More is less
My wardrobe is, I suspect, smaller than most other women's. Nevertheless, over the years I've managed to accumulate 25-30 t-shirts**. Mostly, they're plain t-shirts (I loathe logo'ed t-shirts), but I have the occasional shirt that commemorates an event or company***.
Anyway, these past months I've been extremely dissatisfied with my wardrobe; nothing looks good in the mornings. It's a good thing I'm married to my roommate, otherwise he might move out at the end of the lease with all the bellyaching he's been getting in the mornings :). And, although I've stopped by my usual stores to see if there's something I like which could alleviate my unhappiness, I haven't found anything I actually like enough to shell out money for.
In a fit of cleaning a few weekends ago, however, I had a chance to throw out**** all the old t-shirts that I no longer like. And, wouldn't you know, it's increased my wardrobe satisfaction again. I think daily process of sifting through all the yucky shirts (my t-shirt wardrobe contracted by ~40% after the cleanout) put me in an uncharitable mood towards the shirts I might otherwise like; now, without them, I find that my overall satisfaction with the remaining shirts has gone up. I feel like I got a whole new wardrobe without spending a penny; yay!
Somewhat relatedly, the "Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less" is a talk I've been meaning to recommend for months. Listen, and enjoy.
** I'm defining "t-shirt" here as "anything that goes on the upper body with sleeves shorter than 3/4-length". This includes polos and tanktops.
*** I really REALLY hate logo'ed t-shirts -- company logos most of all -- so I usually keep one per company I work(ed) for and throw away the rest, unless it also falls into the "commemoritive event" bucket.
**** and by "throw out", I mean "donate to charity". They're all gently loved, it's just that most of them are logo'ed, with the occasional "I don't think I should wear something that {tight/colour} anymore" to provide variety.
Anyway, these past months I've been extremely dissatisfied with my wardrobe; nothing looks good in the mornings. It's a good thing I'm married to my roommate, otherwise he might move out at the end of the lease with all the bellyaching he's been getting in the mornings :). And, although I've stopped by my usual stores to see if there's something I like which could alleviate my unhappiness, I haven't found anything I actually like enough to shell out money for.
In a fit of cleaning a few weekends ago, however, I had a chance to throw out**** all the old t-shirts that I no longer like. And, wouldn't you know, it's increased my wardrobe satisfaction again. I think daily process of sifting through all the yucky shirts (my t-shirt wardrobe contracted by ~40% after the cleanout) put me in an uncharitable mood towards the shirts I might otherwise like; now, without them, I find that my overall satisfaction with the remaining shirts has gone up. I feel like I got a whole new wardrobe without spending a penny; yay!
Somewhat relatedly, the "Paradox of Choice - Why More is Less" is a talk I've been meaning to recommend for months. Listen, and enjoy.
** I'm defining "t-shirt" here as "anything that goes on the upper body with sleeves shorter than 3/4-length". This includes polos and tanktops.
*** I really REALLY hate logo'ed t-shirts -- company logos most of all -- so I usually keep one per company I work(ed) for and throw away the rest, unless it also falls into the "commemoritive event" bucket.
**** and by "throw out", I mean "donate to charity". They're all gently loved, it's just that most of them are logo'ed, with the occasional "I don't think I should wear something that {tight/colour} anymore" to provide variety.