Dressing like Your French: Less is More

I once traveled to Zimbabwe to spend almost two months, and believe it or not, I only took 15 pounds of clothing with me. What about the 100 pounds of luggage permitted for this overseas flight? It carried medical supplies, vegetable seeds, and more supplies to take to the Nyardire United Methodist Mission there. My wardrobe was limited to my carry-on, and with Ethiopian Air, carry-on can only be 15 pounds per person. How did I pull that off? It wasn’t the easiest thing, and I wasn’t the most fashionable missionary on the ground, but I had to pick my priorities. 

On the flip-side of this story was the new closet built into the master bedroom when we moved to this house. We already pared down from a 5-bedroom farmhouse to a 2-bedroom retirement home. That was tough. A lot of “stuff” went by the wayside. For some reason though, I didn’t pare down my wardrobe. The new closet measures about 6’ x 8’. Lining the left side is multiple shelves floor to ceiling all the way to the back wall. The other side has one long rod for hanging clothes with a shelf above it. Within 15 minutes of unpacking and hanging my clothes, the rod collapsed in the middle, pulling everything down with it. Ultimately, the handyman drilled a hole through the closet ceiling and secured the rod to a beam in the attic with a steel cable. Do you think I had too many clothes? I suppose so. 

Let me just qualify here, that I do not consider myself high-fashion by any means, but I like to wear classic, well-made clothes. Trends come and go, so I stick with the basics. Believe it or not, I purchase almost all of my clothes at the Salvation Army store. My best friend and I refer to this as shopping at SACs (Salvation Army Clothes). We have a great one in our area. My drill is to check what color tag is ½ off for the day, then head directly to the designer’s rack. I will not let myself purchase an item that is not bearing the ½ off color tag of the day. Using this discipline, I have snagged some very high-end pieces for as little as $2! 

However, I digress.

I could tell the handyman thought the rod collapsing was indicative of my excessive wardrobe. That bothered me. Was I overindulgent? I decided to trim it down.

 I had just finished reading Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? by de-cluttering expert, Peter Walsh. One of his suggestions for going fashion minimalist was to ask yourself the question “have I worn this in the last year?” If not, out it goes. Another good point is that we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. Hmmm. I see what he was getting at. Don’t we all have our favorites that we wear repeatedly, while other pieces hang for months without moving? With just those two simple rules in mind, I think I did a great job in whittling things down. 

Now that I don’t “go to the office” every day, I’ve been able to trim things down even more, and I feel very good with what’s left. Other than basic t-shirts that I keep for running and work-out clothes, I have three pairs of jeans, four pairs of slacks (one each of gray, black, taupe, and blue), a few different style tops in black, two black dresses, one polka-dot dress (my dad always loved women in polka dots), and one vivid print. I’ve applied the same basics to shoes; black, brown, taupe, sandals, one pair of black silk with rhinestones for dress up. My secret to pulling it together is a nice selection of sweaters and beautiful designer jackets and blazers, most purchased at the Salvation Army store. My theory is that if the foundation is basic, the icing can be the glam. Tie it all up with some nice jewelry or bright scarves and you’ve got a classy look.

I’ve observed in my travels that women in other countries don’t wear a different outfit every day. French women particularly, often thought of as the most fashionable; usually don’t have more than 10 items of clothing in their wardrobe. They own fewer pieces of clothing but of a higher quality, and are able to wear the higher quality, brand name clothing while spending the equal or less as someone who buys more clothes at cheaper prices.

It’s still January. Let’s start fresh and think about paring down to ease the strain on your closet rod.  

Remember the 20% of the clothes 80% of the time rule. Determine what your 20% favorites are, and on go from there. Here are a few tips:

• Pick a basic color palette. My husband says I have summer, spring, fall, and winter black. He’s not quite right, but he’s close. Stick with neutrals. You can always add color with accessories
• Do you really need 12 pairs of slacks? Pick a few in the basic color palette of your choice, and donate the rest away.
•  Keep a few classic tops. If you’re having a tough time deciding what to keep, choose the ones that make you feel the best when you wear them. I have a pink paisley blouse that is vibrant and eye catching, and always garners compliments when I wear it. I feel good in it, so I keep it.
• Keep a few classic blazers, jackets, or sweaters. They should be versatile and comfortable. Remember they’re the icing on your basic color foundation.  
•  Undergarments and socks don’t count here, but since you’re purging, now’s a good time to sort out the sock drawer and get rid of any that have holes in them and won’t stay up. Do the same with the underwear and bras that have stretched elastic, stains, and are just plain yucky. If you don’t feel good wearing them, get rid of them. 
•  I always encourage donating good used clothes, but PLEASE, PLEASE, don’t put your hole-y socks, etc. in the Goodwill bin. If they’re bad, just bite the bullet and pitch them. If you can’t live with them, don’t expect others will want them either. 
•  Just stop shopping for a while. I know there are lots of sexist jokes about women and retail therapy, but you can rise above that. Author Judy Levin wrote a book titled Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping. I know several people that have tried this challenge, from not buying anything at all, to maybe just not buying clothes for a year. I’ll bet you really do have enough clothes to live for year.
• Remember those elegant French women. If you must buy at all, shop quality over quantity. Good, basic, high-quality pieces are worth their weight in gold.

I’m a big fan of the The Learning Channel show What Not to Wear. I often see the “before” women are dressed in what Clinton and Kelly call “costumes.” You are not an actress or a clown. You do not need to wear a costume. People should focus on you, not what you’re wearing.

If you are reading this, chances are you are a Wise Woman of Age, so you would probably agree with Gore Vidal’s statement, "Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn." 

Epictetus, the Roman philosopher said, “Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.”

I simply say, "Moins est plus." Less is more.

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Through compassion, you will find that all human beings are just like you. - Dalai Lama