THE MINIMAL WARDROBE //

These past couple of months I've been intrigued by the concept of a 'minimal wardrobe' - a coherent, streamlined collection of clothing where each piece matches harmoniously with the others to create a multitude of different looks. A wardrobe that revolves around quality pieces, core basics and added fun bits (and not the other way around). Now, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has a wardrobe stuffed full of clothes and still claims to have 'nothing to wear'. Come on... Anyone? Anybody? Just me? Okay.

I'm quite taken by the idea of having a few select items of clothing that I love and wear to death - and know I can rely on - rather than a closet full of clothing that I don't make the most of. Which is my current situation. Lately I've been reading up on ways to cull and organise my wardrobe, in order to make the most of what I have.

I especially love the quote by Vivienne Westwood above, about being selective and choosing carefully - the emphasis is on quality, not quantity. In order to help me with being more intentional with my purchases and to create a curated collection of clothing, I've decided to shift my shopping habits in line with the 5 Piece French Wardrobe Principle.

The Principle:
- Invest in classic pieces and well-chosen basics
- Add only five statement pieces to the basic wardrobe each season to update your look
- Basics, socks, accessories and underwear don't count
- Everything else (e.g. coats, shoes, bags) counts
*And I'm also 'breaking the rules' like Sophie (see below) by allowing second hand shopping and thrifting.

Here's the recommended reading/watching list:
- Sophie of The Private Life of A Girl has done an awesome collection of posts on her own 'minimal wardrobe in the making', which I found to be incredibly helpful, and which is what inspired me in the first place. See here and here to get started.
- WhoWhatWear has also written some great articles on editing your wardrobe, such as this, this and this.
- Here's a fun wardrobe spring cleaning video by Anna of Vivianna Does Makeup and another one by Lily of Lily Pebbles.

I think my greatest struggle with this will be not spending excessively on 'basics' and everything else that is justifiable (i.e. on the list of essentials). I'm in the middle of clearing out my closet, but I admit that I'm not very good at being ruthless when it comes to getting rid of clothes - wish me luck!

Image via At Home In Love


Have you heard of the '5 Piece French Wardrobe'?
Is your wardrobe "organised chaos" like mine? ;) x