Episode 2: Culling Cargo

"Ship's Log, Stardate 93740.49: 

'Less is More' has to be one of my least favorite clichés.

Less is, quite decidedly, less, and not a drop more.  Why would anyone want less?

Not giving up my stuff...

However, on my quest towards lifestylism, I have discovered that less is actually quite easy. Easy to maintain, easy to store, and ridiculously easy to coordinate.  So I decided to try donating or storing all but my favorite and most versatile items, and to start a capsule wardrobe.  The resources that helped me the most with this project are Un-Fancy, and Project 333 of Bemorewithless. 

I started with my "normal"/work wardrobe for a few reasons:

    - I wear it more frequently, so it will benefit me sooner/more often;

    - I want to narrow down my "normal" style into an actual, you know, style;

    - and it's less expensive than lolita/aristocrat, so I am less worried about messing up. 

Here's my Capsule Wardrobe and Outfit Planner:

I used Google Docs to make a simple one that auto tallies my item count.  Once all my "keeper" items are filled in on top, I can fairly evenly distribute them below to make outfit ideas, which is great for when I'm running late some mornings every morning.  Going forward, I'll use this as a guide for buying/replacing items, instead of just going crazy at the store.

Here's a collage of all my current items:

I have a lot of repeating themes, such as colors (neutrals, monochromatic, and wine), cuts (asymmetry, drape and layering), and materials (chiffon, wool, and vegan leather) which help everything work well together in different combinations. 

And here are some recent looks directly from my cheat sheet:

Sometimes, I will grab an accent item from my other wardrobe, like a cute purse or beret, if I want to take it out of plain hand bag and black hat territory.  

This project in minimalizm(-ish) has been so successful, I am almost angry.  Where was this method when I was a high school slob!?  My laundry now tucks neatly into three small and predictable loads, I get dressed in 5 minutes off a sticky note between emails and toast, and people think I actually put in some serious effort each morning.  (Hint: no.) 

My next step will be to apply these methods to my lolita/aristocrat wardrobe:

So far, it's at least slimmed down, but I'm not certain that it's very cohesive just yet.  Also, letting go is hard.  MOST, if not all, of the items in this wardrobe "bring me joy"...

To Be Continued...

I'd be interested in hearing what steps others might be taking to get more use out of your own wardrobes, and will leave this frequency open for response!

- Bear out!"