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The Ten-Item Wardrobe

Anonymous

So has anyone here ever heard of Jennifer L. Scott? I read an excerpt of her book Lessons From Madame Chic on Amazon and I'm considering asking for it for Christmas. I'm intrigued by the concept of a 10-item wardrobe (core, with extras, of course).

http://www.amazon.com/Lessons-.....g+in+paris

She has some videos explaining the concept on her website.
http://dailyconnoisseur.blogspot.com/

When living with a French family in Paris as a foreign exchange student, she observed first hand how her host mother dressed and estimated that the woman only had about ten core items in her wardrobe (not including blazers and outerwear or shoes and accessories). I find this concept so interesting because I don't need a large wardrobe either and I'd like to have fewer things that are better quality.

On her blog, Jennifer's videos show her 10-item wardrobe so you can see exactly how someone has put this into practice. Since she lives in a similar climate to me, it was a major "aha" moment. Plus it's always fun to see inside someone's closet!

What are your thoughts on this?

Dressing

60 replies

Latest reply was from Isabel

MNsara

Veteran

I always love the theory, but have my doubts I could manage it personally, and I can't/won't put the anaysis into figuring it out for myself.

I think where I live, I'd need the spring/summer 10-item wardrobe AND the fall/winter 10-item wardrobe.

Even so, I'm always intrigued by the idea of very few super satisfying pieces that are wildly suitable for all occasions. . . so I'm off to check her website and will report back

Anonymous

Right Sara. I'm sure you are supposed to have different clothes for the winter vs. summer. This is very different to a minimalist blog I read where she literally only had ten pieces, and two of the ten were her one pair of shoes and one handbag! That wouldn't be any fun for me at all.

merwoman

Veteran

When you listed your wardrobe items the other day Claire, my jaw literally dropped. For every item you have, I'm sure I have at least five to ten. I am so impressed by your ability to curate your wardrobe - and if anyone is up to this french minimalism challenge it is you.

bj1111

Veteran

ok...the 10 item wardrobe has a lot of exceptions like blazers, shoes, jewelry. basically, all items that finish an outfit! what she has is a 10 item collection of basics that provide a foundation for all the other exceptions.

if you want to execute this...viviennefiles.blogspot.com has a much more realistic clothing set that includes EVERYTHING in a tightly curated series. more importantly, she shows outfits from the set for a range of activities and events that a modern woman would encounter (except mountain climbing and a nobel prize dinner). i love her concept. i would still get bored unless i turn over 1/3 of the wardrobe per season/year.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I'm always drawn to it in theory, but have a lot of trouble putting into into practice. Part of that, I suspect, is that I've not been in a position to buy 10 core HIGH-QUALITY pieces at one time. I believe that makes a world of difference.

Also, reading the fine print here...I'm not so sure this isn't, already, essentially what I have!!

I mean, if blazers are "extras" and camisoles and layering ts are "extras" and this that and the other are "extras" and don't count as the core wardrobe, then it is pretty easy. I am not so far off from this, in fact. And I"ll bet you are even closer, Claire!

I don't really understand her distinctions, then, between what is core and what is allowable extra. Granted, I haven't watched her "extras" video yet! Off to do that now.

Mochi

Veteran

What bj1111 said. She has so many exceptions, many of which I would consider basic. (Coats? Jackets?) I know she has a book, and this would seem like a marketing angle....I do think the minimalist concept has a lot to teach us. But this is misleading.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I am with BJ also in the sense that I was seriously wondering how she actually lives as a MOTG in those clothes. I mean, seriously!! Okay, so she wears flats....but I don't think I could have worn a single one of those items except the jeans when my daughter was younger, on a daily basis.

I am also with Bj in that while I find the idea appealing, I know I would want to turn over a third of my clothes at the end of the season. Since I seem to want to do that anyway, maybe that makes this an excellent approach for me. Keep the core essentials to 10 or 12, and rotate out as needed.

