Nearly two months have passed since I threw out all my clothes in a fit of minimalistic maturity. I’ve waited to hammer out a sequel to the original post because, honestly, I wanted to be sure my new attitude toward style and simplicity would stick.
It’s stuck.
I was 25 years old when I started this blog. Back then, my shopping philosophy fit somewhere between, “too much is never enough,” and “if it’s on sale, it’s mine.” My closet was a revolving door, through which countless pieces passed with little to no regard for quality, fit, or timelessness.
When I look back at my outfit posts of yore, I shudder at the realization that the majority of the pieces I thought I loved only saw the light of day once or twice. After I ran out of ways to remix something, the passion I felt in the checkout line — made extra steamy by the buzz of a good bargain high — quickly fizzled. Boredom ensued. Restocking commenced. Lather, rinse, repeat. For years.
Then, the purge to end all purges.
Initially, a 50% reduction of my wardrobe was a shock; similar, I’d imagine, to chopping your waist-length hair into a pixie. But like the liberation that comes with a drastic haircut, I felt fresh and light, free to start a new chapter without baggage from a decade of style-searching and bad habits.
In the last seven weeks, I haven’t had a single morning of anxiety-ridden closet gazing. For a girl who’s spent a large chunk of her life groaning, “I have nothing to wear,” this is a big deal. Perhaps even more shocking, I haven’t felt the urge to refill the empty hangers. When your closet is stocked — not to be confused with stuffed — with quality basics and special pieces you actually love, pulling together outfits that make you feel good is a no-brainer.
I’ll tell you more about that in part 3.
To be continued!
What do you think?