Recently my mom sent me a link to a NYTimes article about a group of people world wide who chose this summer to spend a month wearing the same six articles of clothing. Six. Just six pieces… not including beach wear, fitness gear, uniforms, outerwear, shoes or accessories.
The rules are such that you choose six tops or bottoms. You can have multiples for laundering sake, but they have to be the same color and style… ie: five white t-shirts, not five t-shirts with all different colors.
While I’m not about to give up my favorite frocks in favor of this plan, it does have its uses in individual wardrobe sections. We all have clothes we wear on the weekends, garments for going out to dinner or drinks, and other sets of clothes for the office. And something that is really important these days is what we wear to the office. If your budget is short, stick to some basics to get you through your work weeks without anyone noticing that you’re wearing the same pieces.
I’d recommend:
- a three or four piece suit (jacket, vest, skirt, slacks) in a neutral: navy, black, beige, or gray.
- 2 dress shirt in a basic color: light “French” blue, cream, pastel pink, or white
- a cashmere sweater that coordinates with your neutrals and your dress shirts
- a sheath dress in a coordinating neutral
- a shell in a basic color
What you can do with that:
- Jacket, Skirt, Shell
- Jacket, Skirt, Dress shirt 1
- Vest, Dress shirt 2, Skirt
- Sheath dress, Dress shirt 1
- Sheath Dress, Sweater
- Slacks, Dress Shirt 2, Sweater
- Slacks, Dress shirt 1, Vest
- Slacks, Sweater, Vest.
- Jacket, Sweater, Slacks
- Jacket, Shell, Slacks
- Jacket, Sheath Dress
- Sheath Dress + Belt
- Dress shirt, Skirt, Belt
- Dress shirt, Sweater, Skirt, Belt
- Jacket, Vest, Dress shirt 1, Slacks
- Jacket, Vest, Dress shirt 2, Slacks
Etc, etc, etc. That’s at least three weeks of outfits, not to mention how changing your shoes and jewelry can change the look of the outfit.
This allows you to buy higher quality items in fewer quantities, which is something that people used to do prior to the 80s.
