Overall - I love doing this. I probably did it before to some extent without realising it, but feel so much more in control of things having a smaller wardrobe with limited options. It takes out any what-to-wear stress in the morning and as long as I keep on top of the laundry I know I should be fine for pretty much any occasion.
I'm learning about my sense of style (or lack of it!). There are a number of items in my 333 wardrobe that I don't think suit me, that are limited in what I can wear them with and which will definitely not make it into any future project 333 wardrobes:
- My navy linen trousers and navy sleeveless top that I wear for work. Navy doesn't really go with any other top/trousers combination in my wardrobe. I'm not sure it's a great colour for me (much as I love them, blues are not good or "warm" enough). The navy top is definitely going as soon as the clock strikes midnight on Sept 30th, I'm going to hang on to my linen trousers until I find a suitable replacement in black/brown.
- Patterned tops - I have a couple of patterned tops, in my colours, so red/cream and brown/cream. They should work. But I don't feel that they do. I think it's the style and the fit, but I don't feel good in them. I'm definitely going to stick to (mainly) plain tops in the future - or at least patterns that I'm comfortable in (stripes have continued to be a favourite, for example). Life is too short to hate my clothes.
- Shorts. I don't really wear shorts, I've worn them on holiday and perhaps 1-2 times otherwise. I'm considering relegating them to the extra items for a holiday wardrobe.
- I'm not going to bin or replace these items now for a couple of reasons. Firstly because when it comes to Spring/Summer I might be a different size, new fashions may have emerged that I really like, so I don't see much point in buying now for 9 months time. Secondly because I'm realising that I need specific items, I want to be sure that these items are right for me, I want to feel good wearing them. I don't want to buy on impulse. So I'm going to bide my time, keep an eye on what is out there and only buy when I'm sure. Hopefully in the next 9 months (before the next 333 summer wardrobe is needed) I should have found suitable clothes.
Quality is an issue for me. Some of the clothes I really like in this wardrobe are very thin and consequentially are quite worn, after continuous use over the past 6-7 weeks. These items were from the cheap end of the spectrum, I'm not sure if that's the issue or if it's just because they're lighter, thinner summer clothes. Now my wardrobe is smaller and I'm buying less, I'm starting to think much more carefully about what I buy. In my head I have a list of colours that are right for me. I have a list of styles that I think I could probably pull off. I have a list of clothes I need/gaps in my wardrobe.
My shopping is now starting in the ethical/fairtrade clothing ranges - places like People Tree, Braintree hemp, Komodo, Namaste. In the past I've found these clothes to be good quality, wear well and you have some kind of reassurance that they're not being manufactured in sweatshops. The trouble is, if you're restricting yourself in terms of what suits you, when there are a limited number of suppliers you may not get what you want, in the style you want, in the colour you want, in the size you want. But I figured it's a good starting point.
I'm still excited about Project 333, I'm putting together my autumn/winter wardrobe already and I'm attempting to be more minimalist around the home also (this may not be immediately apparent to anyone else, but I am...). As long as I'm not expected to minimalise my number of handbags...
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