Comic RE benefit of a small wardrobe

I chuckled when I discovered a comic strip regarding the benefits of having a small wardrobe in today's newspaper.

Disposable fashion

Clothing has become so inexpensive that for some folks they end up throwing out their closet every season.  This is done both in order to stay fashionable and because the clothing is of such cheap quality.

How do we break the habit of buying cheap, poor quality clothing?  Following are a couple of recommendations by Marilyn DeLong, a professor in apparel study at the University of Minnesota's College of Design. (Is disposable fashion worth the price?, Katherine Tillotson, StarTribune)

1.  Consider the length of time the garment will be in use.  If it to be worn only once it might make more sense to rent.
2.  Heighten attachment to clothing with great craftsmanship.  Choose wisely!

To this list I would add consider purchasing quality clothing at thrift stores.  Not only does this save you money, it also reduces waste.

Rather than feeling compelled to chase the latest fashion trends, simply hang with the clothes you love, and wait for the trend to find you in another 5 to 10 years ;-)

I wrote about the benefits of reducing one's wardrobe in an earlier blog, Beauty of a simple wardrobe.

Spring cleaning and reducing clutter

Cluttered desk

Less cluttered desk

Most all of living in the U.S.A. have way too much stuff.  In a Chicago Tribune article Jan Weigel provides advise on how to reduce the clutter in our lives (Dig out from under your clutter).

Some specific recommendations she provides include:

1. Bag it up - Use the three bag approach; one large bag to donate, another for recycling and one more to throw.
2. Ungift - If  you don't need more stuff, ask that people not give you presents.  Also consider presents to others in the form of a gift that will give back, such as a donation to charity.
3. Hold a storage unit sale - Sell stuff you're saving and use the money you make to enhance the quality of your life, like a nice night out with your family.
4. Avoid toxic people - Don't any more time around negative people any more than you absolutely must.  
5. Pause before you consume.  Ask first, 'Does my heart truly desire this? Will it make my life better? More fulfilled?".  If not, then don't buy it.

The beauty of a simple wardrobe

Plenty of shirts

Last week I viewed the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" on television.  It was a great commentary of the lure of high fashion and how living to keep up with the latest fashion trends can warp a person's values and priorities. In the case of the movie the lead character finally rejects her job in the cut throat world of fashion to revert back to her comfortable clothes and old friends.

I came across an article, "Adventures in Fashion: Six Items or Less", that advocates radically simplifying one's wardrobe.  Turns out that one of the participants with a large wardrobe discovered that her colleagues from work and even her husband didn't notice when she switched to the six item wardrobe. Another participant commented on how it freed up "bandwidth in his head", not having to spend precious time in the morning trying to figure out what to wear.

Lots of sweaters

The Uniform Project was started by a designer in New York a couple of years ago.  The founder of this project helped to raise well over $1,000 for a nonprofit serving underprivileged children in India.  She wore the same black dress for a year, but added a wide range of accessories to keep it interesting.  You can view her video at the Uniform project's website, and view the amazing creative things she did to complement the little black dress.