What I’m Wearing:
Herff Christiansen harem/slouchy leggings | no longer available (designed in the US, made in Peru)
Karen Kane top | gift for review, it’s NOT the handkerchief top, but it is similar (made in the US)
No6 Clogs | made in the US
3.1 Phillip Lim Ryder Satchel | $100 off at Forzieri with code 057B8A
(you didn’t think I’d be WEARING Rick Owens did you? although as an afterthought, maybe this outfit is a bit Rick Owens-ish…)
Since we started talking about “the minimal wardrobe” I keep thinking back to a Rick Owens quote I read in this month’s Bazaar:
It takes me minutes to dress – I’ve worn the same black outfit for years, like a priest. Or a prisoner. I can’t imagine having to choose something that I might sour on later in the day.
I’m thinking A LOT about it. Is it virtuous to have a uniform? Or somehow “better”? Does having a uniform also mean having a minimal wardrobe? Is a minimal wardrobe minimal in SIZE? or in color/style? I think that all depends. It seems like Rick’s wardrobe isn’t necessarily minimal in size, just in color/style. But I’m mostly intrigued by how he refers to his way of dressing as like a priest, OR a prisoner. It’s the prisoner characteristic that’s interesting.
If we get too caught up in identifying and wearing a uniform, isn’t that sort of a self-imposed prison? Is having fewer clothing choices freeing? or confining? Does it get old and drab after a while, or does it actually free us to deal with other things besides our outfits every day? Rick says it does – he goes on to say that not thinking about HIS OWN clothes allows him to think about designing them for other people. I think for me it does as well – when I know that whatever I put on for the day is going to look good and feel good all day, I am comfortable and “free” to not think about what I’m wearing the rest of the day. If I do wear something that is different for me, or tends to go against my “uniform,” I don’t feel like me; I get frustrated and can’t wait to get home and change. Again, Rick hits the nail on the head when he says that he can’t imaging “having to choose something that I might sour on later in the day.”
So funny that the man who designs “the uniform” that I’d like to wear everyday – who DOESN’T want to LIVE in Rick Owens?? – is talking about his own uniform. But I think it apropos that he designs exactly as he wants to dress; it’s what makes him so appealing.
I’m still thinking about my uniform though. I don’t think I have one. How can going from wanting to wear slim jeans & loafers with an oversized top one day and slouchy pants, clogs and a fitted top another day be consistent with a uniform? Unless my uniform is just a neutral color palette?
This also gets me back to minimal – I do feel a “pull” to pare down my wardrobe and to have fewer things, but at the same time, I like the idea of being able to play with my clothes and dress according to how I feel on a given day. That’s why I have such a hard time packing for trips; I try to cram everything in there I think I might feel like wearing, which always ends up to be way too much. And as I mentioned before, when I look at the clothes hanging in my closet, I feel burdened a little, and overwhelmed by how many things I have. Maybe I love most of those things, but I don’t reach for them enough – I don’t wear them a lot. It makes me feel bad. I have this idea that lovely things should be worn and appreciated, not hang in a closet…
I do think it’s worth while to think about what you wear most often and focus on acquiring those pieces in the highest quality you can afford. For “play pieces” maybe you invest a little less? Ultimately, I am concerned with filling my wardrobe with pieces I love and that love me back – in terms of how they fit, how they make me feel, and how they express my personality. As long as that is the end goal (is there ever an “end” to building a wardrobe?), then it doesn’t matter if my wardrobe is actually “minimal,” or if I have a “uniform.”
Thoughts?
No thanks!!! Variety is the spice of life for me. I almost never wear the same outfit mixed in the same way twice. I don’t think it is MORE or LESS virtuous to be a minimalist–it is a matter of preference.I like the creative outlet wardrobe variety affords me, I can afford it, I’m not hurting anyone, so what’s wrong with it? Just like there is nothing wrong with having a uniform.
It is funny to me that it seems that lots of designers have their own personal uniforms-Rick Owens, Vera Wang, Michael Kors, just to name a few. It’s like they use up all of their creative juices dressing other people.
” Is having fewer clothing choices freeing? or confining? Does it get old and drab after a while, or does it actually free us to deal with other things besides our outfits every day?”
