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minimalism requires shifting your mindset and understanding of consumerism, options, choices, and necessity. It is not simply about decluttering. It is not about finding things that work for your current lifestyle at this current moment.

Take all the clothing out of your closet and sort through first in these categories.

1. Pick out all the clothes that fit you perfectly. Do not care about the color, quality, etc. The ones that fit you perfectly.

2. Now after you’ve done that go through the ones that fit you perfectly and decide which ones align with the type you like to wear? Quality? Longevity? Material?

3. From the ones that you picked so far. sort them into the categories you need them for. Business attire, special occasion, attire, workout clothes, pajamas, etc.

4. The rest of the clothes that you have do not look at them. Take them all and sort them into ones that can go to the thrift store or Ones that can go in the garbage. (remember that the thrift store is not a dumpster for things you don’t like or worn out. If nobody can realistically wear what you give them without having to fix holes or fix buttons for at least one year then it’s garbage. Do not donate it)

5. from the pile that you sorted from criteria three. Only wear those clothes. If you find yourself running out of things then this is where a research and laundry comes in.

6. Do research on quality purchases to replace the things that you need. Do laundry more often. If certain materials cannot be washed in the laundry machine, then hand wash them. The less clothes you have the better you’re able to take care of quality items.

7. Stop looking at clothing as something for sheer entertainment. Stop looking at pretty much anything in life for share entertainment. You are not entitled to choices.

8. Throughout this entire journey, focus on changing your mindset. Understand labor, finances, where are the things that you buy come from, the ethics around your purchases, and around the decisions you make every single day. The overwhelm you feel by your options is not normal. If you feel like you can’t get rid of things because you were might regret it in the future. That is normal. Also regretting things you gave up is normal. That’s part of life. Your home is not a storage unit and your closet is not a store for you to shop. Being sad about losing things or giving things away is part of life. that is how you learn what is important to you.

Why are 4-5 outfits not enough? What’s wrong with a “uniform”? Maybe just lean into it. Create a small number of outfits that you love and work for your needs. I think the rise of fast fashion has made us feel like we need to have a ton of clothes and a ton of different outfits, especially for work, but most people are wearing about 20% of their wardrobe.

For me, it’s not about a certain number of a particular item, but making sure that I have what I need and don’t have what I don’t. When I feel like there is a hole, or something is worn out, that’s when I add/replace. When I feel like there’s a lot that doesn’t fit/is worn out/doesn’t fit my style anymore, then I weed things out. I also got my colors and style done by a professional, which I would recommend to anyone who wants to be intentional about clothing without sticking to something like a black-shirt-and-jeans uniform. It’s taken out the guesswork and trial and error for me.

Hi! Im a comfort minimalist, with a small boy and a wfh job most days as well. I try to keep a small wardrobe, like a regular closet. And I think im doing a good job.

I have a collection of tank tops and spaghetti straps [prolly too many but it brings me joy, like 24+] and cardigans/over shirts. A few [like 10] special shirts and sweaters.

I collect leggings with fun patterns and it makes me happy so I have a drawer with about 24 pairs rolled up. They range from holiday prints to athletic. I have 2 pair dressy pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 pair of sleeping shorts.

I have a package of black socks maybe 12 pair total. All black, so easy and no visual clutter for me. I have very boring granny panties maybe 16 or so, and I have collected about 8 or 10 bras over the years. I cup them in whatever order and wear them in that order for minimal desicions.

I have a rain jacket, a heavy sweater, and a hoodie. I have slippers, winter boots, 1 pair of sneakers, and 3 pairs of opentoed sandles.

My question is, is that still to much for what you are aiming for?

Good luck!

I tried a 100 piece year round wardrobe and found that was not quite enough for what I like to wear. I settled on 130 pieces. I was able to do this by boxing things up, rather than immediately donating, so making the adjustment was easy.

I found lists online of capsule wardrobes, but ultimately decided not to follow them.

I have 30 casual dresses which seems like a lot but it’s what I mostly wear. 12 cardigans which all get worn frequently. I have 4 pairs of jeans, 6 sweaters, 3 graphic t’s, 3 vests, 2 hoodies. 2 dress pants for work, 2 blazers. The rest are mostly basics

First I tried everything on to see what fits. Anything that didn’t fit was donated. Then I made a non strict color palette. For me it was fall colors. Then I took an inventory. Once you count things into categories you can see where you might have more than you need. From there I adjusted my closet with my color palette in mind to maximize the number of outfits I can make. It was a process of trial and error and I had to revisit each season when I started.

It took me a while to get things right. I still maintain my inventory. I still weed out my closet twice and year using the method of turning your hangers backwards. Last time I did this it took me 5 minutes.

