Of all the challenges that come with a minimalist lifestyle, regulating our spending on clothes may be the toughest to stick to. Social media and advertisements constantly pepper us with new styles, brand names and temptation. Stores compete with each other to encourage shopping with them. Not to mention, we get bored by wearing the same old things over and over. Practicing minimalism isn’t always easy, and temptations make it even harder. “How can I be minimalist with clothes?“, you may ask. In this article, we’ll focus on 10 ways to can maintain a minimalist wardrobe and look good doing it!
Statistics About Clothing Spending & Waste
Before we get started, consider the following statistics about clothing, including how much people own and how much we spend!
According to Fashion United:
- The fashion industry yields over $400 Billion in revenue per year – just in the US alone!
- In New York City, the fashion industry generates $11 Billion in wages and salaries for employees in the industry.
- In turn, New York City collects over $2 Billion in tax revenue from the industry!
Clearly, fashion is a gigantic industry in the US and worldwide, alike.
The Bureau Of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases reports summarizing consumer spending habits each year. In 2018, the BLS reports that an average household – single, couple, family – spends $1,800 per year on clothing. That’s about $150 per month, or $40 per week on clothing!
Here are a few stats about clothing waste from Edge Fashion Intelligence:
- The clothing & textile industry is the second-highest polluter in the world, behind oil .
- The average person THROWS AWAY 70 pounds of clothes and shoes per year. Not donated or recycled – thrown out.
- Over 70% of the world’s population wears second0hand clothing…
- Of which, the US exports over 1 Billion pounds of used clothes every years. To put that in perspective, that’s about 285,000 Toyota Camrys in weight.
- It takes 5,000 gallons of water to manufacture a T-shirt and pair of jeans.
These are some pretty shocking stats, but it’s important to understand the reality around us. So the ‘million dollar question’ is…
How Can I Be Minimalist With Clothes? Here’s Our Top 10 Tips
Without further ado, here’s our list of 10 tips for being more of a minimalist with clothes:
- Always Buy Quality Materials
- Know The Signs Of Long-Lasting Clothing
- Stick With Black, White, Greys & Earth Tones For More Combinations
- Stay Away From Hot Trends
- Maintain Similar Build & Size For As Long As Possible
- ‘Cornerstone’ Items Like Jackets & Shoes Should Be As Versatile As Possible
- Wear It Until It Can’t Be Worn
- Don’t Shop Just For Fun – Buy What You Need
- Look For Brands Who Use Recycled Materials
- Donate What You Don’t Need
Let’s go through a bit more detail for each one of these points. Scroll to continue!
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1. Always Buy Quality Materials
Simply put, better quality clothing lasts longer than cheaper clothes. What are quality clothes made of? High quality material!
A high quality material should not morph or stretch easily, should handle many washes and generally hold up with few signs of wear.
As a disclaimer, we’re writing about clothing that touches the skin in this section – not jackets, etc.
Here are some high quality clothing fabrics to look for when shopping:
- Cotton/Cotton Blends
- Linen
- Denim
- Wool (Merino, Preferably)
- Leather
In turn, avoid man-made, synthetic materials such as polyester, acrylic, nylon and rayon. While there are exceptions, these materials generally don’t breathe well, handle many washes or last long.
This counts double if you see them on a high-price item!
2. Know The Signs Of Long-Lasting Clothing
When searching for a few, high quality items in your wardrobe, it’s important to know what makes a garment high quality.
For shoes, leather generally holds up for the longest – by a country mile. We understand there’s an ethical dilemma, but in fairness – leather’s synthetic counterparts really don’t hold up or wear well at all.
High quality clothing – shoes, pants, shirts, etc. – all have one common thread…stitching. See what we did there? Look for strong, durable stitching at seams, soles, etc. Tears that these spots is common in cheaper items.
Buttons and zippers will also be strong and durable on high quality garments. You’ll spot the cheap kinds easily.
Generally speaking, avoid garments that are glued, heavily dyed and thin.
Weirdly, heaviness is often a sign of high quality clothing. Why? Heavy fabrics are thicker, thicker clothes hold up longer. Simple!
3. Stick With Black, White, Greys & Earth Tones For More Combinations
If you’re wondering ‘How can I be a minimalist with clothes?“, there’s one word to keep in mind at all times: versatility.
Clothes that are white, black, greys and earth tones in the tan and brown family are easy to match with many other garments.
A white shirt looks good with any jacket or coat. The same can be said for a black shirt.
Greys and earth tones tend to complement other colors, not take away from them.
