I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t bought any new clothing in the four-ish years that I’ve been a minimalist. I totally have. But since becoming a minimalist, my approach to buying clothing has completely evolved.
I no longer have full-blown shopping sprees or buy outfits to wear on just one occasion. In fact, there are many ‘rules’ I follow to keep my wardrobe minimal and spending in check.
In this post, I’ll share how I buy clothing as a minimalist and the 8 rules I follow to maintain a minimalist wardrobe.
Minimalism Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Buy New Clothing
I have so much respect for the Steve Jobses of the world, the people who can wear the same thing every single day and not get bored.
When I initially adopted a minimalist lifestyle, I truly believed I would become that person. However, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I just won’t.
I genuinely find so much joy in expressing myself through clothing, so wearing the same basic outfit every day feels uninspiring to me. But even so, my desire to express myself through fashion doesn’t trump the fact that I also want a minimalist wardrobe.
In order to find balance, I’ve come up with a set of rules for buying new clothing. Following these rules has allowed me to maintain a minimalist wardrobe, while also buying new pieces every once in a while. It has felt sustainable while also pushing me to live with less and question my spending.
If you want a minimalist wardrobe but fear that this means saying “no” to buying new clothes forever, think again. Minimalism doesn’t mean you can’t buy new clothing; it just means changing your approach to shopping and collecting.
8 Rules for Buying Clothing as a Minimalist
As a minimalist, I have quite a few rules when it comes to buying clothing. I have these rules in place so that I can be super intentional with the pieces that I bring into my wardrobe, while still allowing myself to buy new clothing in a way that aligns with my goals.
Here are my 8 rules for buying clothing as a minimalist.
1. Thrift Swap is OK
As a minimalist, my go-to method for adding to my wardrobe is by doing a thrift swap.
I’ll pick out clothes from my wardrobe that I no longer wear and take them to a consignment shop. If they sell, I get store credit, which I use to buy some new pieces. It’s always so fun to trade in a few items I don’t love for one or two that I do. Plus, I kill two birds with one stone – I declutter my wardrobe and freshen it up at the same time!
I used to do this a lot at the beginning of my minimalist journey, but it’s become trickier over time. I’ve grown to love almost every item in my wardrobe, and the thought of replacing anything is less appealing. But hey, that’s the ultimate goal of having a minimalist wardrobe, and reaching this stage is pretty exciting.
Image above: I bought these boots from the consignment shop with store credit. They’re a size too big so I bought insoles for them and now they fit me perfectly (plus, they’re extra comfy!)
2. Upgrading is OK
I own two dresses: one summer dress and one winter dress. I’m absolutely in love with the winter dress – it has the perfect fit, color, and style. Not to brag, but I actually bought it for $7 from Goodwill years ago. I can’t imagine ever replacing it.
My summer dress on the other hand, well, it’s more of a placeholder. I bought it because I needed a dress to wear to an event and didn’t have one. But even when I bought it, I wasn’t that obsessed with it. The quality of the material isn’t the best so it looks a bit cheap to me. The fit is also not that great. It gapes around the chest area and when I lift my arms, the dress is almost too short (or too short according to some people’s standards.)
I have a wedding coming up, and my plan was to wear that dress, although secretly, I was hoping that I would find a replacement for it in time. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, though. I wasn’t going to replace the dress unless I found one I absolutely loved.
This past weekend, I visited my local consignment shop to sell some clothing and made a beeline for the dress section to see if anything caught my eye. Lo and behold, I found the perfect dress! Since I brought clothes to sell, I ended up getting the dress for free using the store credit I earned. But honestly, even if I hadn’t sold anything I would’ve bought the dress anyway. Why? Because for me, upgrading is ok. If there’s a piece in my wardrobe that is ill fitting or poor quality, I will allow myself to replace it.
Image above: Dress on the left is the one that I’ll be selling/donating. Dress on the right is the one that I’m keeping! I clearly have a thing for floral…
3. No Online Shopping
When I decided to become a minimalist, the first thing I did was tell myself that I couldn’t shop for clothing online anymore.
