minimalist wardrobe?

[SongAngel]

After careful examination of my current style, and my growing desire for a "clean" look, I've decided to re-build a majority of my wardrobe. I'm stripping it down to the essentials and ridding myself of extra garbage and filler.

my goal is to create the ultimate closet of timeless pieces with a solid foundation and lasting abilities.

my current view is as such:

7 white t's

7 colored t's (logo free)

5 button up polo style tops, solid colors, neutral tones.

3 sweaters, a heather grey, black, and tan/brown. wool or cashmere, v neck or crew. no turtle.

5 full button dress shirts, solid color neutral tones.

2 pair of tan khaki style shorts, linen is a must.

4 pair of denim, 1 extra slim fit, 1 casual relaxed fit, 1 boot cut, 1 straight leg.

4 pair of black slacks, MAYBE one black with charcoal pinstripes, but honestly that might throw off the universality of it all.

3 jackets, a "casual," a semi casual, and a dress. all neutral tones

6 ties of various neutral tones, thin style.

2 pair of casual trainers, a low and a high

1 pair of brown boots, casual winter wear

1 pair of black boots, casual winter wear

1 brown casual shoe

1 black casual shoe

1 birkenstock sandal, because I'm a hippie.

1 winter boot

1 winter coat, peacoat or button hook style, heather grey wool. or black with black scarf

what's the thought, do i have too many items? anyone see flaws in this logic? currently my closet is over-run with dozens of striped polos, tons of crazy jeans, crazy button downs, and tons of stuff that I can't stand to wear any more. I need to minimalize. I need to witdraw from fashion faux-pas and embrace a new look.

any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated. i plan on constructing this wardrobe over the winter, hopefully to be complete by march next year. I welcome all criticisms.

[TragicBliss]

Be sure to only keep 7 white tees. 8 would be overkill... Hah! just fucking with you.

Honestly, as long as your confident rocking it, you can pull off anything. But it never hurts to tone down on the trends and fads. Solid colors and logo-less gear is always a good idea. I use a seam ripper to remove any visible labels from anything I wear. Even leather denim labels and back pocket stitching... Go figure.

http://www.tragicbliss.com

[tangerine]

TB, is that Bibendum I see looking at you? jk

SongAngel, starting over with a clean slate (look) is good. I think you have figured out your basics. You will probably find that you want to add some items eventually, but your basic plan looks sound to me. Have fun!

[SongAngel]

yeah, I just have this theory that if you start with a solid foundation it will help you shape your style better..

the reason this came about is because I was digging through my closet, and doing the math, and I easily have 20grand in clothing, while I wear the same 2 pair of jeans, 4 or 5 t shirts, and 3 dress shirts all the time. This got me thinking about how I buy a LOT of stuff on impulse and never wear it, or I'll like it for a day or two and it'll be closeted.

If I can build a solid foundation, I can add more "creative" articles while maintaining a universal look, keeping myself "Me" everyday, instead of jumping trends and running from designer to designer....

I'm going to try it out, see how it goes. Only problem is that I'm on a diet and will loose a substantial amount of weight between now and march, somewhere in the range of 30 to 40 lbs. That's my only drawback to this idea...

My clothing line is going to reflect this now, I think. The focus has always been on fit, but now it's on universal ideals and fitting everyone individually while maintaining a uniform concept... like a sweater that can rock with denim, look extremely casual, or put it on under a suitcoat and look ready for a big event... It's just a theory, but I hope it pans out nicely.

Edited by SongAngel on Sep 13, 2005 at 11:10 AM

[neawts]

Ha, that's an OCD list right there. Everything perfectly planned out and organized.

Looks like a good list.

[darkanimal]

Very cool, I'm actually doing the same thing for the coming fall/winter. I've stocked up hoodies, sweaters, shirts, etc, etc that are not loud at all. Your average clothing, but with an edge. Everything is monotone now, no bright colors, everything's dark. Tragic Bliss, I remember sandpapering a silkscreened logo on a denim jacket that was screaming for attention. Sometimes I even go to all the trouble of replacing the buttons, if I know they'll look better. Like replacing them with a different button color. Now I'm more focused and have lessened my impulse buy.

[davidatler]

did the same thing, cleaned out the closet and put it on ebay. i only wear my nudie or aj jeans and a few different tops.

