I set out this year challenging myself to a low buy year not knowing what 2020 would have in store for me or for the world. My greatest goal for this challenge was to lower my overall consumption and grow even more intentional and mindful with what I was choosing to bring into my wardrobe.
In a nutshell, last year, overall I added 66 pieces into my entire wardrobe: my everyday capsule (+43), my loungewear / gym capsule (+16), shoes (+7), and my occasion wear capsule (+1); and I decluttered 65 pieces, which brought me to a net gain of 1! It was eye opening to see how many clothes came in and out last year. I clearly was in the mindset of one in and one out as the way to keep my wardrobe small. This rule did help me be more intentional with my I chose to buy, but I did feel like it wasn’t the most sustainable of practices. And so I set out to change my shopping habits in 2020.
You can read last year’s post here.
Let’s see how I did!
– CURRENT STATISTICS –
a breakdown of how much I spent in each category, how many were thrifted or secondhand, how many were brand new, and how many were gifted to me
EVERYDAY CAPSULE WARDROBE: Overall: -9 (+12 pieces of clothing / -21 pieces of clothing)
- Spent: $855
- Thrifted / Secondhand: 0
- Brand New: 6
- (Partially) Gifted: 6
SHOES: Overall: +1 (+2 pairs of shoes / – 1 pairs of shoes)
- Spent: $155
- Thrifted / Secondhand: 0
- Brand New: 2
- (Partially) Gifted: 0
LOUNGEWEAR CAPSULE: Overall: +3 (+8 pieces of clothing / -5 pieces of clothing)
- Spent: $654
- Thrifted / Secondhand: 0
- Brand New: 8
- (Partially) Gifted: 0
OCCASSION WEAR CAPSULE: Overall: -1 (+0 piece of clothing / -1 pieces of clothing)
- Spent: $0
- Thrifted / Secondhand: 0
- Brand New: 0
- (Partially) Gifted: 0
FINAL TOTALS:
- Spent: $1,647
- Added: 22
- Decluttered: 28
- Thrifted / Secondhand: 0
- Brand New Pieces: 16
- Gifted Pieces: 6
CURRENT ITEM COUNTS:
- Everyday Capsule Wardrobe: 56
- Shoes: 15
- Loungewear Capsule: 22
- Occasion-Wear Capsule: 6
– 2020 CONSUMPTION REFLECTION –
It looks like I lowered my consumption by more than half! I added 1/3 of the pieces I added last year. Whew! I know a huge part of my lowered consumption was due to the pandemic, working from home, and also releasing my role and label of influencer. Even still, I’m thrilled with these numbers and I hope can I continue to keep them this low or even lower moving forward.
I ended up adding 22 pieces to my whole wardrobe this year: 12 to my Everyday Capsule Wardrobe (aka real clothes); 2 to my Shoes; and 8 to my Loungewear Capsule (aka working from home capsule). If you remember, my magic number that I set for myself was 12. I clearly went over that number, but never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated 2020 and needing (wanting) more (and better) comfortable clothes. As I said in my last Closet Update, I’m now very content with the Loungewear Capsule I curated this year and know that it’ll be well loved in the years to come, even post-COVID.
EVERYDAY CAPSULE WARDROBE
The 12 pieces I did end up adding to my Everyday Capsule Wardrobe–1 jacket, 3 dresses, 3 sweaters, 2 tops, 1 jumpsuit, and 2 pairs of pants–became huge staples for me this year. When I look through my Instagram feed, I see those pieces sprinkled throughout, especially when I was more active on that platform. It’s clear that I was working hard to be more intentional about the pieces I did choose to add to this section of my wardrobe. Some clear new favorites are: Only Child Ryan Pants, Free People Get Obsessed Babydoll Dress, and my Back Beat Co. Hemp Utility Jacket. I really do love all my new additions and know that they will be worn more regularly whenever this pandemic does end.
I ended up decluttering quite a few pieces (21!!) and this number is what I’m really hoping to decrease as time goes on. In 2021, I want to keep the idea of investment and longevity in mind moving forward as I intentionally add to my wardrobe rather than replace or swap pieces out. With my current count hovering in the mid 50s, this seems to be a sweet spot for me where I feel like I have enough pieces to play around. I have space to have a few options in each category and it also doesn’t feel like this is an overwhelming amount of clothes to sift through my half of the wardrobe to get dressed.
LOUNGEWEAR CAPSULE WARDROBE
I’m going to be honest…I didn’t give this part of my wardrobe too much thought before this year. Last year, I started my yoga practice and so I did start investing in ethically and sustainably made leggings (hi Girlfriend Collective!). But up until then, a lot of what I slept in / lounged in / worked out in were old and ratty things that were demoted from my Everyday Capsule. Some of the pieces currently in my Loungewear Capsule have been demoted, but I really did take time to build a small capsule that will work best for what I need to work from home; to do yoga; to walk around my neighborhood; to sleep in; and to lounge in at home.
I’m so excited to wear these pieces for the rest of lockdown in 2021 and beyond! My Loungewear Capsule is pretty strong right now at 23 pieces: 5 hoodies & sweatshirts; 8 tanks & tees; and 10 bottoms. This is the capsule that’s the most tempting for me to add to right now understandably.
– 2021 CONSUMPTION GOALS –
Now that I’m no longer an “influencer,” it feels a little weird setting goals when it comes to my wardrobe as I’m not really sure I need to anymore. Even though I released that role back in July and have been on this minimalism / capsule wardrobe journey for a few years now, I still find myself in the midst of unlearning shopaholic tendencies, especially chasing the thrill of getting something new. I’m still waiting for the time when I feel completely settled with what I own. I’m a step closer, but not quite there yet.
I think my goal every year is going to be shop less than the year before, to be more mindful of what I buy than the year before. That’s all I can ever hope and strive for, so I’m not sure if I’m going to challenge myself to stick to a number this upcoming year. The practice of keeping track of a number though has been very helpful in keeping myself accountable. If I’m actively working to become a more conscious consumer from year to year, that will be a challenge in itself.
THE PLEB LIFE 