An extreme minimalist - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

An extreme minimalist

Sisi

Veteran

Since October 2021 I started again to commute by train. At the station I met a new friend. She is cheerful and nice, we immediately got along well. She is in her early 50s and works in a professional studio. In these months (Oct Nov Dec) I could not help but notice that she has always worn: 4 sweaters, 4 pants, 1 pair of booties, 4 pieces of outerwear. She often repeats the same outfit 2 or 3 days in a row. The colors are neutral and the items are classic and simple.
I am impressed. I have a small wardrobe but not so skinny like hers. But evidently it is doable.
I just wanted to share. Of course any comment is welcome.

General

48 replies

Latest reply was from Lynn

Helena

Veteran

I love this! Aspirational for me (but I know myself well enough to know, not do-able) ... I know it's not for everyone, and I'm not saying it's a "better" way to be, but that sort of simplicity and contentment with it is just so appealing ...

Sisi

Veteran

Helena, I have been tempted to challenge myself to copy her. But I need at least 5 sweaters (to change every working day) and more footwear. Anyway I like her style. She always looks fine and put together.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I’m surprised that works with the change of seasons. I’ll pull out a couple outfits to wear on repeat for 6 weeks or so, but when the weather changes, so do my clothes.

I hope people from Europe reply. I have the impression that the idea that you “need” a fresh outfit every day is more engrained in the USA than in Northern Europe, have no idea of norms in Italy, but it’s been a decade since I worked on this continent, and the only jobs I’ve held were as an academic and as a translator in a tech start-up—not the kind of thing where appearance is emphasized. I am curious what kind of studio your new friend works in.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I admire this approach for people who enjoy it, but it's not for me. Fascinating though.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

(Sounds like my late Dad's wardrobe - although he had three items of outerwear, and more sweaters. He was a true minimalist).

Sisi, if the formula works for the wearer - why not! Thumbs up from me.

Personally, this type of extreme small wardrobe would make me very unhappy. I like to have, and wear more variety! Having a moderately sized wardrobe is part of what makes fashion and style a joy and not a stress. Plus, it is my line of work. We all have our sweet spot

Garden Fairy

Interesting. Based on where and how you met her, this sounds like a (really pared down) work uniform. There are definitely many advantages to having one. It doesn't mean you have to give up playing with clothes for leisure/weekend wear, i.e you don't have to be an extreme minimalist in order to dress like this on a workday.

I spent most of my life in Europe before coming to the US, working in finance and government back there. Most people (women at least) would not repeat an exact outfit on consecutive days, but people did have much smaller rotations. It was only here that I heard of many people not wanting to repeat an outfit within two weeks, etc.

Irina

Veteran

In 2015/2016 this was my wardrobe from November to April. I had more sweaters plus a pair of jeans to wear on Fridays. It was sufficient but I was not happy, especially because I had to wear a same black puffer 5 days a week for 3 months straight. Since that time, my goal was to have a bigger selection of outwear. Now, when I WFH, it would be OK. Ironic, isn’t it?

Anonymous

The only thing I question is wearing the same pair of shoes or boots every single day. They need to air out! I have to admit some consternation (tongue in cheek here, please) over a new co-worker's wardrobe which consists of 2 pairs of pants - she'll wear one pair for about 2 weeks straight then change to the other pair - and ONE pair of boots. Various sweaters and blouses on top. Yeah, I'm totally judgy about this as it just seems - unhygienic?

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I keep a very small work wardrobe which is updated for Winter and Summer, I currently have:
2 pairs of trousers
1 skirt
3 sweaters
2 blouses
I have sufficient options for my 3 day office week and seek to add creativity in the other parts of my wardrobe.

slim cat

Veteran

Uniform for work - I do it often enough. 2 puffers, 3 pairs of pants, same sneakers ( for now - problems with my feet ), 4 jackets and bunch of tops, jewelry. I do not repeat the same outfit but may wear it again with some little changes.
Some of the simplification is because of Coronavirus, some - just limited good fitting pieces. It does gets repetitive and boring from time to time .

Helena

Veteran

Lisa, your story reminds of the Seinfeld episode where the woman wears the same dress every day, and Jerry tries to work out whether it's the same single dress, or she has a closet full of duplicates I admit I wear the same pants over and over and don't wash them frequently! I guess I should do that more often!

I've lived in NA my whole life and didn't even know not repeating was a thing until a few years ago; for me that's way too much work and when I like something, I like to repeat it! But that is me - I am not judging others who have a different view. I am definitely an outfit repeater though - although Sisi I agree, even if I went to my extreme, I would need enough tops for a laundry cycle, especially in summer where I am not wearing an undershirt.

