Would you be able to live with only 10 clothes?
The best part of Joshua Becker's morning routine is not having to spend time thinking about what to wear. After all, you have very few options.
Becker, author of "Less is more" (The More of Less), is part of the so-called Project 333, a movement in which participants only wear 33 pieces of clothing in the course of three months.
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Less is more
"That's the perfect amount of clothes for me," explains Becker, who lives in the United States and only owns 30 clothes. "It's one less decision that I have to make every morning."
Thanks to the influence of writers and bloggers, there is a growing movement of consumers who want to simplify their lives and get rid of what they don't really need.
Some, including Becker, start with their closets, avoiding passing fads to focus on the so-called "capsule type cabinets", in which they keep a few high quality key garments.
Several of the world's most successful executives have these capsule cabinets.
In the 80s Donna Karan introduced her famous set of seven basic garments that every modern woman should possess.
Today the baton is worn by well-known faces such as Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook, and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who wear very similar clothes every day.
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This group also highlights the president of the United States, Barak Obama, who wears a blue suit or a gray suit, and Steve Jobs, who used us to his invariable black turtle neck.
Increasingly popular
While some are limited to 10 basic pieces, and additional garments depending on the season of the year, others remain within the 33 items, including accessories.
For Courtney Carver, former advertising executive and creator of Project 333 six years ago, this trend is becoming more popular.
"The truth is that you learn what the word 'enough' means," he says.
For those willing to clean their closets there is an important additional benefit: their finances will improve.
How to reduce your wardrobe
- Identify the clothes you don't wear. Keep it where you can't see it until you're ready to donate or throw it away.
- Set a limit. Determine the number of items you will have in your closet, be it 10, 33 or any other number.
- Set a deadline. Decide how long you are going to use your capsule style wardrobe. One to three months is a good time to start.
- Make a careful selection of your clothes. Replace what does not fit or is very worn, as necessary.
- Establish a "one by one" policy. When you buy a new garment, donate or boot an old one.
Carver dedicates less than US $ 1,000 a year to replace the clothes he wears, a figure clearly lower than the US $ 6,000 he used to earmark before the task of being at the last shout of fashion.
Instead of shopping almost weekly, now he explores the stores several times a year and goes on to make a list of parts to buy.
"That way, when I go shopping, I don't fall into the temptations that marketing imposes on me," he says.
Clean closet, clear mind
In addition to the financial benefit, there is also good news from the psychological point of view.
According to Jennifer Baumgartner, author of "You are what you saw," having fewer things is a way to stop giving so much importance to material things in our lives.
"We usually give meaning to our belongings that don't really have it," Baumgartner explains, in whose closet there are only 65 clothes hangers and three small drawers.
"There is no reason for our clothes to generate emotions."
On the other hand, fatigue is reduced by making decisions, a concept according to which people make worse decisions after having had to make many.
There is no magic number
But how many clothes are an ideal number?
In the words of Jennifer Scott, there is no magic number or essential type of clothing.
Scott is the author of "Lessons of Madame Chic: 20 lessons of style I learned when I lived in Paris", and in her closet there are only 10 pieces: three dresses, two jeans, three blouses, a skirt and a T-shirt.
Her wardrobe complements it with what she calls "accessories," that is, straps, jackets and sweaters.
The key to handling a small number of items is to buy items that work for different types of occasions and can be combined with other items.
"I had to make my sportswear more elegant and more casual my work clothes," Carver explained.
For example, she stopped using the formula shirt, skirt and blazer, for a more casual shirt and jean, while maintaining the same blazer.
It helps a lot to have garments in solid colors, and fabrics mixed with some stretch, which do not wrinkle.
How to achieve it
Becoming so efficient with clothes implies some trial and error.
Becker points out that he had to experiment with diverse clothes until he found a high quality one that resisted the continuous use and washing.
For him, the quality of the fabrics became a fundamental value. "Things have to be more durable," he says.
Additionally, closet minimalists, including Scott, say that to have a small closet you don't have to sacrifice style.
On the contrary, many think like Scott: having fewer clothes facilitates the "development of one's own style".
"Everything ends up combining with each other, and you look more presentable," he adds.
Scott also has a final tip: having a minimalist closet doesn't mean you stop shopping.
She suggests continuing to check counters, without buying.
"Enjoy going hunting. It feels great when you find the missing piece and cross out your list," he concludes.