I don’t believe there is any one essential but I would look as your office attire and make sure you’re ready when the time comes. I bought my blazers second hand.

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If you only wear the same handful of outfits on repeat, consider that those outfits might be enough. There's this pressure from advertising to wear new things all the time but most people do exactly what you do and never touch the rest of their wardrobe. I also work from home most of the time and have about 3 cold weather outfits for professional occasions that I cycle between all winter. It's totally fine!

A bit late for this conversation but is it possible for you to add accessories to those 4-5 outfits to make them feel different for you? Like add a different scarf or a belt each time you wear a specific outfit?

I have 2 fancy pants (office slacks with stretch), 1 fancy cardigan, 2 dress shirts, 4 yoga pants, 2 sweatshirts, 2 hoodies, 10 t-shirts, 2 silk tanktops as the base.

I've been at this for about 20 years and have roughly 65 pieces for year round (this includes coats/vest for winter). For me, sticking to a color palette and timeless style works best. I've been able to layer and put together so many outfits for various occasions due to it. You do have to look at lifestyle. For me, this includes at times having to dress professional, dress up for events, outdoor hiking, date nights, casual clothes for when home. I don't think of it as a capsule wardrobe. I just think of it as my wardrobe, as some items cross over I fo winter. As an example: I own a white strappy dress. In Summer it's styled for warmer weather. In Winter, I may have leggings underneath and wear with boots and a sweater. Make sense? A cardigan in winter, is an added layer to keep warm. Whereas, in Summer, I may wear just that belted with shorts for an indoors tooling around day with the sleeves styled up. Highly recommend checking out websites like Alyssa Beltempo (I think that's the spelling of her name). Stylists that work with their closest to get different looks. Once you start thinking outside of the box and have your palette and core pieces, it's easy to mix and match. As an example, I have a Navy blue blazer that I'm wearing this weekend over a plaid dress for a holiday event downtown (with boots). Whereas, in Summer months, id style it with a crisp button up and khaki skirt and slip ons. Is my style eccletic? No. But I also have a few items that are a step up from the norm. Like a white shirt but it's eyelet lace. Or a blue and white sweater but it has patches on it. So anytime I have needed to replace something (at thrift) I look for a similar item that maybe has an interesting tweak to it either texture or pattern. My base colors are White, Beige, Light Blue, Navy Blue, Red. I do have a pink sweater currently that I like to wear with the blues and it carries me in Spring Summer but will also wear in Winter. Hope that helps..

I have about 6 pairs of jeans, 4 pants and shorts, about 10 dresses and up to 30 tops (all season, inc shirts) + 2 blazers. 

Pull out all your clothes from the closet and try them on. Get rid of what doesn’t fit, is out of style etc and then wear everything else. Problem solved 

Neutral colors.. and some colors.

First, go to r/coloranalysis

I wouldn't say "black" this or that because if black doesn't suit you, it might make you stray away from minimalism. You might feel bland and your skin ain't glowing soOOoO -- you might shop again. Try navy or espresso, even charcoal as "dark neutral colors". I always felt like "minimalism" should be "worth it of a decision" after purging. I have been on it for 3 years now and yeah, I feel pretty. Feels like am always being styled for free.

Dress your body shape or r/Kibbe.

I also follow etiquette rules when it comes to dressing. Not revealing too much, not putting too much clothes as well. Just the right and decent amount, but not looking like a granny.

For shoes:

Get ankle boots for fall and winter, beach shoes or rubber flip flops for spring and summer, and for everyday, doll shoes or loafers and white trainers. Get heels less than 3 inches. That's like 5 pieces of shoes. What you'll need per season.

For outwear:

Get two trench coats. Trench coats are good for any chilly season. Early spring, fall, winter, etc.. then get blazers and pullovers, like, IDK, cableknits. So yeah, around 6 pieces of these. 2 trenchies, 3 blazers and 1 pullovers.

You can use the cardigans twice a week and the trench coat for extreme weathers you gotta be out and about. Pullovers for staying at home and being cozy. Layering too.

For the dress:

Little Black or Navy or Espresso dress is a must.

For the top and bottoms:

Get a short sleeve blouse. Sleeveless or long sleeve clothes aren't practical. You can't layer with them easily or you can't wear them when it's too hot, but the short sleeve hits the perfect spot. Gives your shoulders warmth but you wouldn't feel sweaty inside as well. Maybe 8 pieces of these in different colors.

For the bottoms, go for slacks:

8 pieces as well in different colors.

For the socks and underwear.

Get ankle socks. Something that is close to your skin color. Applies to the other stuff as well! 8 pieces of each.

For sleeping:

Get cotton PJs and cotton shirts. 8 pieces as well.

