My week in minimalism

Spoiler alert: It didn't go well.

(Note: this post is too long for email; so you’ll have to click to expand when you get to the bottom!)

Every once in a while, I decide I should be a minimalist. Or at least dress like one. It just seems so confident, so stress-free, so satisfying. Knowing who you are with such certainty. Calming the riot of colors and prints to see the subtler textures and shapes and tones. Living like those Brittany Bathgate ASMR vlogs. Black maillots and chai lattes.

But minimalism for me is like my old good-on-paper boyfriends. Seems so smart! Makes so much sense! Such a calming influence! And I could never stick with it. I crave drama.

Once I landed on the whole style DNA thing and found my adjectives — heritage, modern, approachable, Miami — I realized that I can want minimal one day (it’s the modern, heritage side of me) and bold colors and details the next (Miami state of mind). And it doesn’t mean I’m confused. You know, #multitudes. I have different parts to me, and I can punch them according to mood, surroundings, whatever. I generally wake up, suss out what I want to feel, and go for it.

But lately I’ve been feeling that heritage/modern minimalism urge more often than usual. Things like traditional tailored pants and simple, black and white or black and navy, like stopping at a tee, skirt and loafers rather than looking for that “more.” And on IG for the most part (a few “where’s your Miami?” comments notwithstanding), people have been saying — oh I like you in this. Huh!

The thing that really put me over the edge was this Youtube video I’ve mentioned in my IG stories and landed on haphazardly (likely because I’ve already watched every Trinny Woodall Closet Confession multiple times already). In it, Hannah, a young woman craving minimalism herself, determines to live for a month with a minimalist wardrobe. And it’s transformative for her. I had so much FOMO watching this thing. Like so much, that I couldn’t even remember why I gave up on minimalism. I looked at my closet and was like, “This closet is screaming! WTF is this McQueen ball skirt? WTF is my life?”

I was legit ready to pack up half my stuff and store it, the way Hannah did in the video. But that sounded like a lot of work. Could I just put it in garment bags? Honestly that was too much too (even though one of Hannah’s takeaways was how soothing it was to be in her newly minimalist closet). Instead, I decided to try a week as a minimalist before investing the effort on a month.

And I’m glad I did. Here’s how it went.

Day 1: Sorta kinda? Not really.

Per usual, woke up and went to work in my morning working cafe. Actually first I did a packing live that I had told someone I’d do. On the plus side, I really, really felt great in this. Fresh and easy. It’s an old skirt from the Row I got at my fave IRL consignment shop, Castanet. And a new Sacai tank. A Jil Sander bag. The Row, Jil — so minimalist-y, no? No. I have so many details happening with the hat, the lace-up shoe, the woven bag, the bra cups on my tank, the sweater at my waist.

C-- .

Day 2: I think I don’t even know what minimalism is.

I woke up tired and foggy. Headed to the cafe where I work in the morning and I needed clothes to work out in after. There are some minimalist pieces and ideas here — monochrome, the old Celine slides, the Marni bag. But overall, it doesn’t feel minimal. Hat! Glasses! Transparent skirt! It’s like minimal in name only. I think maybe it’s maximal, honestly.

I tried to do better for a meeting. But I found sticking to the minimalism brief really hard! With so few colors, patterns, flourishes, every little choice felt important. Also, with all the black and navy, when I got on Zoom I felt morose and unfinished. The details and interest was all “below the fold.” I ultimately added a plastic-y Marni necklace I found on eBay.

But look at these pics below to see how much I tweaked, edited, doubted, and stressed. Where I could have put on one bold dress and my loafers and felt like me.

Morning: C-

Afternoon: A-

Overall: B-

Wednesday

Ok this one went well. Minimalism worked in my favor. I had work to get done (again in the cafe) before my 11:00 phone meeting. Put on my fave Old Celine pants and I just said “find a white T shirt and don’t overthink it.” I rolled the sleeves and then said “stop!” No fussing. No belt. I love these The Row slippers from Castanet — sooo comfy — but they don’t go with everything. since they’re narrow, though, I loved them with the wide pants. And so as not to match, I took my Lutz Morris bag in army green. No logo, no hardware. Felt great and out the door in 10 minutes!

For my 2 walking phone meetings, I couldn’t find anything minimal, so I grabbed all 1 color. And I felt so joyful putting color on! I missed you, color! Look at my face!

And then I showered for my last meeting of the day, which was a Zoom. Since it was on the later side, I knew I’d want comfy sweats on the bottom. I put on a black tee and I needed something to make it feel “meeting outfit-y” - normally my go-to is a flowered Dries bomber with big shoulders. I did not want to put on a full on blazer at this hour, but I reached for this soft navy Nomia one and annoyed as I may have been, I did feel good in it.

A! A-. The workout wear.

Thursday

With a growing awareness that I don’t know WTF minimalism even is, actually, I rewatched Trinny Woodall on minimalism to get refreshed, and it was inspiring! It’s not just about color but texture, shapes, flow, details, what we show and hide.

