I’m a proud member of the Outfit Repeater’s Club.
Over the last two months, I spoke in 13 different cities to more than 2000 people. With the exception of one city, I wore the same outfit to every single event. I wore black leggings, a light weight gray sweater, and black boots. I even wore this outfit during other outings on my trip. I wore the same outfit over and over again.
Because I am a proud member of the outfit repeater’s club, I can think about things that matter more to me than what I’m wearing or what other people may think about what I’m wearing.
In 2010, my first round of minimalist fashion challenge Project 333 changed the way I thought about my clothes, my stuff, and my spending habits. The challenge invited me to embrace the joy and ease of dressing with less.
Wearing only 33 items of clothing including accessories, jewelry, and shoes make me realize …
I need way less than I think to be happy.
The more I had, the more I wanted. It seemed like my clothes needed more clothes. “That sweater would go great with those jeans I have,” I would think. Or, “A new scarf or belt will really pull this look together.” My constant quest for more resulted in frustration, overspending, and discontent. Choosing from a small selection of thirty-three made me feel light, and I almost immediately felt gratitude for what I had instead of thinking about the next thing I needed.
No one cares what I’m wearing.
When I started the challenge, I was working full-time. Between in office sales meetings, client lunches, and community events, I was out and about most of the time, with many of the same people. No one noticed I was wearing the same few things for three months. My colleagues didn’t notice, my clients didn’t notice. I actually received more compliments. I even wore the same dress to every holiday function and event that year.
Deciding what to wear requires mental energy better spent on other things.
Have you ever experienced decision fatigue? I used to spend so much brain power buying things, chasing sales and figuring out what to wear. I remember trying on several outfits getting ready in the morning in hopes of finding the perfect thing. Now, in curating a small capsule wardrobe, there are no daily decisions required. I get to wear my favorite things every day.
Spending less energy being creative in my wardrobe has freed up more creative energy for things I am more interested in.
Instead of planning outfits, shopping for colorful scarves to complete a look, or figuring out what to wear every morning, I use my creative energy for actually creating. Spending less of that energy on my wardrobe means I have more of it for writing, photography, brainstorming and other things that I care about.
A simple closet is the gateway to a simple life.
Once you begin to enjoy the benefits of dressing with less, you’ll get very curious about living with less. Simplicity in the closet seeps into every other area of your home and life. Once I realized how little I needed in the closet not only to get by but to thrive, I wondered what else was holding me back from even more joy and ease. Did I really need all of those spatulas and wire whisks? Was anything in the junk drawer worth holding to? Did I even need a junk drawer?
The challenge was never about clothes or fashion.
Dressing with fewer items didn’t make me more interested in clothes or fashion. Instead I realized that all those times I thought, “I love shopping,” I didn’t really know what I loved. Removing all the more, more, more from my closet helped me figure out what mattered to me, what I was curious about, and how I wanted to live my life.
I’m so glad I decided to trade the excess in my closet and life for more joy and ease.
A new season of minimalist fashion challenge begins on April 1st. If you want to give it a try, you can find all of the rules here. For a deeper dive and more inspiration and instruction read chapter fifteen in Soulful Simplicity or take the Dress with Less Course.
Who knows, you may become a proud member of the Outfit Repeater’s Club too.
I’ve been a member of the outfit repeaters club since 2005. Since 2013 I’ve upped my membership and gone with having three of the same outfit that I wear daily. It’s nice having to decide what it is I’m going to wear.
Your advice is so good! Especially the observation that people don’t care/notice about what one is wearing. I worked for years in a very high-profile profession and somehow thought it really mattered for me to wear different stuff all the time. At some point, I started going to a few almost uniform items, and just as you have said: people started noting that I looked really good etc. It’s the internal vibes being reflected and projected from the face that matter – the rags on the body are really irrelevant! – Keep up your good work!
Love this: “it seemed like my clothes needed more clothes”. It’s so true how it can create a bit of a cycle if we’re not conscious about it!
I also discovered I had certain brands of clothes I like. All my jeans are the same brand. All my yoga pants are the same brand. All my knit shirts are the same brand. I no longer even look at other brands. Which saves even more time, money and energy.
Courtney, I saw you at the Oxford Exchange in Tampa and you looked fantastic! I have been reading your blog and working on simplifying my life. I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff and made time to rest, read, and even sit and do nothing! Thank you so much for your work. Beginning on March 15 I am not shopping for clothes, shoes, etc. for a year. I am realizing what a waste of precious time it is!
The first time when I’ve tried your Project 333, I started getting compliments on how I look. I don’t know how and why it works so, but it’s true. Now I’m switching my wardrobe to dresses which free me from decisions of matching tops with bottoms.
Such a fan of this! Minimalism in clothing is such a metaphor for life. It’s about our experiences and our internal state, not what we have to prove to the world. Thanks for the wise words and support. Keep inspiring!
Love the idea of wearing less stuff and creating a wardrobe with only the essentials. And you’re right that people rarely notice what you’re wearing. Mostly, people are obsessed with themselves.
Me and other retirees ditched the dresses, skirts long ago, live in athletic wear (not leggings)joggers and yoga pants, capris. Using neutral on the bottoms, tops goes with anything. I chose blues and green tones for tops, long sleeve shirts are chambray, denim or khaki left unbuttoned over tees and tanks. Have several subtle plaid blouses/shirts. Dress pants are worn w. blazers and tops. outerwear is neutral. A capsule wardrobe is the goal, still have to purge.
Another member of the club here! *waves* A lot of what you’ve said are things I’ve found true too. It’s freeing and less wasteful to approach clothes this way.
i went on my honeymoon wore the same 3 outfits for 6 days . I had to tell my husband to bring less clothes him being a boy scout always prepared lol.
wearing the same clothes was great since we had to walk to our hotel we both ended up getting sick so they less we had to carry the better off we were.