The minimalist's wardrobe

[Little Star]

I don't think its dull at all whiteshells!!! I usually find myself attracted to navy, black and grey clothing (especially pale grey!) - and I generally pair these with gold too. Although I like to put on layers of chains - I don't know if you prefer simpler accessories....it sounds like we have fairly similar taste, I think.

Go clean your room! Haha.

 

[cheiby11]

I think great inspiration for minimalism is Carolyn Bessette Kennedy

basic colours (black, white, brown, grey, navy), simple shapes, statement accessories (black Birkin, ...)
a pair of blue jeans or black trousers
a white shirt, a black tee, a tank top, a black turtleneck
a pair of black moccasins, a pair of black/beige pumps

I love her style she was a great inspiration to me.






(simplycarolyn)

 

[shadow]

I agree completely. Her styling was perfect and so it did not date. Check her website, it is full of photos.

 

[ilaughead]

I love architecture, so my tastes really stem from that and from Asian architecture, which focuses heavily on minimalism. However, I don't think I could stand wearing plain clothing. I like the idea of clothes that aren't plain, but will be stylish forever, but it's tough finding those pieces. While I don't own any designer clothes right now, Prada perfectly suits my style for the moment, because while most of the clothing is plain, some pieces are quirky and interesting. I think that my style is more 'modern' than minimalist, though.

 

[newprincesita]

welcome whiteshells......
i like the way you are thinking about your wardrobe...

...
excellent thought process...

I agree...nice to read good prose, and good ideas.

 

[Tushka_BeLLa]

I've learnt so much from this thread ... I can really relate to what you are saying whiteshells...

On the subject of basics .... what should be in every minimalists wardrobe, from shoes to clothing to bags to jewellery?

 

[whiteshells]

On the subject of basics .... what should be in every minimalists wardrobe, from shoes to clothing to bags to jewellery?

I kind of tried to ask this but got few replies. Personally I think pants are a good place to begin. As long as you know what kind of wardrobe you want. Pants can be worn a few times a week. To many people, black pants are necessary. I also think jeans and another pair of pants are good. Personally I don't really like brown, so I'll go for dark gray pants.

I was digging through my clothes lastnight and found that I have a few too many skirts. Why do I have so many? I rarely go anywhere that requires a skirt. haha I decided that I don't need a black skirt. You don't need to be boring and cliche to have everything match. Just be mindful of what you already have. So I picked out my gray pleated skirt to keep. I love this skirt. It's perpetually perfect. I got it at Target last fall I think, and it always looks brand new. I've never ever thought to iron it.

I think everything should be atleast slightly planned ahead. Remember what things you already have when you go shopping. My plan is to have a black bag and a cream bag. Black is an easy color to imagine in my head, so I'll bring the cream with me and see if it matches the tops I want to buy. If they don't match, they're no good to me. So basically, wear the most ambiguous items in your wardrobe when you're shopping.

I can't really answer for what the most important things in your closet are, since I'm really not that experienced. I think the best advice is to go with your heart. I need my flats. But I don't love all flats, I love my flats. And they happen to go with almost everything for some reason. They're not black, they're a white/dark brown tweed from Target (Target is the only shop in my small city btw hahah.) and they always have class. I can't really explain right now why some things are great to have. They just are.

Another necessity for me is my gold little pinecone necklace. haha I've decided on gold as my color, rather than silver. It brings richness to my blue/gray pallet. I think you need jewelry that really means something to you, and then you'll hopefully put it on most.

 

[Curious]

^ Such a good point to stay in touch with what's already IN your wardrobe!

I gravitate towards the same types of items and will wind up with the same things over and over if I'm not careful
Looking for great quality and caring for them properly will insure they last a long time.
I HATE replacing classic items, so I invest up front to save time & hassle later.
Regardless of how much money you have to spend, get the best quality YOU can afford and it will pay off!

I would think the keys to minimalism are buying separates & knowing your body type.
The types of items you get would be driven by your frame and personal preference, whether it be skirts/pants, dressy/casual, etc.
Think about the types of things you do daily and events you may have coming up for the year and fill in the gaps keeping in mind what you already own.
Even though, it's minimalist, it's still personal so it's hard to guage what EVERY minimalist wardrobe must have.
One minimalist may hate skirts while the other hates pants.

As far as colors, sticking to neutrals is wise.
Then you can pop in color as desired from season to season.
I also consider red to be neutral. It goes with EVERYthing!
I'd highly recommend a classic red handbag as a go-to handbag. Mine's fabulous
Latte/nude/cognac shades also go with everything

 

[whiteshells]

^ I totally know what you mean about color. But I think yellow is my new red. I still love red though. Last winter I had a red bag and red gloves. ... But one day this girl pointed to my gloves and said, "Are those your Cruella Deville gloves?" haha. Uhh I started getting curious about other colors too at that point.

 

[Curious]

Oh.. yellow's great too!!

