And that leads me to...
The bad news:
I bought everything this S/S from stores with a "no return" policy. There were mistakes, which my budget had to eat. There were at least three dresses, two white button front shirts (don't ask) and two pairs of pointy-toed shoes that didn't even make it into the final ten. If I think about this too much, it makes me very distressed, because the whole point of this is to waste less. It made me feel a bit better to get these out of the house and re-consign them as soon as possible. Once I was into the season, my two newest pairs of sandals ended up being passed over time and time again for the two pairs that I carried over from last year. They had fit/style issues so now they are in a bag ready to go to a new home. Yes, this will leave me with only two pairs of sandals but hey, that's all I was wearing anyway!
I've been tightening up the 10 Item Wardrobe for F/W and I can honestly say that I don't have a true need for anything in this "to be seen by the public" capsule. I need some gear and underwear and maybe a pair of slippers, but those don't count toward the 10 items. The jeans were all bought new last year, so they aren't even close to being worn out, some of the blouses and tops are older, but they're still going strong. I could see having to retire a couple of them at the end of the season, but in general F/W clothes are sturdier and last longer, even though mine are pretty seasonless and get worn in Summer whenever I'm going to be in cold A/C like when I travel by air. I do have a new (to me) Equipment silk blouse and an ON sweater that you haven't seen yet. Funny enough, I picked them both up this Spring while I was shopping for Summer clothes--ain't that always the way? I'll make a post in the near future showing my F/W capsule.
*Here are the guidelines for the 10 Item Wardrobe:
gear, loungewear and sleepwear don't count
layering shirts/leggings don't count
jackets/coats/toppers don't count
shoes and accessories don't count
special occasion clothes don't count
So, what does count?
- stand-alone tops
- bottoms
- dresses
Also, you can throw out any of these guidelines and make up your own to fit your lifestyle and climate. The idea is to have one capsule for S/S and one for F/W, but you could have more or less. Extra transitional pieces are fine, Because of my climate, I don't really need laying shirts or leggings, but you could see how this category could really expand your wardrobe if you lived in a cold climate. I used to wear a turtleneck every day under a wool sweater; I wouldn't count the turtleneck since it was just there to keep the sweater from itching me to death (and to add extra warmth, and keep the sweater from having to be cleaned more often). Anyhow, this is just one way of doing it. I love all you moderate wardrobe and maximal wardrobe ladies too! When I get bored I live vicariously through your exciting posts.
