Styles Good For Miles: The Benefits Of Having A Small Wardrobe
Would you be surprised to learn that the apparel industry is one of the most dominant industries in America?
The U.S. apparel industry today is a 12 billion dollar business, and the average family spends $1700 a year strictly on clothing.
There’s certainly no denying that times are-a-changing when it comes to the amount of clothing one has in possession. In the 1930’s, the average American woman owned nine outfits. Today that number is closer to 30.
While the world keeps telling us that we need more, more more, we’re beginning to think we want less, less, less.
Being a fashionista with a small wardrobe may sound like an oxymoron. However, downsizing your closet can save you money and actually better your sense of style.
Spring is the perfect time to minimize your wardrobe. Today we are outlining six of the best benefits of having a small wardrobe:
It Saves You Money
There’s no denying that downsizing your closet can save you some serious money.
Because you are being conscious about spending money on clothing, it saves you from purchasing items on a limb for reasons such as a sale or the item coming in multiple colors or patterns.
This doesn’t mean we have to eliminate shopping from our lives. It just means that we need to find companies that don’t break the bank yet still provide quality items.
Finding affordable, yet still, quality companies such as Fairweather helps to keep shopping exciting while helping to manage your wardrobe and your wallet.
Next time you consider purchasing a clothing item, ask yourself:
- How does this item make me feel?
- Do I have similar items already in my closet?
- Can I see myself confidently wearing this item in a few years?
- Will spending this money evoke feelings of anxiety with my bank account?
- Do I feel my most confident in this outfit?
If you find yourself humming and hawing over your answer, it’s probably best to move on.
It Helps to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
As much as we’d like to ignore this fact, there’s no denying that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world.
The yearly production of garments consumes a massive amount of natural resources and significantly contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases.
This one is plain and simple: when you focus more of your energy on minimalism and less on consumerism, fewer items are disposed of in our landfills. Choosing to buy less clothing eventually leads to minimizing demand and production of clothing.
Simple? Yes. Effective. Extremely.
When we think back to the clothes we’ve purchased throughout the season, it’s no surprise that a handful of these items have yet to be worn and remain unseen in the back of our closet.
And, so, we ask ourselves: Why do we continue to build our clothing inventory and purchase items that we really don’t need?
It Maximizes Space
Desperate closets call for desperate measure.
For all of those city dwellers operating out of a shoebox apartment, this one is for you. And, New York City urbanites we’re especially looking at you.
The fact of the matter is, small apartments equal small closets.
If you plan to continue living that urban dream, you’re going to have to adjust your clothing inventory and reduce your wardrobe.
The result? A closet that isn’t bursting at the seams, doesn’t stress you out and might actually have a little extra wiggle room.
You’ll also notice you begin to purchase less of the same item time and time again. While before it may have been a task to keep track of your inventory, your new minimalist wardrobe allows you to easily see and keep track of all of your items.
What does this mean? Less “where did those pants go” moments.
It Saves You Time and Stress
Think of minimizing your wardrobe like decluttering your home.
Once you rid yourself of the items that no longer bear use or bring you happiness, you’ll begin to notice your stress levels decreasing. By simply having fewer options to choose from an agonize over, outfit selection becomes a quick, painless and entirely less frustrating process.
How do we begin?
Challenge yourself to get rid of any wardrobe items meeting these criteria:
- You don’t feel confident in it
- You have not worn it for three months
- It does not currently fit you
- You’re keeping it because it was expensive
- You are holding onto it for sentimental reasons
As soon as your closet is only comprised of items you love and actually enjoy wearing, you’re going to wonder why you ever held on these past items. You’ll also notice that you begin to appreciate more the clothing that you do keep.
You’ll be Noticeably More Creative
Continuing to increase our wardrobe rids us of the need for creativity.
Why endlessly browse through your closet when you could just buy a new dress? While this temptation is hard to deny, it’s important to remind ourselves that new is not always better.
Having a small wardrobe to choose from, you’ll naturally become more creative and experimental in curating outfits. Slowly but surely, you’ll begin to notice you are pairing together items you never thought twice about before. And, guess what? It works.
While we once may have bought an entirely new outfit for an upcoming occasion, we are now experimenting with how to make our favorite little black dress a little more new and inventive.
Ready to Kickstart Your Small Wardrobe?
We know, we know -this whole wardrobe elimination thing can be a little intimidating.
After all, we get joy out of buying and wearing beautiful items that we allow us to feel our best selves.
The truth is, having a small wardrobe doesn’t mean you have to put an end to shopping. Instead, it encourages us to embrace a new type of shopping. This is one in which we think more honestly and more rationally about every item we purchase.
Once you embrace this minimalism, you will begin to notice that every item holds a special place in your heart, allows you to feel confident and serves many benefits to your wardrobe.
Goodbye unused items taking up a prime real estate in your closet; Hello ample space, reduced stress and a whole new attitude towards clothing in general.
Leave us a comment if you have any thoughts.