My other question about those wardrobes is what the heck do they do for laundry? Do they wash their blouse every night in the sink? I guess one COULD....but....
I just went to my closet to look at my summer things. There are two dresses that I haven't worn yet, one pair of pants that I haven't worn, and three pair of shorts. I've worn everything else at least once -- including the special occasion wear. And we've only had about 3 weeks of true summer.
And I have a LOT more items in my closet in current rotation than 10. Or even (gulp) 33.
I got all excited about trying unfancy's 37 item capsule by season....but looking at what I've actually got and what I am enjoying wearing...I don't think it would be large enough for me.
It would be large enough if my lifestyle was ONLY Mom-on-the-go or work-from-home. I guess this is to Laura's earlier point.
But considering that my life also involves a fair bit of city travel and other stuff, I think I'd really struggle.
Then again, maybe not if it were truly well planned. I think the real trick is figuring out the categories of garment that make sense for you, individually. She talks about one plain, one fancy, one in-between. And that is pretty cool. But "one" WHAT? One long sleeved shirt? Or one pullover type sweater? Or one tee (if you wear tees)? When I look at the actual clothes in her capsule I can't really see the logic beyond the more generic "tops."
This is pretty interesting to think about, though, and I do think it will help me break this all down a little better. I guess analyzing the function of the items will be the way to go. For me a crisp shirt and a silky shirt are quite different and have different functions and roles. A patterned sweater vs. a plain one are quite different, as are a fitted turtleneck vs. a cardigan or an oversized pullover.
I know I can't go as low as that French woman in the example. But I WOULD like to have the fewest possible items that make me happy. So using unfancy's guidelines might help with that.
And also breaking down my seasons really carefully.
Claire, I am a bit like you in that I would enjoy replacing stuff every year....but I think what I would like better is more like the viviennefiles idea -- a CORE (I'd go higher than 4 for my core -- maybe 8 to 10) that I do NOT replace every season (they might last from 3 to 8 years) supplemented by (let's say) 10 that I wear for up to 3 years and then replace, and 10 that I replace every season. Hmmm. That gets me to 30. Close to the 333.