Downsizing on a Daily Basis
When I moved out of my mom’s house, I was committed to moving with only what could fit in my mom’s hatchback car. No more piles of unworn clothes — Let’s figure out what DC work culture looks like first. I didn’t want to expand my wardrobe in anticipation for my new job because I was unsure of what was appropriate. Business formal? Business casual?
It turns out, my particular arrangement at work calls for “smart casual”. Some people opt for jeans and a nice sweater on a daily basis. Others dress more formal each day, sporting spiffy shoes and sharp suits. Working for six months has given me a fairly solid idea of the appropriate dress attire at work. Also, it’s given me some time to figure out how I wanted to dress for work too.
Because many parts of work culture are still fresh in my eyes, I enjoy erring on the side of a more formal attire each day! Putting on a pair of crisp dress pants places me in a productive work mindset. It gets me excited about starting a new work day and what’s to come.
If we want to get technical, my work wardrobe doesn’t even come close to meeting the requirements for a nice capsule wardrobe inspired by Project 333 — Which is totally okay.
Table of Contents
Here is an inventory of everything I own for my work wardrobe:
At first glance, 50+ pieces of clothing sounds like a lot!
I was pretty shocked too. But this is my all year four-season wardrobe.
When I put it like that, it doesn’t sound too bad.
Moving forward, the goal is to have clothes that I feel represents who I am, through clothes that are…
- Comfortable, especially shoes. No toe-smushing or bunyon-inducing shoes.
- Bright in color and patterns.
- Simple and can be spiced up with accessories if desired.
- Low-maintannce, high quality, and doesn’t. wrinkle. easily.
- Get along with the rest of my closet — Plenty of mix and match options!
Love every piece, feel great in it, and therefore wear every piece often!
Any clothes that I wish to retire, donate, or sell to a consignment shop are neatly folded in a brown bag in the corner of my closet. There also exists a short list of items to replace, such as my navy flats that are subtly sporting a few unflattering holes.
As clothes continue to flow in and out of my closet, I’ll continue to re-visit my style, love new pieces, and enjoy a streamlined closet that can express my truest self to date every single day.