As I was looking through my closet for a warm shirt to wear last night, I was struck by the realization that I tend to have only a handful of “go to” items of clothing. And the rest just mostly take up space.
Now, I’m not a clothes horse by any stretch. I tend to get serviceable items that I can wear to work at a dirty factory with a few nicer items scattered in the mix.
A good section of my closet is devoted to cheap, kind of natty work clothes.
But also in my closet are the accessories; and I do like accessories. Shoes. Belts. Messenger bags. Of which I have far too many.
And somehow I’ve accumulated many things that I don’t really need. Like t-shirts. And fleece sleepy pants (I sleep nude).
This got me to thinking– what do I really need? Would I really be comfortable wearing the same handful of clothes all the time? And what are my “must haves”?
Honestly I think I already am comfortable with a limited wardrobe. And it’s time I should pare down my closet.
Here’s a short list of my wardrobe staples that I go to over and over again:
– L.L. Bean Duck boots
– Smartwool socks
– a Prana hooded sweatshirt
– a Kuhl wool quarter zip pullover
– a grey fleece quarter zip pullover.
– Irish fisherman sweater
– coolmax boxer briefs
– plain white and grey Calvin Klein crew neck t-shirts
– one black t-shirt that says “Underground”
– plain thermal henleys (various)
– one navy polo shirt
– one pair of plaid, mountain bike shorts (hard to explain, but they’re cool)
– a pair of Mavi jeans that fit my ass
– two heavy, plaid lumberjack shirts (one is old Abercrombie and Fitch)
– a pair of navy Bonobo cotton trousers
– a black, leather “cut and sew” belt
– Patagonia down jacket
And that’s sort of it. Everything else just sort of is stuff I may wear, but I don’t really care about. I mean, I have tennis shoes for working out, and crappy workout clothes. And a rain coat. And a pair of black shoes for dressier occasions.
And there are one or two items I keep for sentimental value that I only wear on occasion. But not many of those.
The rest could disappear to goodwill and I’d probably not at an eye.
The astonish by part is the amount of footwear that I have, that I just don’t wear. It’s sad, and kind of upsetting. It’s just so wasteful.
I think before the new year I’m going to do a serious closet purge. And then make it a new years resolution to not buy frivolous, unnecessary clothing.
Mangina Monologues 
CB, What an interesting “clothes in the closet” story. My boyfriend and I have a huge amount of (unwearable) stuff. We go through it and at the end it is all too “precious” to dispose of. He’s not exactly a hoarder, but one of those “you never know when you might need” something people. Grrrr. Sigh. mwg.
I do a yearly purge. There are always things that get tossed aside and unworn for many reasons or those few items where I think, “was I drunk when I bought that?” I love buying new things and need the purge to make room. Plus, dry cleaning over and over tends to fade and make items look a bit worm..
This is why I love blog reading. No matter how much you think you know about someone from (literally) years of reading about their life, they surprise you. I would not have guessed that you return to the same few items over and over. I thought you had a full closet, with specific and curated collections, and wore nearly all of it. Go figure!