[djrajio]

I think you are on the right track. I actually religiously work out and I can see why you took the time to micro-manage all your inventory; its very similar to how people mico-manage their workouts to lose weight, build muscle. Frankly I think its great that you took the time to do but I usually take a more casual approach to determining my style. Everytime I am iching to buy something on impulse, I ask myself a couple of questions:

For 10%-20% of my clothing; trendy clothing:

1) It is a trend or fad. My definition of a trend is very different than what many people on this board consider a trend to be. For me, a trend is something that has been evolving as a style, concept, in fashion for several years. A good example is the distressed/worn jeans trend/vintage trend vs. low-rise jean fad. Obviously, if its a fad, I automatically don't bother.

2) If its a trend, I then try to assess weather it has been fashionable for some years already and weather it can still maintain fashionability. I then try to take into account cut/style/price/material.

For 80%-90% of my clothing; classic staples

1) I take into account material and cut as the most important aspects for staples. Style wise, they tend to be very traditional, maybe a solid shirt, a pair of slacks, a wool coat, etc. Price tends to be less of an issue because I tend to buy clothing that I forsee wearing for years after.

I'm fairly short and extremely skinny, around a 28-29 waist, so my clothing style tends to be very tight/slim minimalistic look and with an emphasis on solid colors or stripes to make myself appear taller.

Its good that you are trying to lose weight. Working out improves your posture, your energy level, makes your skin look better and your sex life better, so totally good luck on that!

[sway]

Since you are planning on losing weight, it's probably a really good time to change up your wardrobe too, since all your clothes now probably won't be fitting you right in a few months.

[adsurgo]

Quote:

Be sure to only keep 7 white tees. 8 would be overkill... Hah! just fucking with you.

Honestly, as long as your confident rocking it, you can pull off anything. But it never hurts to tone down on the trends and fads. Solid colors and logo-less gear is always a good idea. I use a seam ripper to remove any visible labels from anything I wear. Even leather denim labels and back pocket stitching... Go figure.

--- Original message by TragicBliss on Sep 13, 2005 10:46 AM

i do the same thing.

[frogeyes]

you wanna go minimal, get an overcoat and hang your nuts out.

[boystory]

i think the kind of minimal 'adult' outfit thing just kind of happens organically.

[soultek]

dude, your list is solid. But just out of curiosity:

why so many black slacks? why not a pair of non-black trousers in there?

I'm stealing your list and adding a few of my own mods hehe

[powerglov]

Collective consciousness. I've been noticing myself really embracing clean and minimalistic looks recently, and to some extent in many of my friends.

But then maybe it's just growing up. Refined tastes. Less insecurities.

[artificialsky]

WHAT?! NO (SB) DUNKS?!?!

WACK LIST.

[adsurgo]

Quote:

WHAT?! NO (SB) DUNKS?!?!

WACK LIST.

--- Original message by artificialsky on Sep 28, 2005 02:31 AM

my thoughts exactly. what is he thinking?

[vinz]

here's my list down to the bare minimum:

3 white t-shirts

1 black t-shirt

1 grey t-shirt

1 black suit with black tie

1 white dress shirt

1 blue dress shirt

1 grey zip hoody

1 black v-neck sweater

1 black leather belt

1 pair of slim fit jeans

1 pair of khakis

1 pair of bootfit jeans

1 pair of zipper boots

1 pair of black Chuck Taylors

1 pair of Stan Smiths

1 black leather jacket

1 pair of khaki shorts

3 white tank tops

If I can live one year with just this wardrobe that would be interesting.

I'm a pack rat I save all my clothes, my closet is packed with tons of stuff "I might wear in the future". I come from a poor family so I can't stand to throw anything away. After reading this post, I might try to just live with what I have listed above only.

It would be a great designer concept to package something like that into a suitcase. A person can leave everything behind in their life buy the suitcase with a set minimal waredrobe, with a powerbook for all their entertainment and work needs and start their life over.

www.youngestincharge.com

www.opticalweapons.com

Edited by vinz on Sep 28, 2005 at 02:22 PM

Edited by vinz on Sep 28, 2005 at 02:27 PM

Edited by vinz on Sep 28, 2005 at 02:29 PM

[nappyhead jenkins]

my white t's go to shit after a few washes

[adsurgo]

Quote:

my white t's go to shit after a few washes

--- Original message by nappyhead jenkins on Sep 29, 2005 02:22 AM

i love it when my white ts are worn out. theyre the most compfortable when theyre thin and soft.

