I have been so inspired by minimalists over the last year or so. People close to me can attest to the massive purging of objects that has taken place from my house and from my life. It’s been so dramatic that my brother mostly-joked twice that he wanted to make sure I wasn’t suicidal.
I will write more about my minimalness in future posts. I do want to just mention here that for me, it is all about freedom and joy, my two top values. I get giddy about having fewer possessions. I feel lighter, happier, more focused. And did I mention free.
I do, however, feel hampered sometimes in my wardrobe minimation by three factors:
- I’m a female, and subject to at least some of the attendant fashion expectations.
- I have a day job, which I’m grateful allows for a mostly casual dress code, but which does require occasional business trips and client meetings.
- I live in Pittsburgh! So I need different wardrobes for different seasons, and lots of different outerwear.
I was just starting to feel like I wanted to reign my wardrobe in a bit more when I came across Project 333 (click the link to check it out!), in which participants are limiting themselves to 33 items of clothing and accessories for 3 months — October 1 to December 31. It’s never too late to join, so I started today! I’ll continue through January 12.
Project 333 is the brainchild of Courtney Carver at Be More with Less. According to the guidelines, you do count clothes, shoes, outerwear, accessories, jewelry. You don’t count wedding rings, undergarments, or anything worn solely for sleeping, working out, or lounging about the house.
Let me just say: I am so, so, so excited. I love this idea. I am looking forward to all three months of this. It feels like fun, and joy, and freedom. Which is why I’m doing it. And which I mention in case anyone might feel like this type of thing is about self-deprivation.
I encourage anyone out there who might feel a little glimmer of freedom, joy, or or something else that makes you smile at the thought of trying this to go for it. What is there to lose? It’s just three months anyway.
Since I’ve been minimizing my wardrobe a lot already, I’ve cut back on a lot of the more specialized feminine fashion type stuff. I don’t wear heels anymore, for many reasons. I wear very few skirts, not on principle, but just because it’s what’s working right now in my life. Paring down jewelry was a big step for me, and wearing almost none for 3 months will be an interesting (probably liberating) experience.
One more thing I love about joining Project 333 is that the ground rules are set by someone else. Counting the things in your life means you have to have ground rules about what constitutes a “thing,” and everyone’s rules are slightly different. I like the idea of following someone else’s ground rules for a while, to kinda give my brain a rest about it. And these are ground rules I can live with.
So, here’s my list of 33 things:
- jeans
- black pants
- jeans – backup
- black 3/4 sleeve work appropriate t-shirt
- pink patterned 3/4 sleeve work appropriate t-shirt
- gray sweater shell (which I discovered today doubles as a cute vest — and until today, I probably haven’t worn anything remotely vest-like since 3rd grade!)
- black turtleneck (somewhat risky choice because it’s brand new, but I think it will come in handy for layering later)
- maroon long-sleeve t-shirt
- blue long-sleeve t-shirt
- purple t-shirt
- gray sweater
- navy sweater (not really the best color choice to go with the other stuff on this list, but I already have it, and it’s nice)
- purple sweater
- brownish velour jacket
- gray drapey cardigan jacket
- black drapey cardigan jacket
- my dad’s old plaid shirt
- Evo barefoot running shoes (my every-day shoes)
- black tall casual but cute boots (my every-day cold weather shoes)
- black fall-weight coat
- pinkish-red winter jacket
- fuzzy polka dot hat
- black gloves
- black and hot pink houndstooth cotton scarf (outerwear + accessory)
- teal-colored Swatch
- silver slightly dangly earrings (these might just stay in my ears the whole time)
- sunglasses
- wallet-like purse-ish thing
- messenger bag (made by the amazing and Pittsburgh-based moop)
- black suit jacket (in the event of client meeting)
- gray pants (to wear with black suit jacket)
- black business-y shoes (to wear with suit jacket and gray pants)
- long black skirt (and if I need to wear it, I hope it is outdoors in December, as I think my boots are actually the girliest shoe option on this list)
Caveats and confessions:
- I’m not counting my Croc-type foam clogs, since they are only worn on quick dog walks and for picking up dog poop in my tiny backyard. Since I also sometimes wear my PJ’s to do these things, and since these activities currently constitute a not-insubstantial portion of my “exercise,” I figure this is fair. They’re in no respect a wardrobe item.
- I’m a little cranky about counting my “purse” and messenger bag, since they are not worn and I don’t consider them accessories…but I’ve decided to play by this rule anyway. Same for sunglasses, since I mainly use them for driving and watching my nephew’s soccer and baseball games. I would rather have squeezed in a necklace or two and maybe another t-shirt, but whatever.
- I’m not counting the tiny hoop earring that sits at the top of my ear. Because it’s just sort of *there* and I don’t feel like making it *not there* at this time. In fact, I almost forgot about it entirely. If other people start counting their tattoos then I’ll consider counting it.
- My hair is in a growing-out phase and some type of hair-wrangling item could become necessary during this project. If that happens, I’ll stick to plain bobby pins only, as invisible as possible.
- Since married people don’t have to count their wedding rings, I’m reserving the right to wear my grandma’s onyx ring when the mood strikes me. I’m sure I could do without the ring, I’m just representing for singletons.
- Even though sleepwear, workout clothes, undergarments and loungey items are not part of this project, I’m going to ride this wave and reduce them. More on that later perhaps.
- Just as a note, all of the items on the list are vegan to my knowledge except the business-y shoes (leather), the black suit jacket (contains wool), the gray sweater (contains cashmere), and the black fall-weight coat (wool), all of which I’ve had since before my vegish transition (I think I’ve had the shoes and fall coat for over 10 years).
I want to say thanks to Courtney Carver over at Be More with Less for the fresh inspiration, and to all the other bloggers who are writing about it! Let the fun begin.
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