This is a big can of thought worms, but the one thought I keep going back to was college. When I was my most broke, when my wardrobe was it’s smallest (though arguably, after my weight gain it was also as small), and I was also at my most creative fashion wise. I remember so many of my pieces from that period – a great black & white striped shirt, a handful of Gap Favorite tees, well fitting jeans, a small variety of well-worn and loved shoes, a few dresses purchased on sale or splurged on. And yet, I never felt so creative in my life. All purchases were weighed heavily because I was a broke college kid. I mixed and matched amazingly, and always felt put together.
It probably doesn’t help I was at my slimmest at that point, so I felt great in everything I wore. But it was a functional closet and one I always felt creative in. It’s definitely something I strive to create again (but often feel imbalanced with).
I don’t have an answer of whether minimal is in quantity or style, but I think it lies somewhere in between.
In many ways, I do feel I have a uniform (which I wrote about recently). I love to purchase the same piece that fits & flatters in multiple colors. I style and remix it with a variety of accessories. This is a habit I’ve always had (and used to get teased for) – but why waste time & money on pieces you don’t feel amazing in??
i definitely think you have a uniform! you’re always wearing gorgeous, colorful dresses or skirts/tops that look just perfect on you. i think you know what works for you and you stick with it. a lot of the time i feel like my style is schizophrenic! like i’m all over the place…but maybe that IS my style? i don’t know why i want so hard to fit it into a pre-defined mold. i want to be minimal & edgy & casual at the same time. Sometimes all of those things go together, but a lot of times they don’t. and so what if they don’t???
sadly, i can’t remember a time when i had a very limited wardrobe (i probably did, but literally, i CAN’T REMEMBER it ;)) – maybe college? but i didn’t care one bit about what i wore or how i dressed then, so i wouldn’t have paid attention.
lol at “a big can of thought worms” – it definitely is 🙂 but i always love a good conversation!
now that you mention it, i probably don’t wear the same outfit the same way twice either. i like to come up with different combinations and silhouettes…i don’t think i’m destined to have a minimal wardrobe!!!
Gretchen, you look chic. I sure covet those leggings. I’ve thought about having a uniform, but don’t think I can come up with one. Perhaps, it’s because I was a Brownie when I was young:). I like these thought-provoking posts. Keep ’em coming!
Whoops, added the dreaded t to your name – sorry.
Um. Rick Owens? Yes, please!
It’s funny. I had an “image consultant” come through my closet and we got rid of so many pieces that I never wore. At first I thought I didn’t wear them because there was something wrong with me, but I soon realized that they were the wrong shapes on my body…. I could have been doing much better.
Since then I’m thinking more along the lines now of having a simplified wardrobe of pieces that work. I’m also trying to take more liberties with shoes and accessories, which I never did before.
Great piece, Grechen!
Interesting. I love to shop and love fashion, but at the end of the day…it’s just clothing. I think minimalism lies more in caring/thinking about it a bit less, than anything. Does that make sense?
It’s my feeling that certain fashion designers (OK, most of them.) have a flair for the dramatic. I think he’s making a statement that he knows will set him apart. If you think about it, almost every UBER fashion designer has an M.O.: Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan, Azzedine Alaia, etc….And we can’t think of them, or their brand, without picturing them in their “uniform.” Well, I have a uniform, and I think, in a way, you do too, Grechen. What you just said was basically, “I choose to dress in a top and pants most days.” We all know that there’s a lot of variety in the structure of that uniform, but it’s your “go-to”, your no-fail system. And it’s mine, too. I vary the accoutrements, but it’s still pretty much a top and pants every day. (With a skirt or dress occasionally thrown in.) I think I’d call that minimal in its own way. (LOVE your “uniform” today!!! 😉 )
See, it’s funny, because you feel like you don’t have a uniform… and yet, I feel like if I go shopping at Shopbop, I can pick out which pieces would appeal to your aesthetic! Because you do have a style that combines minimalism/edge/casual in a way that suits you very well. I’d absolutely use those words to describe the pieces you wear and are drawn to… and it may not seem like it makes sense, but it’s obvious you’ve got your “Style Statement” (if you’ve ever read the book). And it’s okay for schizophrenic to be a style… it obviously works for certain magazine editors!
It’s a lot harder to see our own styles because we’re so attached to them. It’s funny that you say I know what works for me…. and like you, I also feel like I have a schizophrenic style! It’s why I named my blog Dramatis Personae- because I was always trying on styles, genres and personalities (not that you’d see that on my blog).
I guess that’s all to say– sometimes determining these things is easier from the perspective of others than looking at ourselves.