[Guest]

"It would be a great designer concept to package something like that into a suitcase. A person can leave everything behind in their life buy the suitcase with a set minimal waredrobe, with a powerbook for all their entertainment and work needs and start their life over. "

Neil Barret did a collection with Puma called 96 hours in 2002/2003. I'm sorry to be so fuzzy with the details, but 96 hours was 4 days of outfits, and 2 pairs of shoes, one sporty and foldable, one sorta dress like, all packed into a Uber future Samsonite hardshell rolling suitcase. It was a cool concept, the perfect package for business travellers/ jetsetters. Try googling it, some relavant articles come up, most in German (makes sense since that's Puma origin).

I'm not personally into Minimalism, yes my apartment can serve as evidence to this, but I feel like I can't afford to replace stuff constantly, and throwing stuff out (or giving it to St. Vincents') just makes me more of a consumer because it would create a more of a need. Hey, maybe you live in NYC or something and space is a premium, but I think cutting it down to the basics sounds depressing and uncreative.

[Pancho]

C'mon people whats up with just neuterals? is it because most people here are in the city and

they can't rock a little color in the cubicle? Colors can be timeless also and to me creativity is

king. Don't get me wrong I own a lot of basics in black/brown etc but to limit your colorways

like that just makes you blend into the urbancamo of citydom BLACKBLACKBROWNBLACK

I definately am down on logos. Why pay a company to advertise for them? I can understand

a small logo or branding that does'nt overpower the piece but whats up with people lovin the

brand huge on their T-shirt? Let's Here it?

[Pancho]

C'mon people whats up with just neuterals? is it because most people here are in the city and

they can't rock a little color in the cubicle? Colors can be timeless also and to me creativity is

king. Don't get me wrong I own a lot of basics in black/brown etc but to limit your colorways

like that just makes you blend into the urbancamo of citydom BLACKBLACKBROWNBLACK

I definately am down on logos. Why pay a company to advertise for them? I can understand

a small logo or branding that does'nt overpower the piece but whats up with people lovin the

brand huge on their T-shirt? Let's Here it?

[tangerine]

Quote: ...It would be a great designer concept to package something like that into a suitcase. A person can leave everything behind in their life buy the suitcase with a set minimal waredrobe, with a powerbook for all their entertainment and work needs and start their life over.

That's a brilliant idea!

[soultek]

wasn't that sort of similar to 5EPs concept? That there should be 5 Easy Pieces to a man's wardrobe: a t shirt, jeans, a button up, a jacket, and chinos?

[triniboy27]

And didn't Puma sorta kinda do it with their 96 hour line?

As for that list, I think it's a great BASE for a wardrobe (as was the list someone else on here made) but for me, that's taking it way too minimalist...it's contextual too, cuz your wardrobe'll be based on your lifestyle/work, etc.

no way in hell I could get away with 2 dress shirts, considering I wear one everyday (plus tie).

[Co.jp]

I'm doing the same thing.

Here my list. Quality over Quantity.

(Dress clothes)

1 suit (Grey or black or navy)

1 Trouser

2 dress shirt

3 ties

1 dress shoe

1 leather belt

1 leather wallet

(Day to Day)

5 white tees (2 will be v-necks)

2 grey tees

3 designer tees (streetwear tees)

1 oxford

1 polo

1 dress shirt

1 sweater

1 hoody

2 denim jeans

1 chino

1 pair of shorts

1 rain coat

1 winter coat

(Shoes)

Stan smiths

Clark Wallabees

3 other grails

[Liberation1945]

i have like 3.71 jackets but like 90 jeans/pants its kinda dum...uhhh....also 647 tshirts but no belt.

[kcstayfresh]

Honestly I believe in two things. Quality over quantity and Wear what you like. They might be cliched beliefs but personally I believe they are very good beliefs to live by when buying clothes.

[israel]

hey if you think you wont be limiting yourself with a smaller wardrobe than hats of to you

but i dont think i could ever close myself off really

i tend to get pieces, in that they all become part of my wardrobe

nothing i could really cancel out

but then again i dont have that many things,

so its not much of a need for me

[zeke01]

This thread makes me feel a bit sad... where is the fun in fashion and style? If your wardrobe has to be planned and executed down to minute detail... where is the room for the random throw together, creativity and flair that is what makes an outfit so hot?

I agree it is good to make sure your basics are covered but then you need to experiment a bit and just go for stuff because you love it (not because you have to tick off some list).

A "minimalistic" look will come from being attracted to monochromatic colour schemes and the style of clothes and details you go for. I don't think fashion should be a formula!