I second the famous syndicated columnist idea. Go for it, Claire, and we will come to your book launch when it happens, which it would!
The fact that the clothes wouldn't last as long wouldn't bother me, Rachylou, since like BJ, I would end up replacing at least a third of them each year whether they were worn out of not, simply on the one-in-one-out policy...and due to boredom. Because I WOULD be bored after a season of that.
But yeah...I am with Ingunn in thinking Angie's distinctions are probably more helpful. At least in the video, she doesn't really give any REASON why these and these alone are her "core" or "essential" items...and why t shirts count as extras. I mean, in my mind, the thing you wear every day IS an essential. So in the way I understand it, the Tshirt should be there as part of the 10 items....not the silk blouse that in my life would get worn...oh...maybe once in the season, for, like, the book signing.
Are the the essentials because they are the pretty, expensive items? No...not necessarily, because blazers and coats are "extras."
Are they the essentials because she wears them the most? I can't really think so, apart from the jeans. I'm betting that even in California she is wearing the blazers more than she is wearing the silk dress.
So, it's all kind of confusing, really.
Except on the most basic level. Her core or what Angie would call "essentials" are her visible base layer, if I can make up that term. An extra is whatever she might layer under (cami, slip) or OVER (blazer, coat, scarf, cardigan).
I guess in a way that DOES make some kind of sense, but it still feels a bit like cheating to me.
But it's really, really good to think about this. It's got me wanting to boil things down and consider it season by season, maybe even looking at a 6 season cycle, as Manidipa suggested last year....
Could I list 10 ESSENTIALS for each of 6 core seasons (with some crossover between seasons) and for my own particular lifestyle? If so, could that guide my shopping, and help me put the big money on the really important items? Maybe in winter and fall seasons I could allow myself 15 essentials.
Thank you, Claire for raising this....I am off to give it a bit of thought.