Have you ever heard of Project 333? Courtney Carver started it, to see if she could limit her wardrobe to 33 items for 3 months, hence the 333. She started it a few years ago and seemingly still does it each season. Courtney’s 33 items includes not only her clothes and shoes but also accessories including sunglasses, jewelry, and even her laptop bag. I’m not quite that adventurous, but I’m giving it a try. I haven’t quite got my list down to 33 yet, in fact if you include shoes, bags, etc. it’s quite a bit higher. But for me, this is simple, and I’m hoping along the way I find a few items I can remove from rotation.
In order to create a simple wardrobe that still has style, it’s necessary to identify your core color groups, including one or two neutrals and a couple of accent colors. Unlike many minimalists, I am not comfortable dressing in all black all the time. I have pale freckled skin, strawberry blonde hair, and green eyes. Black makes me look… sick. So my neutrals are going to be khaki and navy, and my accent colors will be blue and pink/red.
I have 5 pairs of pants in my spring wardrobe:
- Lands’ End navy ankle length pants
- Old Navy chinos
- J Crew dark rinse skinny
- LOFT black slacks
- LOFT white ankle jeans
Then I have 2 pairs of shorts and 2 skirts:
- Old Navy light green chino shorts
- Old Navy khaki chino shorts
- Lands’ End navy skirt
- LOFT black/ivory skirt
Now I have 5 t-shirts. Let me tell you, it was hard to cut down to five. I live in t-shirts.
- Old Navy navy
- Old Navy white
- LOFT ivory w/lace trim
- Merona blue
- Old Navy “vintage” red
Then we have 5 blouses.
- Lands’ End floral long sleeved
- Old Navy tan sleeveless
- Old Navy navy bandana
- Old Navy pink sleeveless
- Old Navy navy button-down
Now my dresses. I’ll be honest, I didn’t cut many dresses, because I love each one of these so much, so there are 6.
- Lands’ End wrap-style LBD
- Old Navy wrap-style navy/white
- Old Navy black/white
- Lands’ End navy with green/white chains
- Athleta ivory/green
- Lands’ End wrap style tan
Next up is cardigans and blazers. There are 5.
- LOFT short-sleeved blue cardigan
- Old Navy white open cardigan
- LOFT denim jacket
- Tommy Hilfiger navy blazer
- Tommy Hilfiger off-white blazer
That comes to 30 items. Not bad! But unlike the strict rules of Project 333, I haven’t included shoes and accessories here.
7 pairs of shoes:
- Anne Klein black wedges
- Anne Klein walking shoes
- Anne Klein pink flats
- Sketchers taupe flats
- Old Navy tan flats
- Old Navy tan sandals
Sunglasses, purse, jacket:
- brown wayfarers
- pink/orange/khaki purse (not the one shown but similar)
- Lands’ End blue trench
And don’t even get me started on jewelry. 🙂 Also, Project 333 says I don’t have to count undies, camisoles, pajamas, exercise clothes, and lounging clothes, and I have plenty of those. And if we’re really being honest, I have a few other things in the closet, but they won’t be part of the rotation. Maybe I’ll even get rid of them one of these days!
But hey, all in all, I feel this is fairly simple. It’s a good start, and I’m ready for spring.
Keep calm and simplify,
Christine
Merf In Progress 