Thoughts on Minimal Dressing + Capsule Wardrobes
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel at The Broad all about using capsule wardrobes to design a more conscious life. The panel included myself; Kristen of Minima, a home organizing company; Mimi of Mimi Miller Womenswear and moderated by Mecca, self proclaimed maximalist who was also named named Richmond Magazine's Most Stylish Richmonder 2018 and the Co-Curator of Style and Spirits RVA.
The room was packed with 40+ people of all shapes, colors, sizes and ages - all interested in having a conversation about what it means to be a minimalist and the range in which you can apply that to your wardrobe if you so desire.
Minimalist is an aesthetic. - Kristen (Minima)
Kristen’s cloest!
Mimi’s designs + fabrics
One of my favorite questions was, on a scale of 1-10 where do you see yourself falling on the minimalist scale? Mecca was at a sold 8+ while both Kristen and Mimi were at a 3 and under. I was proud to represent the maximalist minimalists by coming in around a 4-6. I explained this as: I approach a lot of things with a minimalist approach. I love clean lines, modern furniture, and I don’t like a lot of wasted things. But I am also a collector of sorts. My vintage jewelry collection takes up 2 drawers and 2 jewelry boxes. While I did sort out about 19 pieces for a recent capsule wardrobe collection, those other 1000+ pieces aren’t going anywhere!
Mimi, who drove down from DC for the event, gave her perspective on fast fashion and minimalism as someone in the industry.
We are empowering women to evolve from settling for conventional clothing to embracing refined pieces for an integration of quality and effortless style. - Mimi Miller (Mimi Miller Womenswear)
My own thoughts on capsule wardrobes:
It doesn’t have to be 10 pieces and all in black and white. You can 100% have full on colors + prints! I’m working with a client now to create a capsule and she LOVES colors. You can also keep things simple like Ali did with her own wardrobe when we worked with her.
It should reflect your current state of life. Just because the guides tell you to have certain pieces in a capsule wardrobe doesn’t make it so. In my current capsule, I have TWO short sleeve tops. Count ‘em. Per the “rules”, I should probably have at least 3 - one black, one white, and one stripe. Well, news flash for ya. I don’t wear stripes. And that works for me!
You know intuitively if you love a piece or not. We spent a good bit of time talking about that “gut” feeling when it comes to clothing. Learn to cultivate that feeling and block out all the rest (sales people, friends, family, etc.).
See more snaps from the night below!
Thank you Ali + The Broad team for having us and hosting such a wonderful event. I know there is room for even more conversations around this topic and I can’t wait to be back!