Somewhat inadvertently, I became a minimalist. Not solely with the style of clothing and accessories that I gravitate toward — though I do revel in clean lines, classic silhouettes, and neutral colours — but also with my space and the amount of “stuff” in it. For the last three years, I’ve primarily worked from home (which is a one-bedroom apartment that I share with my fiancé in Manhattan), wherein certain clothing types no longer made sense. While I’ve always maintained a clean and relatively clutter-free space, I routinely became distracted by the little messes that would pile up around my workspace, from papers to clothing. My focus derailed and shifted into a full-on deep clean of my apartment on more occasions than I’d like to admit. To wit, on days when I had meetings or went into an office pre-COVID-19, I found myself increasingly challenged by getting dressed. Many of the standout styles in my closet lost their lustre. The majority of my “investment pieces” felt fussy for the occasions at hand. And newer items I purchased were trickier to style than I imagined. As for the basics, well, they were wearing down after many a default outfit, which often consisted of a T-shirt, blazer, and jeans. For someone who has worked in fashion for the past 10 years, this felt like an epic failure, to say the least.
I decided to restrategize and started with a major home and closet clean-out. In turn, my approach to shopping shifted, too. Admittedly, I’ve been an impulsive shopper and felt buyer’s remorse on one too many occasions. But I’ve managed to curb the habit, which ultimately has made getting dressed easier both on the days I put on “real” clothes and when I work from home in a cute workout set or sweats. Since COVID-19 began, I dug in deeper. I revisited my already pared-down wardrobe and developed new guidelines for myself in terms of the clothing and accessories I keep and how I shop for something new.
Keep reading for some of my most significant changes and renewed approach to shopping, from my “wish list” strategy to a more thoughtful consideration of the brands I support and my methods for curbing impulse purchases.
