I spend a lot of time thinking about what I wear. Not only am I a fashion blogger who occasionally appears in photographs on my blog or elsewhere, I perform onstage often in situations when my physical comfort and confidence directly affect the quality of my performance, and I’m employed in an office that, while permissible, requires a modicum of professional dress in its employees. [Would that I could show up to work in a sunsuit and wedge sandals.]
In general, a lot of us spend a lot of time on our clothing. We spend a lot of time caring for it – keeping it clean and in good shape, sewing on buttons, repairing hems that come down. We spend a lot of time shopping for clothing that’s appropriate for different situations or that demonstrates our personalities to everyone that sees us. We spend a lot of time trying on different combinations and seeing what works. For some people this is wasted time; for others, it’s fun or relaxing. [To boot: please bring me all your shirts that have missing buttons. I love sewing on buttons. Afterward we will have a fashion show and I'll style each shirt a dozen ways. Fun? You bet.]
And the time we spend on our clothing is exactly the issue that the Six Items Or Less project is concerned with. Each participant chooses a wardrobe of six pieces [not counting work uniforms, sleepwear, underwear, and outerwear] to wear for an entire month. The instructions page gives the option for participants to make their own rules, which on the surface seems like a bit of a cop-out. The lack of hard edges means that it might stretch to the size of anyone’s closet, no matter how expansive. After further reflection, though, I think I rather like the absence of any hard lines. It’s not an anti-fashion or anti-consumerism project. Instead, the project focuses on simplicity and self-knowledge: What do I like to wear most? Why can’t I wear that all the time?
I don’t think this project is the answer to someone who currently owns 72 pairs of jeans and needs to pare down [they need a personal organizer], or someone with an average middle-class paycheck who’s impulse-bought $6000 worth of shoes in the past month [financial advising, ahoy!]. Instead, for people who already have a pretty good handle on their closet clutter and their personal style, it’s an opportunity to think more consciously about what they wear and what they buy, and why.
And, oh man. I’m in lockstep with their driving forces. I’ve worked hard in the past couple of years at reducing my consumption, proving to myself that I can get by on less. [Weren't wejust talking about that?] From day one, I’ve been all about honing in on my personal style so I feel confident and comfortable in everything that I own. And you know I love to clean out my closet, making sure to keep only what I like most.
My predilection for fashion means that six pieces would be a stretch for me, as does my tendency to buy only the kind of clothing that can be worn both at work and after hours and my habit of changing clothes twice a day. I’d be doing a crazy amount of laundry; or maybe I’d buy seven of the same dress, since the rules say that multiple copies of the same garment can be counted as a single garment. But it might be an interesting proposition to limit myself to ten pieces or so. Thoughts? Would you like to see something like this? Did you participate in Six Items or Less or would you ever?
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