Anonymous

All good points. I think she said she is in jeans and a T shirt very often because she has a small child (and T-shirts don't count).

Suz, I'm not in a position to buy 10 expensive items right now either, but I could maybe add one each season, dovetailing with what I already have. Hmmm. It's making me think, that's for sure. And my wardrobe would be different than hers or yours, because it's not like I have to do book signings!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Okay - just watched the extras video.

It doesn't make sense. As Mochi says....I consider coats a core essential in my climate. Blazers are perhaps not an essential, but they are pretty close to it, given the weather here. (Either blazers or layering sweaters.)

I also think I would get bored.

I never used to think this.

I am having to face it about myself recently.

Or perhaps I need to see this interpreted from the point of view of someone with a different style persona.

I used to think I wanted to dress like a chic Parisienne (or an American's ideal of a Parisienne, perhaps? I do think these are different, despite what she says...)

More and more I think I want to dress in a more distinctively modern way. Which would by necessity incorporate some trends, I suppose.

Hmmm.

Meanwhile, I continue to buy the same old classics......

Hmmm again.

bj1111

Veteran

claire...i think YOU should write a book on how to dress using thrift and consignment. i would SO come to your book signing.

Anonymous

Suz, yes I wondered why she didn't count blazers. Maybe it's because she usually observed Madame Chic at home, and she was wearing a blouse/pullover. I think I might get bored with this as my summer wardrobe, but for my winter wardrobe, it makes sense to have fewer clothes and maybe even more classic ones since I'm not likely to wear them out anytime soon. Lol about the American's idea of what a Parisienne dresses like!

For travel anyway, I'd like to be able to pack ten items that are really high quality. The faults in my clothing seem more apparent when I'm away from home for some reason.

Anonymous

BJ111 you crack me up! We'll have to just go to Suz and Mochi's book signings instead. I do like the Vivienne Files very much. I guess shelling out money for only 10 items seemed less intimidating to me somehow, KWIM?

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

I find the concept interesting, but frankly, doesn't Angie's distinctions between essentials, basics and signature pieces provide an even better focal point for curating a small wardrobe? I watched the video of ten pieces, and I don't think this will work for me in my climate. However, if I lived in a climate more like hers, like you do, Claire, then I think I would find the examples she shows more useful. What I also question is why these particular pieces, and why the distinction between "extras" and "basic". I can definitely understand your interest in this, though, as I think a lot about the subject of "small, but very versatile and wonderful", too.

deb

Veteran

I watched her videos and I would get very bored with this wardrobe. During the summer, I change my clothes twice or three times a day. Morning/works clothes, Afternoon/gardening clothes, and casual comfort/evening clothes. I do not believe her concept would work for my lifestyle.

Mochi

Veteran

You might not have a book signing, Claire, but you will be a famous syndicated columnist. And maybe there will be a book!

rachylou

Veteran

I reduced - but still 100 times over the 10 limit - and I've found my clothes wear out fast! I don't think even the best made clothes will last years with that kind of heavy use. Easier to get dressed, but not necessarily cheaper is my thought.

But I am totally enamoured of the idea of a manageable, minimal wardrobe.

Anonymous

Deb, when I watched her videos I thought, "Wow, I'd get to have really *nice* things if I only had a 10-item wardrobe!" ----Like my budget would magically become like hers, lol! So I think that was part of the draw for me. I actually saw the quality instead of just reading about it.

Ingunn, you're right, Angie does a fabulous job of instructing us how to build a useful wardrobe. Sometimes it just helps me to look at something from a different angle. From the excerpt I read, Mme Chic had about 3 wool skirts, 3 or four silk blouses and 3 cashmere sweaters. That example might be easier for some to digest since it's a winter wardrobe. And of course most of us would add at least some jeans and trousers into the mix. Even I have too many bottoms according to this formula.

