The concept of capsule wardrobe has been popularised over the last few years; but is it all that it's hyped up to be?
I find the concept of a capsule wardrobe incredibly wasteful. Admittedly, I am probably alone in this school of thought, or at least I am yet to find another person sharing this opinion. But let me try to get you onto my way of thinking.
Two ways you can have a capsule wardrobe- (i) you've grown up with the concept of minimalism and have always had the wardrobe that fitted your exact needs, or (ii) you've culled most of your clothes until you're if you feel you have just enough clothes to suit your needs.
The first of the two is very unrealistic. It assumes you have never made a mistake buy, the clothes and shoes you bought are timeless pieces and everything still fits you as the day you first bought them and are still in keeping with your style and something that you still gravitate towards. Probably you also never had that annoying Aunt with the awful taste in clothes, insisting you keep that frilly dress, which you refuse to wear in public.....Again, I may be very wrong; maybe there is someone out there who is very organised with their wardrobe and they know exactly what works for them and what doesn't. And when they do get the odd thing here and there that is not in line with their style, they are quick to discard sustainably.
I doubt it, but still it's possible.
Type the words 'capsule wardrobe' onto YouTube search bar and you can see thousands, if not hundreds of videos all about culling down the contents of wardrobes so people end up with 100 items or less. Of course, this number fluctuates for each person. Capsule wardrobe and minimalism is all about getting rid of the excess and focusing on keeping just what is needed and wanted.
While I am totally on board with only keeping the items that you love and need, I have reservations about the culling process. The ruthlessness of it, clothes ending up in landfill, things that were once bought with so much enthusiasm and eager now discarded aside. The dreams that people had when buying the red dress now tossed aside, the pink shoes no longer seen as 'timeless' cause of its non-neutral colour....So much waste.
Now here's the thing; I view myself as a minimalist. When I first told my sister I was a minimalist, she was floored. After all, how could I be a minimalist when I have so many clothes, shoes and accessories. I told her that I am a minimalist cause I actively use everything I have. I appear to have a lot of things but that's mainly cause I don't put anything away in storage. I get full use of everything that I have; I wear clothes until they have holes in them. I wear shoes until the soles fall off. When clothes can no longer be worn out, I will demote them into things I will wear at home. And when I can no longer wear clothes clothes at home, I will demote further and turn them into rags I will do household cleaning chores with. I have clothes in my wardrobe from when I was 11 (and yes, they still fit me!)
Don't get me wrong; I do cull, just not in the dramatic sense. I will be mindful about what I no longer feel suits me, what I have had my fair use of and now it's time to let go. I won't ever put my old clothes into bin liners to put into the large recycle bins stowed at the end of Sainsbury's car parks. Do those even get donated anyway?
I love selling clothes. That being said, last time I did it was in 2020, before the pandemic. Clothes I have worn once or twice sold for a few pounds. I made a sale, I win. Buyer gets an almost new dress for very cheap, they also win.
Charity shops also gets the visit from me every now and again. I would never donate tons of clothes in one go, instead I would just donate a few clothing items here and there.
My wardrobe culling process is definitely long and far from dramatic. I probably will never have a capsule wardrobe where my five tops will perfectly match my three trousers interchangeably. And I am okay with that; my wardrobe in minimal in my own way, it's intentional and most importantly, it's not wasteful.
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