"Express Checkout" Experiment: You're invited to play
I had no idea some of you would actually want to try this, but why not? You are a bold bunch, and thanks for the encouragement.I've been asked for "rules", which I'm loathe to issue. This is a gentler version of Six Items or Less, an experiment in awareness and choice, rather than a competition or restriction.
When? No time like the present!
Sun. Sun Nov. 14, end of day
How many items?
Your choice– if too many, it will not be very 'experimental'. I'm going for 12 items, please pick the number that intrigues you. Commenter Jane W. did 6 and now lives with 10; Deja Pseu's thinking of 10. I'm going for an even dozen.
That's double the Six Items, and might only feel–as materfamilias suggested–like dressing on a trip, but I still expect to be challenged.
Does not include:
1. Accessories (shoes, belts, bags, scarves, stockings, hats, jewelry, gloves, dogs)2. Lingerie, if worn inside
3. Specialized wear for specific activities (sleepwear, exercise/sport clothes, Halloween costume)
4. Items required by your workplace (safety vests, uniforms, pasties)
Free Pass:
Weddings, funerals or other occasions requiring formal dress. You will know. Free Pass not applicable if only blue, bored, or forgot to do laundry.
What's the point?
The experiment may affect our perception of need vs want, notions about desire and attachment, and each person's aesthetic sense. How do you feel? What surprised you? What items were indispensable, what was superfluous? If you stop, why? How do the unworn things look to you after a month 'away'?
Each Thursday during the month, I'll report my observations and ask for yours. Feel free to drop in/out of the experiment, pare it down further, or make any other adaptation.
My 12 items:
My "reduction" represents a lavish wardrobe in many parts of the world, and to the poorest, it's a joke. Still, it's a start toward reducing and refining.
2 pr pants: 1 techno (black) 1 flannel (grey)
3 skirts: 2 matte jersey (black), 1 pinstripe (navy/grey)
5 tops: 2 lightweight wool v-necks (black, ink), 1 light wool tunic (charcoal), 1 cashmere cardigan (dusty pink), 1 leather tee (black)
2 coats: 1 padded nylon jacket (black), 1 trench (stone)
Comments
Thank you for starting this on Sunday! We're in what I'm hoping is our last big heat wave of the season, and temperatures should regulate a bit more by the end of the week. The guidelines you've come up with are workable and flexible. I'll go through my closet tonight and choose my items, and will report on my blog tomorrow.
BUT---I will be watching with interest and hope in the future to pare down considerable and make better wardrobe choices for me and my closet.
Fugal: Wouldn't have it any other way!
Jane W. Just bought leather tee, wanna wear it!
Pseu: Thanks, we're on!
Susan: Why not pick for the temps, then change if it cools down? Or just watch.
ChristineB: Thanks, will be fun to see your photos.
LPC: Same for me in terms of where I go- and if have to show up for a meeting biz casual will do.
I'll go through my closet this weekend and make a list. I've been wearing dresses a lot lately so will have to make a careful choice about whether to put a dress on the list. Separates are more versatile.
The other thing that's going to be tough is the work/weekend transition. Though I don't have to dress very formally for work, there is a distinction.
And I'm exempting clothes for housecleaning!
Anon@5:15:
You have the key! Last winter I lived in black on the bottom and cashmere V-necks, with Indian or Italian shawls- easy and cosy. Deja Pseu (Une femme d'un certain age) also likes those thin cardies.
I hate pink (on self, not on others). I do love red though, although I know that not all reds are kind (adjective thanks to Duchesse).
The original challenge excluded athletic wear, and the kind of clothing I'd wear for "heavy" housework fits into that category - ghastly things like yoga or sweatpants, which I don't wear outside the house. And I did pick up a pair of red Crocs for a dollar in a charity shop, and they are wonderful for that kind of stuff.
Anonymous, I'm triple-d, or ee or f or whatever they call it, so braless doesn't exist. The closest is comfy sport bras, under layers (obviously not ruffles!)
I do love such experiments, though remember that if actually travelling, shoes are definitely not an unlimited, but the worst thing to pack.
I'd exempt cleaning clothes- like gym clothes they are specialized. But i want to limit myself enough that I'm truly living pared-down.
Hmm, I can see you in certain greyed or lavender-pinks, with your newly-silver hair. But pink is a state of mind as much as a colour ;)
And, um, how did you know that pasties are required in my workplace? The "I teach at an Ivy League institution" ruse was not convincing enough?
I keep telling myself, "Just because it's torture doesn't mean it's not fun!"