What's the total number of items I can have to build out a minimalist wardrobe?
That's a great question.
It's critically important.
Absolutely, utterly important that you have no more than 89 items in your wardrobe.
All right, hey guys, welcome back to Style Tips for the Everyday Guy by Cladwell, where
you can get your personal roadmap to dress better.
I'm Eric.
I'm Chris.
And today, we're talking about a minimalist wardrobe.
Cool.
Very cool.
So, first of all Chris, what is it?
And what are the common features of a minimalist wardrobe?
Ok.
Couple of things you need to know.
One, when we're talking about a minimalist wardrobe, you have only the clothes you need.
Simple.
Right?
So, a lot of times that means that you buy quality over quantity.
It doesn't have to mean that, but it usually does.
And those things that you buy are versatile items.
So, often neutral colors.
Things that go with other things in your wardrobe really easily.
And I think we've found it's not - to be a minimalist, it doesn't necessarily mean that
it's an exact certain number of items you have in your life, whether it's clothes or
anything else.
Yeah, we don't want you to get stuck in this rigid structure where you have to have less
than 50 or 30 or whatever.
Yeah, it's weird because often times you're trying to free yourself up from a lot of things
in life, and then if you go overly focused on the number, you're still (you're right
back in it) trapped about how many things.
So, I want to read something from TheMinimalists.com.
These guys, they have tons of great stuff about minimalism because they are TheMinimalists.com.
But, they're really cool.
I've been following their stuff for a while.
They say, "minimalism is a tool used to rid yourself of life's excess in favor of focusing
on what's important so you can find happiness, fulfillment and freedom."
That sounds great.
Yeah, I'll have that.
That sounds really good!
Ok, so let's talk about that.
If I have a minimalist wardrobe, what are the benefits of that to me?
Yeah, so first and foremost, it's going to save you money.
Honestly, in the long run, even if you're buying quality, you're going to save up for
one or two things vs. maybe you'd buy ten before.
Those things are going to last you longer.
(Yeah).
So, you're going to save money which is really great.
Also, it's a more simple system, so it frees up mind space every morning when you're getting
dressed.
Everything kind of goes with everything else.
So, you're spending less time thinking about that.
(You don't have to think so much about outfits and putting things together because most of
the stuff goes together).
It just works.
That's really awesome.
Yeah, and so if you live in a small place too.
My wife and I, our bedroom right now is very small.
So, we don't have a lot of closet space.
So, this actually takes up less room.
Less things in storage, which is really nice.
(Moving?)
Oh!
Yeah, tell me about it.
So, those are really some great benefits, and there's also one more.
Yeah, well there are environmental benefits too.
If we're consuming less as a society ... there's actually real damaging affect on the world
that's happening that we might not realize.
We read a book called Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline.
Amazing book!
And our CEO, Blake Smith, wrote an article, How Fast Fashion is Ruining the World.
We'll link to that below.
But it's a big deal.
There are some alarming statistics in there.
We're just consuming like crazy ... just disposable clothing.
Just like fast food really.
Yeah, it's really worth everybody's time just to learn a little bit more about what's going
on.
It is.
Ok, so if I actually want to build a minimal wardrobe, how do I do it?
Great question!
Go to Cladwell.
We're going to give you a wardrobe.
It's a list of everything you need and only the things you need.
So, that's the best place to start honestly.
And once you have that list, take it.
Look at your own closet, and start to purge.
If there's something you have in your closet that's not on what we have recommended to
you, consider getting rid of it.
Yeah.
Purging is a really fascinating part of this process.
If you've ever done it, just kind of gone through your closet and thrown some stuff
away or donated it, even better.
What are the standards I should have for keeping an item of clothing in my wardrobe if I'm
doing a minimal wardrobe?
Yeah, I think there is a simple rule here.
One standard.
You have to love the thing you're considering keeping.
Ask yourself one question.
Do you love it?
And so what I'm going to suggest is don't actually rip everything out of your closet
all at once because you might have an item, like a shirt, and think, "you know what, I
don't love it, but it goes with all of these other things", and that's not what I want
you to do.
Even though we're pursuing versatility, we're going to start with just things that you love.
So, consider each item in isolation.
Do I love this thing?
It's crazy.
If you guys go through this process, and I did it several months back.
I went through my closet and said, "what are the things I'm not wearing?".
I just asked that simple question as my entry question.
And I donated like 40 items without blinking.
And it was really fascinating!
I went back, and I kind of left some things that I knew I didn't truly love.
But, I kind of left them as a safety net thinking, "I can't get rid of everything!".
But now that I've gone back into it, I realize I can get rid of that stuff.
I actually don't need those things.
And it really does start freeing you up.
(It feels so great!)
It really does feel good.
You actually hit on something else that I think is really important and that is - take
your time.
Take your time as you purge and as you build that minimalist wardrobe.
Because like you said, you're going to go back and purge a second round, because you're
learning a little bit about yourself.
And so that first purging, if you find that there are only two or three things that you
really love, that's ok!
And you don't have to get rid of everything all at once.
You know, just replace stuff slowly over time.
(That's great).
So guys, if you're out and wanting to build your minimal wardrobe, we hope this was really
helpful for you.
If it was, give it a thumbs up.
If you've already been on this journey for a while, we'd love to hear your comments below.
Share some more insights so that more people can benefit from it, because just as you're
going on a style journey, building out a minimalist wardrobe is kind of a journey in and of itself.
Like I said, if you guys have any other questions besides related to this video, leave a comment.
We'd love to hear your style questions.
Be sure to check out Cladwell.
Check out your minimal wardrobe.
We've built this for you.
It serves as a step by step checklist guide for you right there.
And that's a great place to start.
So, thanks so much guys for watching today.
We'll see you next time.