The perfect closet exists, but it is not located on the other side of your next purchase.
According to the Public Interest Research Group, the average American buy 53 new articles of clothing each year. That’s more than one new thing per week and four times as much as in the year 2000. Accordingly, garment manufacturers are now producing more than 100 billion pieces every year.
It’s easy to blame fast fashion for our overconsumption. Indeed, rapacious corporate greed is a part of the problem. But companies are ceaselessly churning out new attire only because we shoppers keep demanding more.
Just like everyone else, you and I yearn to be trendy. When you think about it, though, trendy is just marketing jargon that really means “soon to go out of style.”
Next time you look in the mirror, consider doing more than a ‘fit check. Consider being honest with yourself about those misplaced desires and insecurities that lead to discontent and debt and piles of cheap clothes, not a perfect closet.
As a recovering perfectionist, I know it feels like that new belt, those new shoes, that new dress will scratch your consumer itch. After all, you’re just a few outfits away from a flawless closet, right?
No.
You see, the word perfect comes from the Latin word perficere, which breaks down into per- (“completely”) and facere (“do”). In other words, perfect does not mean flawless; it means completely done.
Thus, the key to a perfect closet is not addition—it is subtraction.
The wardrobe you want won’t be crafted by acquiring more costumes. (How many years have you been sold that lie?) No, perfect is uncovered when you jettison the clutter that incompleted your closet in the first place.
So, instead of buying a new item every week, just like your fellow trendsetters, what would happen if you let go of ten old items this week?
You can start with anything you haven’t worn in the last year. Soon, you will find yourself donating everything you haven’t worn in the last 90 days.
In the end, with all the excess out of the way, all that remains are your favorite clothes. Perfect was hiding in your closet this whole time. No purchase necessary.