I started with a walk + work, and I thought this really met the brief. white tank, black dress/shirt thingy, black leggings. Dirty white grandpa sandal. All monochrome, minimal ornamentation, and playing with fitted/loose, sheer/opaque, slim/substantive. (I notice that when the interesting elements are subtle, they don’t photograph too well.)

But. I was just so bored. I felt lifeless. I had this new pink skirt I couldn’t wait to wear.

I came home and put on some new Margiela jeans with an old Dries net tee shirt and my Tibi brown loafers for the rest of the day, which I thought felt maximal in a way but photographed nicely minimal. Still, I wondered if the newness of the jeans was giving me the excitement I craved.

Then I went and got a neon pedicure.

C+

At this point I realized squarely that no, whatever I had been feeling was fleeting. I like going with the flow of a mood. I don’t want to be a minimalist! Mom, I don’t want to eat the broccoli! Don’t make me. (Wow, with this attitude, sometimes it’s hard to believe I get so much mail from AARP.)

Friday

I woke up thinking "thank G, it’s the last day!” So I’d already somehow determined that the terms were not ”one week” but “one work week.” Wow, not only am I not a minimalist, but minimalism had made me a cheater.

I did an IG live with my friend Christian on style DNA (timely!), and then three of us spent a day walking, shopping, eating, museum-ing, and meeting our hubs for dinner. I started with shoes I knew I could walk in, and airiness on top for the heat, and an interesting neckline for the live. But this doesn’t have that minimalist feeling does it? It’s black and white. The shoes are Margiela and they’re modern but overall the shape is very fit and flare, close to the body, conventional vs. sculptural. I polled my IG: is it minimalist? They were 50/50.

I didn’t feel like a minimalist, like I’d felt in the look below, which I put on randomly months ago.

or this one that sparked this whole (less-adventurous) adventure.

Saturday

I woke up feeling like a cheater, so I thought I’d try and make it through the weekend.

Started strong. I put on an old and very trusty Jil Sander T shirt dress to putter around and go to the bank. Betrayed by my neon toes, though.

Later I thought the dress was too dark to go for a walk in; it was 80 degrees. I don’t know about this, below. Again, it’s minimal in color but I’m maxing out all over. Bucket hat, bra strap, the sweater, the monk straps, the fold-over Palm Angels shorts? Brittany Bathgate would NOT approve. Also I really look like Gilligan.

D+

Sunday

I woke up Sunday allowing myself to be done … but I’d come so far. I needed to go work and get food, and it was one of those moments where the boundaries got me out the door faster again. I had to focus on something minimal and heat friendly, and this Old Celine dress (a $246 Ebay score from long ago) was a no brainer. I needed a big bag for my laptop and the minimalist options were black. And that meant no “matchy” black shoe. Unforch the minimalism friendly Margielas are hurting me. Minimalism is pain, you guys! (Ok, I need a Tabi no-show sock.)

A- (the minus is for my not-cool limping)

The end.

Sometimes when I talk about having gone to law school and then not being a lawyer for long, people say, “but of course you learned so much.” And generally I think, “not really!” That was my first thought after this failed experiment, too. But I think that’s not right. True, I didn’t have the “Hannah effect” I envisioned when I watched her closet and life altering Youtube. But I learned a few things.

• Tune in to how you feel daily — Most of us have different sides and moods. This process was like a knife sharpening of these instincts, which I think we need from time to time.

• You can admire it without wanting to “be it.” I mean, I admire Doctors Without Borders. I’ve never been tempted to try and be one. I can look at the restraint of say, Neelam Ahooja or even the more playful cast of my friend Rose Li and learn so much about proportion and texture and balance. Without wanting to throw out my 6 inch enamel embellished Marni bracelet or hot pink McQueen ball skirt.

• Go with your first instinct. Looks I like best seem to happen easily. Once I decide it’s “not enough” and start changing it doesn’t end well. Maybe “minimal” is about minimal effort. Try sticking with what you first had in mind. Question whether you’re just second guessing yourself.

• There is a beauty in “stopping” — like when you have a perfect, fresh from the sea oyster, you just squeeze lemon on it and stop. When it comes to the add-ons, I want to practice more of this. Once you’re in something good, try and stop fussing. Let a piece you love (even a maximal piece) do its thing. It takes practice. Tell yourself “just leave!”

• Don’t forget that one color (or “no color”) works. It’s one of the things I don’t do enough, an all one color look. And it helps you focus on volume and texture. Especially good in a rush.

• Repeat. There’s a reason Netflix asks you if you want to rewatch. It’s a lot to invest in something new versus re-doing what you know is good. For those who take photos of outfits daily or who derive a lot of creativity from dressing, you might sometimes feel like if you don’t put something new together you’re not learning or sharing new information. Remember the place of clothing, to make you feel you. (And you know, cover your ass.) Repeating what you love is a proven way to feel like yourself.

• It can be good to confirm. Style and experimentation go hand in hand. If we get too fixed, maybe we’re losing something we’d find in allowing ourselves the freedom to try. Just wondering about whether my lean into minimalism meant anything was a good thing for me. My kind of minimalist looks are “me” too. But it was good to pressure test and confirm that yes, I still crave more. I’ll do it again, I’m sure.