You might be greeting this post with complete and utter disbelief, in which case, I concur: it really does sound like bullsh*t. In fact, when I started counting the articles of clothing I’ve honestly been sticking to — “hmm, what have you been washing in the laundry lately, Sarah?” — I expected to come up with, like, 30 different essentials my fashion-loving heart — even during social distancing — could not live without. Because I am the type of person who couldn’t stand the sweatpants fatigue after just a few weeks in isolation.
If I wanted to, I really could choose just one house dress and abandon all the others. (Seriously, it’s the loose, billowy white one with the pouf sleeves.)
When I decided to start rekindling my relationship with my closet, I wasn’t dressing for my housemates — my future husband and my cat (OK, maybe a little for my cat) — I was really dressing for me. My daily “event” became my social-distancing walk, and even though my outfit for the occasion was comfortable, it was colorful. It spoke to my personality.
Now that I’m forcing myself to study the pieces I’ve been reaching for, I realize that they all fall into certain buckets — 10! — that I’ve outlined below. If I wanted to, I really could choose just one house dress and abandon all the others. (Seriously, it’s the loose, billowy white one with the pouf sleeves.) I couldn’t narrow down my footwear choice to just one style, because honesty is my policy for this post, and I do really rotate between my go-to sandals and my sneakers and ribbed socks. But I could narrow it down to just two pairs of shoes!
I’m starting to realize that, for me, shopping isn’t about collecting, it’s about curating.
So, what has this taught me? For one, I have a lot of clothing to donate, and what’s more, I am changing my approach to shopping. Realizing that everyone needs basics and it’s OK to shop, I do imagine I’ll begin adding to my virtual cart more regularly in a few months — but I’m going to be adding more mindfully.
Remember I told you that I’m reaching for very specific pieces over and over again, because these basics I’ve gathered are well-made and I truly love them. I’m not working my way through every dress hanging on the rack, I’m wondering why I have all of them in the first place. I’m starting to realize that for me, shopping isn’t about collecting, it’s about curating. I realize that this is a new method of shopping for me to adopt, but I’m OK with it . . . honestly.