I wonder if not repeating outfits is more a social media thing ... I had been Instagramming outfits at the beginning of the pandemic to motivate myself to get dressed, and quickly stopped when I realized I didn't have enough outfits to make my feed interesting ... I can imagine a more dedicated poster might go the other way and purchase more ...

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Sisi

Veteran

Thank you all for your interesting comments ! I did not expect so many.
Stagiaire, this has been the wardrobe of one season and the weather has been rather consistent. My new friend works at a notary.
About the norms in Italy, I do not know either ... I just notice that people at work tend to change every day. Sometimes the whole outfit, sometimes a few pieces.
Janet - I know this is not for you. I like your varied wardrobe.
Angie - I loved your Dad's wardrobe. And thanks Heaven we are all different, right? It is always a pleasure to look at your interesting, colored, playful wardrobe.
Garden Fairy - definitely a work uniform. It would be interesting to see what she wears on weekends.
Irina - yes, ironic.
Lisa P - exactly. I admire how she was able to go through Autumn and a part of Winter with only 4 tops and 4 bottoms. But what impresses me more is the one pair of booties. For the reason that you mention first, and also because the ground has been dry/wet/snowy/icy. This requires different shoes.

I want to make it clear that despite I prefer a moderate/small wardrobe I perfectly understand that we are not all the same, and that's good! It is so interesting to look at the various types of wardrobe here on YLF and in real life.

Jules

Veteran

I just don’t have sweaty feet in winter. In the past I have years where I relied on one pair of boots for the winter, also worn indoors for work/school, and it was fine. I agree it would depend on season but even then my kids manage to wear docs or Timberlands as both winter and transitional footwear, similar to what I did when I was younger
There’s a weird paradox or something where when I was used to one purse, one main pair of footwear for the season, one coat etc, I lived with what I had and was happy with it, or at least found it functional enough. As I added more options things became more complicated and more niches/specifications became apparent ‘needs’. Recently I didn’t ‘need’ a neutral shorter/lighter weight puffer until I bought one in mustard yellow and realized it’s a practical transitional item for me (vs my other transitional coats in eg leather), but the colour is too conspicuous for my comfort every day. So now I feel I ‘need’ a more neutral one. If I get that I’ll have two in that category, where before I had none and was totally fine. I have limited space and interest so these are things I think about - sorry for the diversion!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

It sounds like a work "uniform" that suits her. I can see how it might be a soothing and calming way to approach workwear if your job is stressful and you need to appear quite neutral and not attract too much attention.

It wouldn't work for me with my varied life roles. But I sympathize with the wish to keep things simple and organized. If I were to do something like this, I would need more tops and more footwear -- otherwise I'd go nuts.

MsMaven

Veteran

Some personal history:

When I was in grade school I wore one dress 2-3x a week and a second dress 2-3x a week. I had at least six dresses and we were absolutely not allowed to wear pants at any time. Same all the way through school until college. Even then, girls who wore pants to class on cold snowy days got mocked by some of the guys.

When I got to 7th grade--age 12--I think, I soon learned that girls had to wear a different outfit every day. I don't remember how I got the message, but I did get it. All through the rest of my life I've worn something different every day and I make sure I have several different tops on vacation even if I only take a couple of pairs of pants or skirts.

My older sister told me that when I got to Jr. High I'd feel like "a hick in New York City," because the girls there were so smooth. Looking back it's funny to think about, because at least 2/3 of my clothes were hand-me-downs from her.

My sister was very much into clothes and dresses and wearing whatever was "in" so I got lots of messages from her--especially ridicule when I tried something creative. That was an era of conformity for men and boys as well as women. Most men wore hats when they went out in public--until JFK came along.

Minaminu

Veteran

what an inspiration! This is exactly up my alley as I find a small work wardrobe to be a lifesaver when things are too hectic. I once had to do a 2 weeks' work trip to HK and brought with me a small trolley, the colleague who came with me had a 20kg trolley. Had a fab time with my small wardrobe and received few compliments!

Minaminu

Veteran

deleted as duplicate

Flowerface

I wear very few things too, not because I want to be an extreme minimalist, but because I’m really picky and have a hard time finding things I actually like to wear. I’d really like to figure out how to have a lot of things I enjoy wearing as much as my very few that live on rotation!

