Minimalist Wardrobe: How to Express Yourself With Less

Start with what you have and need.

Clear your schedule, put on your favorite pump-up music, and dive into that soon to be minimalist closet of yours. 

Think of your wardrobe like food. 

One of the best ways to minimize and preserve food at home is by looking at what’s in the refrigerator before we head to the grocery store with a grumbling belly. 

The same goes for your closet. You won’t know what to buy or get rid of if you don’t know what’s there in the first place.

Maybe an old treasure could replace that new purchase you’ve had your eye on. But you won’t know until you look.

To think of “closet shopping” as a step-by-step process, consider the following:

1. Take everything out.

Empty those dresser drawers, sort through that full laundry basket, and take out all of the clothes in your closet. You want to see every single garment that you own, no article should escape your scrutiny here. 

2. What are the clothes you need?

Start by thinking about the sorts of things you actually can’t purge, like work clothes. 

To create a minimalist work wardrobe, ask yourself: What are my essentials for the office, and what are the things I don’t really need? Or, if you’re working from home, what pairs of eco friendly yoga pants can I absolutely not live without? 

Then move on to the rest of your clothes. We realize that “need” is often subjective, but try to give yourself some tough love here. 

Do you really need 8 pairs of jeans? Do you really need that sweater you wore on your first date with your ex-boyfriend three years ago (or will the memory suffice)? Do you need enough t-shirts to wear a different one every day for two and a half months? 

Think clutter-free. Think simple. Think less time planning what to wear, and more time just living. 

3. What are the clothes you actually wear?

Start with the easy questions: Is there a dress you haven’t worn in six months? A year? Does it even fit or is it one of those “one day it’ll fit/I’ll have something to wear it for” situations? 

Again, remember our best friend here: honesty. 

Take advantage of items like these because they’re easier to say goodbye to than a garment that fits (but is maybe just redundant in your wardrobe). 

For the remaining things, run yourself through a typical week. 

How many different outfits do you wear?

Do you need 6 ethical activewear outfits if you’re only going to the gym once a week? Do you have four very similar black turtlenecks, but you definitely have a favorite that you wear most often?

This is the most difficult stage, and you’re sure to second guess your best intentions.  But try to be realistic and try to end up with a closet filled with only the limited items that you truly LOVE. 

Believe it or not, before the days of fast fashion and never-ending seasonal style changes, we did have a deep love and appreciation for all the items in our closets and dresser drawers, not just some of them. 

One of the best things we can do when building a minimalist wardrobe is revisiting the simpler times when clothing was appreciated for what it is: something made with valuable resources (human and planetary) that should be cherished for years to come.  

4. What are the essentials in a minimalist summer wardrobe?

Don’t forget to think seasonally, because seasons play a role in how often you wear something.  

Just because winter feels like it lasts so much longer doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hold on to summer stuff. You’ll regret only keeping one pair of shorts when the temps hit triple digits!

Here are a few top summer wardrobe essentials to get you thinking about what you need in your minimalist wardrobe:

• Comfy sustainable t shirts 
• a light jacket 
• a pair of ethical sandals 
• a skirt
• sustainable jeans
• a dress shirt
• Sneakers
• Shorts
• lightweight pants
• a sustainable swimsuit
• a pair of eco friendly sunglasses
• a few tank tops
• a jumpsuit and 
• a lightweight cardigan. 

If you travel frequently, you might also want to plan for that summer vacay by thinking of the needs for a minimalist travel wardrobe, too. 

5. What are the essentials in a minimalist winter wardrobe?

Use the same rationale for your minimalist winter wardrobe. The key is to pare down on what you have and stick with what you’ll need. 

Minimize your winter wardrobe to just

• an ethical winter coat 
• durable eco friendly winter boots
• a fair trade scarf or two
• a beanie
• a few ethical sweaters
• a couple of pair of jeans
• a few layering-ready long sleeve shirts 
• a winter dress
• a pair of ethical winter gloves
• some comfy sustainable sweatpants
• a pair of versatile leggings and
• a snuggly eco friendly robe. 

Consider a minimalist wardrobe checklist

We know that’s a lot. So let’s summarize with a simple minimalist wardrobe checklist.

For the women’s minimalist wardrobe:

• Essentials like organic underwear, organic bras, and sustainable socks
• A few basic layers like t-shirts, leggings, jeans, and sweaters
• Activewear (ideally that which can also double as loungewear?)
• Eco friendly running shoes (or at least a good pair of ethical sneakers) and just a few pairs of other versatile shoes (perhaps one from a vegan shoe brand?)
• Fair trade pajamas
• Work essentials and uniforms (if applicable to your job)
• A handful of dressier items for special occasions (Don’t go overboard, here. Just a few dresses for different occasions is plenty)
• Seasonal specific items

The men’s minimalist wardrobe is more or less the same, though men’s clothing is usually less varied and thus more suitable for versatile wear by design.

… then get rid of what you don’t need

Now comes the challenging part: saying “goodbye” once and for all to those clothes that didn’t make the cut.

But, you can take solace in the fact that, when done responsibly, your clothes will have a new lease on life by passing them on to someone else.

This can happen in a few ways:

• If you have quality garments that have been gently worn, consider making some extra $$$ by using an online platform to sell your used clothes. 

• If you’re ready for all the socialization after a year of social distancing, host a clothes swapping party (AKA the most fun way to “shop” for new-to-you clothes ever). Invite a few friends over, have them bring a bag of their discarded clothes, and then do a bulk donation of the leftovers. 

Who said creating minimalist closets had to be boring?!

• Upcycled clothing is great—even better if you take care of the upcycling yourself. Not sure what upcycling clothing is? It’s clothing made from unwanted landfill bound textiles. Use an old shirt for cleaning, or even as zero waste gift wrap. The options for what to do with old clothes are endless and Mother Earth will thank you.  

• Donate the rest to a local or online thrift store.