inside my closet...
a 7-step written discussion on sustainably curating the wardrobe of your dreams.
It takes more than 200 years for a t-shirt to decompose in a landfill.
That same t-shirt was grown in a field and then passed through a minimum of 24 people’s hands, over 13 stops spanning 3-5 countries, sometimes on 3 different continents to go from farm to closet.
We live in a culture that values speed in all things — instant payment, lightning-fast downloading and streaming, same-day free shipping, tap-post-click-swipe, and immediate gratification.
When something doesn’t happen immediately, we often shrug and decide “it’s not meant to be” and give up. In our feverish pursuits, we forget what it takes to bring all our material possessions into being.
Many years ago — out of necessity — I decided to embrace the capsule wardrobe philosophy because I was living my life out of a suitcase.
If you prefer, listen to the 6-minute audio recording of this story here.
Stuffing our closets with fast fashion isn’t just harmful to the planet, it’s a lot of work. Hence the emergence of the capsule wardrobe, the philosophy of paring down our clothes to a few key pieces that all work together. Forever.
It works because most of us spend 90 per cent of our time wearing 10 per cent of our clothes.
My approach isn’t perfect. I’m no saint nor immaculate in my purchases. But I strive to do better for myself and the world, in the best ways I know how, every day.
This is how I sustainably curate the wardrobe of my dreams.
I get clear on my style by developing a ‘style guide’ for myself for the season or year ahead. I have one mapped out in my Plannher. This gives me the vision and direction that I filter all my clothing investments through.
I ‘shop my closet’ before I buy anything and only then make purchases based on ‘missing pieces’ that will carry me through many seasons. I don’t go shopping because I’m bored or lonely or feel like I should. I don’t go clothes shopping much at all, and when I do, I do it 90 per cent online.
My favourite place to buy clothes is second-hand on Vinted. The way I find the perfect pieces is by knowing what brands I know and love and searching those brands by size from time to time to find those beautiful, essential investment pieces.
The brands I search for the most include Doén, Christy Dawn, Spell & the Gypsy Collective, Sézane, Rouje, Tigerlily, Faithfull The Brand, Chasing Unicorns, Lack Of Color, Zadig & Voltaire, Reformation, Maurie & Eve, Loewe…
My special, unique pieces and jewellery either come from local designers when I occasionally pass through their shops and pop-ups or from Etsy, where I know my purchase is directly supporting a maker. I don’t have a favourite Etsy shop but rather go in with a specific vision in mind and search until I can find someone who can make it for me. I recently had some beautiful gold handmade pieces made for my birthday by the lovely Ieva from Dzerve Jewellery here in Mallorca. I also had a couple of silk slips made by Tu Anh Nguyen from Lela Silk on Etsy.
I buy active wear from Free People. Yes, I know that they are not the most sustainable brand. But the quality is good, I wear their pieces for years and the cuts suit me so at a pay-per-wear level they make the most sense for me
Most of my underwear comes from French niche brands like Le Petit Trout, Ysé, Noo Paris and Icone. I love delicate, lacy bralettes and panties to give me a ‘put-together’ feel no matter what I’m wearing over the top. My girlfriends are often more excited about my lingerie than the rare man that gets to strip them off me.
Buying and wearing clothes in a sustainable, conscious and intentional way has had a ripple effect across all of my life.
It has taught me that the things we treasure hold more value, that being resourceful with what you have makes looking and feeling good now more important than waiting to look and feel good in the future when you have that coveted piece that you don’t need, and that not everything needs to be fast.
Sometimes, the best things move slow.