As a rule, it’s good to have 80-90% of a wardrobe fall in these color categories for maximum versatility and matching. The more you can wear a garment for, the fewer clothes you need!
4. Stay Away From Hot Trends
The latest fashion trends seem immortal in the moment. “How could this ever not look awesome?”, we wonder. If the hottest trends are really immortal, let’s test the theory. How likely are you to wear any of the following today?
- Bell bottoms
- Sweater vests
- Patchwork dresses, shirts, etc.
- Tie dye T-shirts
- Oversized, baggy jeans
- Velour sweatpants
We could go on and on, but in short – the latest trend now will be made fun of online in a few years.
To be minimalist with clothes, it’s important to choose timeless looks. The best way to find timeless clothing is to keep it simple, avoid flashiness and make sure that the clothes actually fit.
5. Maintain Similar Build & Size For As Long As Possible
We’ll keep this one short – by staying a similar size for a long time, clothes will fit for a long time too.
By staying a similar build and clothing size for many years, timeless clothes will look as good several years from now as it does now.
If you have a goal of losing weight, it’s best to avoid buying any new clothes until you reach your goal. The same can be said for tying to build muscle, or even just fluctuating weight between seasons.
6. ‘Cornerstone’ Items Like Jackets & Shoes Should Be As Versatile As Possible
We call items like jackets, shoes, suits and formalwear ‘cornerstone’ items, because they’re often used more often than any particular shirt or pair of pants.
In turn, these items are a lot more expensive, too.
For example, we wear jackets in the rain, when it’s cold and in the snow. Some people have a rain coat, a warm jacket and a snow jacket. In reality, a more versatile jacket should work for at least two of those occasions. A fairly warm, waterproof jacket with a hood can probably satisfy all three needs. Stick to the colors in item 3 for even more versatility.
When buying a suit or formalwear, it’s best to stick with a simple, well-tailored design in a flexible color like dark grey or navy blue. These colors can be worn with almost any colored shirt.
7. Wear It Until It Can’t Be Worn
When was the last time you wore out an article of clothing? As in, worn it until it can’t be worn anymore?
Generally speaking, a large portion of clothes are literally thrown away each year, often barely-worn clothing included.
There’s a simple solution to this – once you have a item like a button-down shirt, just wear it until it cannot be worn one more time, and don’t replace or supplement it until that point.
This goes for every type of clothing. Divide up your wardrobe into categories such as shoes, suits, button-up shirts, etc. A new item within a category can’t be bought until a garment you already have is completely worn out.
8. Don’t Shop Just For Fun – Buy What You Need
Shopping is a pastime for many. Malls exist solely to shop as much as possible in one place. Online shopping and shopping via social media sites makes it almost impossible to avoid temptation. The solution? Learn to not be tempted!
If you ever go shopping ‘just for fun’, it’s likely that you’ve bought clothes you don’t need.
For reasons stated previously, it becomes a hobby to go looking for new clothes to buy. For some, shopping is an addiction!
In either scenario, recreational shopping should be avoided completely when trying to be minimalist with clothes.
9. Look For Brands Who Use Recycled Materials
In reference to the statistic we shared earlier, the clothing and textile industry is the second-highest polluting industry in the world!
On the backend, the average American throws 70 pounds of clothing into the garbage each year.
In response to the sheer amount of waste generated by the clothing industry, there are many companies around today that sell clothes made from recycled materials.
These recycled materials include excess fabrics, rubber from tires, plastic from bottled and more.
Here are a few recycled clothing and shoe companies to check out:
While wearing recycled clothing isn’t minimalist in a quantity-sense, it does make use of fabric that’d otherwise be wasted, or might have already been wasted.
10. Donate What You Don’t Need
Last, but certainly not least – donate what you don’t wear! This is the most ethical, least-wasteful thing you can do with clothes.
Even if you have clothes in perfect condition – if you aren’t going to wear it, donate it instead.
Your donated clothes may go to local shelters and discount stores, or it might be shipped throughout the world to a country in need.
As stated earlier, the majority of the world does wear used clothing. In America, we are so heavily influenced by consumerism that we forget just how different most of the world lives.
Rather than contribute to the literal tons of clothes that get thrown away every year, a donation will be much appreciated by someone else!
In Summary
Clothing is a huge industry – both in terms of revenue and in popularity. It’s unfortunately wasteful, too. Luckily, the first step is becoming aware of the situation! If you came here wondering ‘How can I be minimalist with clothes‘, you now have some crazy statistics to refer to, along with 10 actionable steps for maximizing your wardrobe while minimizing waste! Thanks a lot for reading.