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Here are two things I'm willing to bet are true about most of you: 1. You wear the same things over and over. 2. You do not wear everything in your closet. Oh, sure, this doesn't apply to everyone, but I suspect that the majority of you are nodding in agreement. I also suspect that at least some of you (dare I say, again, a majority?) feel a little guilty about this, especially about that last part, the part where you don't wear some portion of your wardrobe.
Maybe it's time you did something about that.
Last month, the New York Times ran a story on "shopping diets," which is a bit of a misnomer. According to the Times, the idea behind the shopping diet is "to go an entire month wearing only six items already found in your closet (not counting shoes, underwear or accessories)." While the actual number of pieces can vary, the rules are essentially the same: for some window of time, you wear only a small selection of things you already own -- no shopping, and no digging in the closet for extra pieces.
The idea, of course, behind the shopping diet is twofold: as the Times points out, it encourages participants to get a handle on their shopping by not doing any for a month. At the same time, though, it's a way to think about your closet and what's in it and what you really, truly wear -- and possibly, to realize that you don't actually need all those clothes.
I've done shopping fasts before, where I give up buying for some window of time. I've also tried whittling my closet down to a capsule wardrobe and sticking only to that. And while I think the takeaway from both the shopping fast and the capsule wardrobe can be huge, I'm hesitant to do either right now.
More about that in a moment.
I'm thinking about shopping fasts and capsule wardrobes because I have -- informally -- committed to a closet challenge. The 15:30 Challenge is the brainchild of writer Felicia Sullivan, who is billing it as "The Ultimate Closet Editing Challenge," and describing it thus: "here’s the concept: 15 items worn in 30 days — the ultimate wardrobe remixer. 15:30 is a return to chic minimalism, an embrace of fall’s siren call for refinement." Felicia has posted her 15 pieces; for the entire month of September -- all 30 days -- she will only be wearing these items.
Felicia's not the only one committing to this, though. Pam at Accessory Whore, and Sarah at Water Water Everywhere are both taking the challenge. (You can see Pam's final 15 items here; watch for Sarah's list in the next couple of days.) For Pam, this is a chance to step back from her closet, and from consumerism in general.
We spend a lot of time consuming clothing. Collect, collect and collect some more. I am guilty of this as well. There are clothes in my drawer that do not get worn as well as those that have been worn but are not holding up quality-wise. (I’m looking at you Target t-shirts.) The donation bags every season to Goodwill are ridiculous in amount, yet my consignment shop bundle has severely dwindled in past years.
Wearing only 15 pieces for one month is a simple way to break out of the shopper mentality and remember what it is about beautiful, well-made clothes that makes us love our closets. It is also, if we're being really honest, a means of penance, a way of making up for all the mindless buying we do. A 30 day capsule wardrobe challenge compels you to think about what you really need in your wardrobe by eliminating -- well, pretty much everything else. Choosing 15 items of clothing -- or, in the case of the woman profiled in the Times piece, 6 pieces -- forces you to really think about what you wear and why you wear it and how much it matters that you have that whole closet of clothes at home.
(Answer: Not much. Really.)
I believe that this kind of self-analysis, if you will, is important,