One of my girlfriend's had a mustard colored bag that was adorable and went with everything! She described it as 'it doesn't go with anything, therefore, it goes with everything'. I loved that

Cruella Deville

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Very good advice from Curious

One mistake I think people make when paring down their wardrobes IMO is thinking that duplicates necessarily point to a mistake. I have one pair of black pants and one pair of black jeans ... some would say that's all you need, but that assumes nothing ever has to go to the cleaners I definitely don't have enough ivory tops in my wardrobe, because every little thing that happens (from a flying drop of spaghetti sauce to a dog licking me at the dog park ) shows and it's off to the cleaners again.

So my advice would be, be very careful about paring to the absolute minimum, because any little thing can leave you with a hole in your wardrobe that has the potential to create a state of emergency If you have basic items that you like, even if you're not wearing the item this season, hang onto it for the future.

There's a prior thread where we talked about some of this stuff, I know it includes the word "French" if you want to search on that ... this was based on the rumor that French women are the best-dressed on earth, and buy only 2-5 pieces a season ... and what that might actually mean. I think this may be more what you're talking about than minimalist style in the strictest sense?

I too have suffered from the "Oh, I bought that thing I already had six of again" syndrome, but I don't anymore because I meticulously plan now. Each season I buy a new pair of jeans, a new piece to facilitate what's already in my wardrobe (with an eye to what I discarded at the end of the prior corresponding season), a new (usually complete) outfit of separates, two new pairs of shoes, new makeup, haircut, etc. There's generally a color scheme and all the new stuff goes together. So there's no random shopping with random results ...

 

[inAbottle]

I'm starting to clean out my wardrobe too. Lately I've been shoppnig with my mind focusing on less can be more.

 

[fashionista-ta]

PS Forgot to say, I also agree with Curious that (regardless of what you might read in magazines) there are no universal wardrobe rules. You can make a minimalist wardrobe that works for you out of almost anything. You can do without virtually any must-have ... I have lived my whole life without the perfect LBD, something that my life apparently doesn't require When my perfect black pants finally bit the dust, I lived for awhile with no black pants (except for my velvet ones--there's a handy thing to have btw) ... although that's something I'd rather not do

I wear skirts a lot, but I know women who never wear them. So really it's up to you. What I've done is build a little series of capsule wardrobes. Life would be easier if I'd stop throwing so many different colors into the mix, but that's what makes it fun

 

[just_me]

What rules is there to say that you got a minimalist wardrobe?

Is there enough not to wear any frills or particular colour just stick with simple but strong designs.

I've always considered yself as a bit of a minimalist but this thread makes me reconsider, some of the pictures just seem a bit too plain for me.

But I always think quality over quantity.

 

[Tushka_BeLLa]

Can anyone post some examples of minimalism? Like from the runway?

 

[whiteshells]

Can anyone post some examples of minimalism? Like from the runway?

There was another thread a while back based on minimalism on the runway for a certain season. I saved some of the pictures and I'll add some of my own too.

From style.com

 

[just_me]

I like minimalism when it's done in more interesting ways as on the runway, not just a jeans-and white tshirt look, that's so boring.

 

[whiteshells]

I like minimalism when it's done in more interesting ways as on the runway, not just a jeans-and white tshirt look, that's so boring.

I agree. I always want to look my best. But not by digging through three baskets of clothes in the morning like I used to do. Or making myself dizzy with too many accessories at once.

I've concluded that the whole subject is complicated and very personal. For me it's mostly about philosophies. Also trying to accept that what I have is enough and feeling really fabulous with what I have on. It's an aim to be stricter, and live richer.

 

[cheiby11]

I've chosen some black (grey) and white (cream) outfits based on a white shirt. It doesn't need to be boring - you just can add an interesting accesory, the cuts and style are different, but it all depends on your mood/taste/...

Narciso Rodriguez


Ralph Lauren


Ann Demeulemeester


Junya Watanabe


Martine Sitbon


Carolina Herrera


Narciso Rodriguez


Stella McCartney


Fashionista - you said it very well. I'd got the "Oh, I bought that thing I already had six of again" syndrome as well. And it was a big mistake. If you look at the closets of people who are said to have style, you can see that they pick up pieces that fits them and they have more pieces of them. If you love a grey trousers - you can have six pairs of them or more, just how you want. No grey trousers are identical - different material, cut, shade, ...

 

[newprincesita]

I´ve just written a long and (I thought) inspired reply but this bloody PC erased it before I could post it.

To sum it up, I think new additions to wardrobe should feel like you already owned them.

If you feel in your guts that something is dubious, less than perfect... It´s better to refrain from buying.

The better clothes I bought were like a love affair...I knew right away that I was gonna love them. And when I bought stuff having second thoughts....I regreted it.

The world is full of clothes, and somehere lays the perfect item you search. It´s better not to be tempted by "not so perfect" things...because eventually you´ll find the one you love and that will be with you for a long time.

The perfect clothes ane the one that always work, that never let you down and the ones that when you see yourself in a mirror during the day you think...Yay! This looks good on me! instead of... What was I thinking?
The same thing with uncomfortable stuff that can look good but makes you feel contrived or simply NOT yourself.

It´s awful to buy stuff and regret the money you´ve payed for them, even if it´s only a few dollars.

Something you pay 20 bucks is expensive if you look bad in it or you never wear it.