How to Embrace a Minimalist Wardrobe: Building a Simpler Closet

Friends, I have 28 pieces of clothing.  If you don’t count my formal dresses or pajamas, it’s a 23 piece wardrobe for daily wear.  It has been a decade since I had more clothing than that.  And you know what?  It’s enough.  We don’t need a ton of clothes to dress well and be comfortable.  here a 5 Steps to creating a minimalist wardrobe:

 1. Understand your why.

Why do you want a minimalist wardrobe?  Is it because you have limited closet space, or you want to make more ethical purchase choices? For me it’s simplicity: too many options stresses me out. Understanding why you are making this choice will make the actual work of decluttering and streamlining your wardrobe so much easier.

2. Adopt a uniform.

I wear a casual dress and a cardigan almost everyday. If it’s cold out I wear leggings too. Knowing this, I can shop with my “uniform” in mind.  I have some pant and shirt combinations too but when I shop I focus on making sure I have enough uniforms to get me from one wash day to the next. Depending on your lifestyle, you may need a more formal “uniform” for work and a more casual one for relaxing. Minimalism is about figuring out how your stuff can work for you.

3. Keep Colours Simple. 

If you have a lot of clashing clothes, you need more of them in order to make outfit combinations.  By keeping the palette simple you can mix and match most of your wardrobe, keeping the total number of articles down. I mostly wear black, with the occasional pop of colour. This keeps my wardrobe flexible. 

4. Hang clean-ish things back up. 

You know what I mean; the cardigan you didn’t sweat in, the jeans you only wore for a few hours. Hang these things back in your closet to wear again. The less time your clothes spend in the laundry hamper unnecessarily, the better your limited pieces can serve you. 

5. Only own 1 aspirational piece of clothing.

Sometimes when we are actively losing weight (or convinced we are about to) we want to keep around clothes that are too small. My advice, if you want an aspirational pair of jeans to work towards fitting into, go for it, but pass along all the other too small items. If you do lose weight, you’ll want new clothes anyways that fit your new body well and suit your current style. 

Why a Minimalist Wardrobe is a Game Changer

I can’t even convey how much simplifying my wardrobe has simplified going out.  Because of my “uniform,” I already know I’ll be wearing a dress and a cardigan, and because of my simple colour scheme I know almost any combination I choose will go together.  Because all my clothes fit, and I saved the cleanish things from the dirty laundry pile, I have lots to choose from. 

A minimalist wardrobe isn’t about a set number of items.  There is no prize for having less clothes than the minimalist down the road.  It’s about assessing your needs and finding what works for you.  

Try these tips to simplify your closet and tag me @kellyoribine on instagram to show me your new minimalist closet.