Putting Minimalist Fashion Into Practice

June 3, 2024

What is Minimalist Fashion?

Minimalist fashion is the art of paring down your wardrobe to the bare essentials. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do a complete overhaul of your clothes. You can still hold onto those key pieces that define your wardrobe. Rather, it’s about letting go of what is sitting unused and being deliberate with what you decide to keep. You should see it as a way of giving your wardrobe some breathing room. Clutter is clutter, no matter what it may be. Clothing is no exception. If anything, it should absolutely adhere to the standards of letting go of what you don’t need.

Why Minimalist Fashion?

I guess it would be important to really focus on the why of the matter. Why build a minimalist wardrobe in the first place? Picking out something to wear shouldn’t have to be a whole circus of a task. It should be simple and straightforward. Unless you have the time, energy, and determination to set out your clothes each night for the next day, getting dressed should come easily. That is at the heart of a minimalist wardrobe. It is all about simplifying a task we all have to do. Why dig through piles of clothes when you can open up your closet or dresser drawer and grab what you need without hesitation.

Another reason to opt for a sustainable wardrobe is being more deliberate in your fashion choices, rather than having a modge podge of clothing that doesn’t really go together. This is what makes a wardrobe complicated, when you have too much to choose from and nothing that matches. A minimalist approach, much like the capsule approach, is all about finding pieces that fit well together. In this sense, it simplifies the whole process. You don’t have to worry about finding the right pair of shorts to go with that blouse you’re dying to wear because you already have something in mind.

How Do I Implement Minimalist Fashion?

Now that we’ve looked into what minimalism is, we’re now going to uncover how to pare down your wardrobe into something more simplistic. This can be attainable through some very easy steps. You can take a wardrobe of 100 plus items and bring it down to something like 40 garments. I know, that’s a big goal, but follow us and you’ll be able to reach it.

1) Style

The first tip is to know what your style is. Pinterest is a great place to get ideas and figure out what suits you best. The key is knowing yourself well enough to know where to go with your wardrobe. There are so many styles and substyles to choose from. You can even borrow from various styles and create something brand new. Not sure where to start? Try searching “sustainable fashion” and going from there. There is a range of styles to look for and sustainable fashion is a great place to start. Other keywords to look for are chic, alternative, casual, artsy, and minimalist. You can turn to a search engine to help you find any more from there. Styles are unique in the sense that they each have defining characteristics. Alternative fashion, for example, has lots of band tees, flannels, and fishnets. Chic, on the other hand, will turn more to dresses and skirts and blouses.

2) Color

Next comes picking a color scheme. Just because something is your favorite color doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to want it to be the dominant color in your wardrobe. There are plenty of websites out there that can help you to find out what season you are. That’s the perfect starting place, because it can provide you with a pre-made color palette. You might also go with specific patterns. For example, you might love florals, so you’ll pick out shirts and dresses with floral patterns in a variety of colors. You don’t necessarily have to limit yourself but you do need to have an idea as to what you want.

3) Fit

The next thing you have to think about is what kind of clothes best suit your body type. Do you like loose or fitting clothes? Do you prefer pants and blouses or are you more of a dresses and skirts kind of gal? What fits you best? This is entirely up to you. There are guides, yes, but ultimately what matters is what you like to see when you look in the mirror. Choose what makes you feel pretty, something only you can decide. Prioritize these garments.

4) Applying What You’ve Learned

The final step is going to be to ask yourself if which piece in your current wardrobe fits the style, color, and shape of what you want to keep. Having gone through the previous steps should have given you what you need in order to do this. It might take a while, but that's okay. It is all very necessary to the process. Have three separate piles: yes, no, and still thinking about it. It's important to allow yourself some breathing room, as far as choices go. You can be unsure about something and give yourself the time to think about it. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven't worn it in 4-6 months, it should go in the no pile.

Here is an example of two pieces you can pair together.

The shorts are great because they can go with pretty much anything you want to wear this summer. Plain pieces that you can mix and match with more colorful and patterned garments are a great way to bring diversity to your wardrobe without collecting an extensive amount of clothes. All you have to do is swap out the shirt for something truly unique.

Now that you’ve gone through all of your clothes, it’s time to figure out what to do with what you don’t want to keep anymore. There are two major options: selling or donating. It’s really up to how much effort you want to put into this process. Selling is obviously going to take more time but you get money back for the clothes you bought, whereas donating is a one and done kind of thing.

Sustainable Fabric

The last thing we’ll look at is sustainable fabric, and this is important, because these types of fabric are lower impact. Low impact fabric is pretty self-explanatory: it simply means it has a lower environmental impact, which means it is more environmentally friendly. They are made from eco-friendly materials, are biodegradable, and take into consideration the effect the production has on the humans behind it. For a guide on these fabrics, check out this blog. It goes over all of the major sustainable fabrics and why you should choose garments that are made out of these over more common options. Now, when you’re building your minimalist wardrobe, it’s important to stick with what you already have rather than ditching those garments for something new. However, if you need to make an addition to your wardrobe, choosing sustainable fabrics is the way to go. That means seeking out businesses who are also environmentally friendly. They are more likely to stock items made from these fabrics. Verte Mode is a great option because we carefully vet all our brands to ensure they follow our standards.

Iris Camisole in Hydrangea