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No one's capsule wardrobe is going to look the same as any one else's. It's far to subjective and individual.

This is what I would recommend:

A. Make some kind of mood board with what kind of outfits you'd like the wear. The more comprehensive, the better. It will allow you to realize patterns and similarities that, overall, help distinguish your (ideal) style.

B. Go through your closet and see what you have that fits your mood-board style.

If you have, but don't wear some or any of those things, figure out why. Is it because they aren't appropriate for your lifestyle (pencil skirts and blazers when you spend most of your time shoveling horse shit at a barn?). Is it because said style is uncomfortable (i.e. gorgeous heels you can't walk over 100m in)?

If you don't own anything that fits your mood board, figure out why. Is is because you're style as recently changed? Is it because you don't want to spend money on those kinds of pieces? Is it because when you try them on in store, they do not look good?

C. Look at what you actually wear and figure out why that's what you grab every day. Is it because it's comfy and you're stressed to the point that comfort overrides style right now? Is is because it can easily get tossed in the washer, no special cleaning required?

Once you have figured out exactly what kind of style you would like to have and why you don't currently have it and what style you do currently have, you can make a game plan about what and how many pieces work for your capsule wardrobe.

I suggest you be wary of anyone offering more objective and concrete information than that. Between varying climates, jobs, locations (urban, suburban, rural), means of transportation (walking, subways, driving), extra-curriculars, and fashion sense, there is no 'right' answer to be given — just a right answer for you to find yourself.

I did this, I'm 40F. I probably got rid of 80% of my wardrobe about 18 months ago, then I did project 333 this June which went really well and while I have more than the challenge limit in my wardrobe now I got rid of a load more clothes and it's at most 10% of it's original size (it was clearly excessive before).

Honestly? I love having a smaller wardrobe. My wardrobe genuinely brings me joy in a way it didn't before when it was much larger, because I only have space for things I love.

I did the first purge by removing it all and picking out only what I wanted to keep, which was a really effective way to reframe things for me than choosing what I want to let go of. I stressed I wouldn't have enough, I got upset that I didn't have enough I loved to build a wardrobe, I originally put everything I didn't want in the spare room and allowed myself to browse from it and take anything I wanted (after all, it's hard to define our taste perfectly on one day, a day when for me I wasn't in a great place mentally), after a few months I started selling it until I decided it was too much work and donated the rest.

I really recommend project 333 as a way to experiment living with a smaller wardrobe. I wasn't very strict (I allowed swaps if I found something I really loved) and had some exceptions (I only focused on day to day clothes, I didn't include clothes I would only be likely to wear if I had to go to a funeral or something, I also excluded coats simply because it was a sticking point I struggled with (especially as I live in an area with Weather), but the exercise massively helped me rationalise my coat collection too even though it was excluded and I sold around half of them before it had finished). I recommend reading the book and tailoring the challenge to you, I think it's better to try it imperfectly excluding a difficult category like I did, or allowing yourself to change things in and out as you learn more about what you really like, than not try it at all.

I don't specifically restrict or limit any category, whether or something has a place has more to do with how much I love it. It means I only have one pair of trousers at the moment, but tbh while at one point I thought this would be an issue it's not been (I wear shorts with tights more in the winter anyway because the area I live in is so wet and trousers are awful in heavy rain).

I think the 80/20 rule applies to clothes: you wear 20 percent of your clothes 80 percent of the time.

I made a capsule winter wardrobe for myself a month ago:

• 6 pairs of pants
• 1 skirt
• 3 blazers
• 4 knits
• 2 blouses
• 3 t-shirts

That’s more than enough clothes for me to wear for the winter. I also have enough to leave the laundry for a week.

I didn’t throw anything out, but just packed it away for now. In a month I’ll go through everything and declutter.

I think the simplest choice is going to a Uniqlo store. It's a brand that makes atemporal and basic clothes. For the price they have good quality clothes. Even thought you can spend less buying 2nd hand, there's apps where particulars sell their clothes or you can try in second hand stores.

Depends from every person, but overall I will say that you will need the basics, the type of clothes you need for work if you don't wear a uniform, and the ones that you feel more comfortable. Overall I think the simplest thing is having the essentials in pants, skirts, shorts and shoes so you can have more fun with shirts and sweaters. In my case I buy the first ones in basic tones like black, white, navy, khaki and beige. The amount it depends from every person, there's people that love to wear the same outfit every day and others that have a full closet of different clothes. Overall I think the enought is when you know everything that it's in your closet and you wear it constantly. Honestly if I haven't use it even once in the whole year, I would probably never use it so that think I can sell it or donate it. Of course, there's some exceptions like the ones you need for special ocassions like weddings that you should still keep.