As counter intuitive as it may seem, sometimes the way to get more creative with your style is to limit the options hanging in your closet. This helps you know exactly what you have, decrease your clothing decision fatigue, and paradoxically expand your outfit options.
In short: limit your choices, limit your fatigue, expand your options.
Can I tell you a secret? I find having a lot of clothes in my personal wardrobe very overwhelming.
I know, I know, a personal stylist who doesn’t like having a lot of clothes, an oxymoron if ever there was one.
But I’m also currently at a place where the concept of minimalism (though not the aesthetic) is very appealing with my closet.
Limiting clothing decision fatigue
When I look at a bunch of clothes in a client’s closet I see worlds of possibility and hidden gems that (usually) just need a few tweaks or edits to truly shine.
When I look at racks of clothing in my own closet I don’t feel joyful or abundant or excited or like I have all the options in the world. I feel overwhelmed. I feel exhausted and fatigued looking at all the options and like this is just one more decision to make.
It’s funny how we all have our Goldilocks sweet spots when it comes to the number of options we want in our closets.
- Too many choices and we get overwhelmed and turn to the same handful of outfits.
- Too few choices (no matter how well curated) and we get bored and crave some novelty.
- Too many clothes that don’t work together in outfits and we legitimately have nothing to wear (even when we have a full closet).
What is your current Goldilocks sweet spot?
I’m finding myself choosing to limit my clothing options – at least for a little while – to lessen decision fatigue and let the possibilities of the clothes I keep front and center shine.
I’m not getting rid of anything. Because I still love my clothes and closet and I know one day soon a closet overflowing with options will feel like an abundance of possibility again.
For now I’m pulling a small collection of outfit recipe ingredients out of my larger closet and letting everything else take a back seat.
I still feel complete and utter delight styling clients and building wardrobes and looks and finding options for other people.
But for me, for now a smaller closet within my closet feels like the right wardrobe solution for right now.