Chiara

I do have work and home capsules. So summer work is 3 trousers, 5 tops, all the tops go with all the trousers, so that’s 15 outfits. But 4 pair shoes, my feet prefer variety, and that way it’s no problem if I get shoes re-heeled, or retire a pair.
Summer Home is 4 pants, 5 tops, 4 sandals, 2 dresses. In summer, I need more because there are more holidays, and I need to launder... I try to make sure that anything I buy will make 3-4 new outfits, and quite enjoy the challenge of finding, for instance, a new top that goes with my pants, but looks different from what I have.
This all works well when weather is stable- and works fine for being in an air conditioned office. I need a bigger range of items with spring, autumn and winter, to cope with bigger temperature ranges.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I think lifestyle and climate play a huge role in this. We have a huge spectrum of weather here, and my summer and winter wardrobes have zero overlap. And being self employed and in a creative field with stylish clients (when I can see them) and giving presentations, I like to present a bit of creativity in my appearance. I totally get that a lot of people don’t need this or desire it — I appreciate that we all have different thresholds and approaches! I hated having to I wear a uniform for a few months for a job I had when I was about 19-20. I was happy when I was quickly promoted and could wear suiting separates instead!

Joy

Veteran

I wonder if extreme minimalism and rewearing outfits comes more easily to those who grew up wearing school uniforms?

slim cat

Veteran

@Joy - you may be onto something here. I was in school uniform all the 10 years and had somewhat hard time in university ( small wardrobe in general ). I do admire bigger collections and more choices - more fun to play .

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sisi, thank you!

Joy and Slim Cat, I wore a strict and formal school uniform for 12 years, and have a moderately sized wardrobe now. It is a joy and luxury in my life. Very grateful

That said, I had a VERY, VERY SMALL wardrobe from ages 5 to 17 (Greg and I were just talking about that and reminiscing!) I wore a school uniform all day, and was in horse riding clothes most of the weekend. I had Summer vacation clothes, some trendy going out outfits, and some casual stuff. That's it! My closet was a section in the linen closet of our home. No need for more space!

Sooo, like Slim Cat, I got to varsity at age 18 and had very few clothes to wear! I remember shopping a lot more as a poor student than I ever had before....

Sal

Veteran

Interesting and fun discussion. Pleased you made a new friend Sisi.

I had a wardrobe this size when working in the UK, and in a couple of jobs in my 20s. It was more eclectic, but I had almost a week of outfits only and had to repeat one outfit a week. There was no overlap with weekend and weekday outfits, and I just kept on wearing them as my money went on travelling or going out.

My husband and 19 year old son have this type of approach - especially the 19 year old who is a true minimalist by nature. It works for them, and I could do it, but choose not to any longer as I like more variety.

Runcarla

Veteran

WHAT! You can’t wear the same outfit two days in a row! I never heard of that ‘rule’. My wardrobe isn’t as small as that of the minimalist, but I definitely do repeats!

I think Clearly Claire did a tiny seasonal wardrobe capsule of 12-20 items that she would rotate for 3 months, and then completely change out for the next 4 months. She had some gorgeous clothes too! I still remember a cream Celine jacket she thrifted…

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I totally get this and it is totally not for me, although I have no problem repeating outfits. Before I became a crazy shoe lady I really rotated between 2 or 3 pairs and never had a problem. But I definitely repeat jeans two days in a row sometimes and do tend to play with a subset of my closet at a time.

rachylou

Veteran

I feel as a small child I didn’t have that many clothes, but I also don’t think I wore the same thing two days in a row. I remember two pairs of pants and knee socks which means at least one skirt. How strange. I’ll have to ask my mother.

Now, I could wear the same outfit for two weeks straight if left to my own devices… ok maybe not that long, but with just a couple outfits worth of items… but I agree with Janet about weather. About every two weeks, there is a distinct progress in seasons and I need different clothes.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Well I don’t think I have ever done it! Even as a child, although Mum budgeted carefully, I remember having quite a few clothes. We did have a reasonable sized extended family and so clothes were passed around. I had 2 female cousins a bit older than me who had no younger sisters and I got their cast-offs. I didn’t mind- new to me, or actually new, it was fine. These past few years of downsizing and buying less I have struck a feeling of boredom occasionally. Recently that happened so I hit the thrift stores and came away with a pretty new top for $4! That helped.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

The only way I wear the same outfit two days in a row is if I’m at home sick or I’m camping! LOL I will repeat outfits but not back-to-back — for one thing, even if I don’t dirty my clothes when wearing, I like to let them air out before wearing again.

It’s also good for your shoes to give them a rest. Everyday wear breaks them down faster.

12