Louise

Veteran

This sounds like women's logic in the extreme!! Telling hubby "I've only got 10 items in my wardrobe honestly" she could well have a wardrobe full of 'extras'. It kinda sounds like cheating to me? X

rae

(website)

Veteran

In all honesty? The title of this post alone made my blood run a little cold. Ten items... O_O

Ginkgo

Veteran

Claire, I read her book last winter and enjoyed it, although it is certainly a light read. Sort of a heavy dose of girl talk. She arrived in Paris with a suitcase of ugly, torn clothing and is gently nudged by Madame Chic to the concept of wearing flattering clothing. She's also intrigued by the family's "finer" way of living -- their meals, their vacations, the way they conduct themselves with each other. They're about elegance, not flashy money.

The blog is recycling the points made in the book. And yes, the ten piece wardrobe doesn't include layering tees either, but she is still very much a proponent of having a small wardrobe and limited choices.

Read the book, skip the blog.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

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.

Isabel

Veteran

I always love this kind of stuff...but I just can never implement it ! LOL. It is like the Vivienne files. My reality is that it should work for me really , really, well. Living where I live and doing what I do ( which is SAHM ). But I just can't narrow it down..... but I do think that better "quality", for me anyway, means good fitting clothes. Even if it is just a T shirt and jeans. And like Sara, I also live in a four Season climate.

Thank you so much for posting this btw, I really enjoyed it and all the great musings about it !!!

ironkurtin

Veteran

I couldn't do it even if every single item were from a designer I slobber over. Well, maybe I couldn't do it immediately, anyway - I'd have to pare down step by step.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I am more of the 100 item wardrobe philosophy....but really, so many items are not basics, I think the title is misleading. Since when is a coat an extra? Yea, I'll go out today without one (by the way it's 24 degrees). I think of a extra item as something I can live without, and no way am I going without a coat!
I think it's interesting reading, but as far as wardrobe concepts, I much prefer Angie's, as they are more realistic.

Raisin

Veteran

I really liked her blog, it was fun to read. I doubt that a 10 item wardrobe would be functional enough for most people, but the thought is fun! Does the book have a lot of different info than her blog? Because I feel like the book would have just been a collection of her blog posts.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I didn't check the video but it immediately came to mind that this is basically my BF's casual wardrobe. 2 pairs of jeans (just found within the last year) a pair of cords, dress slacks, 2 sweaters, one winter jacket, Doc Martens, chukka boots, 5 or 6 dressier button front shirts for going out, assorted layering tees and a few thermal long sleeves to layer. In summer it's even leaner - 4 pair of shorts, Birks, 5 or 6 tees, 2 or 3 dressier short sleeved button fronts. And he's completely content with it.
I need at least double that. Or I should say, I want at least double that

Vix

Veteran

>>claire...i think YOU should write a book on how to dress using thrift and consignment.

Agree! [and a blog is a good place to start]

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Although an interesting concept, it is completely impractical in a four-season climate like where I live.

I totally second the idea of Claire writing a blog on using thrift and consignment to make a perfectly imperfect (your words Claire!) wardrobe.

Anonymous

Right Mo! I'll bet a lot of our men have this type of wardrobe. My DH wears a uniform so he only needs a small selection of clothes.

Isabel, great to see you! Thanks for stopping by. Yes it's all great on paper but I'm still not sure IRL.

Karie, 100 is not bad either. Still not a stuffed closet by any means. I was thinking about going to the Goodwill 50% off sale later today and my DD said, "Why, so you can get a new 10-item wardrobe?" Ouch. She has a point!

IK, Louise, Rachylou, Deb and Rae, I hear you!

Runnerrae, IDK, I haven't actually read the whole book, just the free sample.

Gingko, thanks for chiming in about the book. I think because I haven't traveled that extensively in Europe, I'm always curious about how other people approach dressing as well as other aspects of their culture.

Suz, Since I live in a warm climate, I understand why she considers toppers as "extras". But you'd have to live here to understand. You're exactly right about the "visible base layers". I hope I didn't open up a huge can of worms for you. Perhaps just consider this for your summer wardrobe or a travel capsule? And of course dear Angie does it best!

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