Online shopping has always been so tempting for me. There’s a level of marketing that goes into online shopping that I find isn’t as extreme with in-person shopping. With online shopping, brands style the clothes in a way that makes them look much trendier and more stylish than they are on their own. Your mind tricks you into thinking you’re buying the outfit, when really, you’re just purchasing the individual article of clothing.
Plus, it’s easy to look at the photo of the clothing being modeled and think that is how the clothing will look on you. Even though you know that buying the piece won’t magically transform your body into the 6 ft tall model wearing the clothes, a part of you pretends that it will. And let’s not forget that the quality of the clothing and fit always looks better in pictures than in real life.
Shopping in person has less magic involved, in my opinion. Seeing the piece on the rack, you don’t imagine what it’ll look like on you or what the quality is like. You can see it and try it on for yourself.
4. One in, One Out
If you’ve read even one blog post about how to create a minimalist wardrobe, you’re probably familiar with this rule.
The one-in-one-out rule is a favorite among us minimalist bloggers. It’s simple: if you bring an item into your wardrobe, you must remove an item from your wardrobe in its place. Hence, one in, one out.
Following this rule has really helped me keep my wardrobe minimal and my spending habits under control. This is especially true now that I’ve been practicing minimalism for quite some time and genuinely love all the items in my wardrobe.
5. Wait 30 Days
When I’m out and about and see something I love, I never just go ahead and buy it. Instead, I snap a quick photo and add it into the ‘wish list’ album on my phone. I give it a 30-day grace period to see if it’s still calling my name. Usually, after that time, the urge to buy has faded, so I delete it from my wish list and pat myself on the back for dodging an impulse buy.
If, after 30 days, I still want it, I go for it. But, you guessed it, I stick to the one in, one out rule and let go of something in its place. I also have a notepad in my phone titled ‘wish list’ where I jot down random things that pop into my head that I want. I stick with the 30-day rule for these items too.
6. Avoid Duplicates
Before embracing minimalism, I owned multiple winter jackets, several hats, and the same shirt in five colors. However, I only ever wore my favorites. Now that I’m maintaining a minimalist wardrobe, I avoid buying duplicates at all costs.
Keep in mind that the idea of ‘avoiding duplicates’ may mean different things to different people. For you, this may mean not owning multiples of the same style of jeans – so only having one pair of skinny jeans, and all other jeans should be in different styles (flare, etc.).
In my case, avoiding duplicates means not owning multiple items that look the same and serve the same purpose.
For instance, I own two pairs of leggings (see below). Although they may look like duplicates, they’re actually not! The ones on the right are my favorite for workouts, while the ones on the left can be dressed up and worn to work or casually. They may look similar, but that’s just because they’re both my style, not because they’re duplicates in my wardrobe.
Also, this is just what works for me! If all you wear are black leggings, you’ll probably want to have multiple pairs in your wardrobe. If one of them rips, it’ll make sense to replace it with a duplicate.
7. Avoid Trends
Sometimes it’s hard to know if you love something because it’s trendy or because you actually love it. To avoid buying pieces that you’ll fall out of love with, avoid trends altogether.
Not sure if the new piece on your wish list is a current trend? Ask yourself, is every fast fashion clothing store trying to replicate it? Is every fashion influencer wearing it? If so, chances are, it’s a trend.
To help you avoid trends, I recommend unfollowing the fashion influencers you follow online. The less input you have from others, the more sure you can be that the clothing you like is your style, and not just a trend.
It’s also important to recognize that you can like and appreciate a certain style without having to wear it. There will be so many styles that you resonate with throughout your life. If you try out every single style you like, you’ll end up wasting so much money.
Want to create a minimalist wardrobe but feel like your style is constantly changing? Click here.
8. No Shopping Sales
And last but not least, don’t shop sales!
My philosophy is that if I really want something, I would buy it regardless of whether it was on sale or not. Plus, if I’m in the market for something, I don’t want to make my purchase decision based on which brand or color is on sale. I want to pick out exactly what I want.
That’s not to say that if there was something that I needed and it happened to be on sale, I wouldn’t buy it. I just don’t seek out sales anymore.
There you have it, the 8 rules I follow for buying clothes as a minimalist. What are your minimalist shopping rules? Let me know in the comments below!
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