The Wardrobe Edit

Stack of jeans with a plant

What will happen if I spent a net $0 on clothes for a year? Out of curiosity, I have decided to find out.

I love clothes and am always seeking to build the perfect wardrobe. As a teenager, one of my favorite pastimes was shopping at thrift stores. There was always the possibility of finding hidden treasures – vintage dresses, high-end leather shoes, maybe a really great bag. Fast forward a decade and I had a closet full of bargain clothes that I barely wore. It was easy to justify purchasing clothes that were only a few dollars, even if they didn’t fit quite right.

Then I stumbled upon minimalism, capsule wardrobes, and Project 333. My wardrobe went through a massive transformation. Large trash bags were donated to the local Goodwill. What I didn’t regularly wear was packed away. A capsule wardrobe was tried out a few times. I stopped shopping at second-hand stores. My closet became much more functional. But I still have boxes of clothes that I don’t wear and items with their tags still on. Somehow impulse clothing purchases fill my wardrobe and I was stuck with items that I didn’t love.

This year, while packing away my winter clothes in preparation for Summer, I decided to try selling some of my unused clothes. Clothes I didn’t wear were easily turned into cash online. Selling unwanted clothes changed my approach to clothing. It suddenly made more sense to sell the too-small pair of jeans that were packed away in a box and use the cash to purchase something I would actually use. And so was the idea of a wardrobe edit was born.

The Wardrobe Edit Rules

For one year, starting September 1st, I will:

  1. Purchase no new clothes, any items that I need will be purchased second hand
  2. Keep spending on clothes and shoes to below $0
  3. Sell everything in my closet that I wouldn’t purchase for at least $20