Last month I posted an article about 7 Things I do Every Morning to Avoid Decision Fatigue.  One aspect of that is my wardrobe.  I love my wardrobe.  I love my wardrobe because I have very little in it and I only wear what fits the best and is the most comfortable. If it isn’t comfortable, or doesn’t go with everything else, I’ve pretty much gotten rid of it.

“You’re trick to a great wardrobe is to not own any clothes?”- A naysayer 

No, my trick to a great wardrobe is not owning any UNCOMFORTABLE clothes.

Amateur tip #1: Get rid of all your clothes that aren't incredibly comfortable

The reason I’m saying this is because I’ve been doing some thinking lately on how to avoid bad days.  You can’t avoid them entirely but having a comfortable wardrobe certainly helps.

We all have that one pair of jeans that doesn’t quite fit right but you paid good money for them so you wear them every once in a while.  They aren’t comfortable but you don’t want to get rid of practically new jeans.

I used to own so many uncomfortable articles of clothing.  They stayed in my closet because they were either expensive, or looked good, or were a gift or…

Get Rid of Them!

I got rid of every bit of clothing I don’t love to wear.  Wooo it feels great!  By doing this I never have days where I’m uncomfortable and I never feel overwhelmed trying to decide what to wear.  I never get stuck wearing an outfit that doesn’t fit or isn’t comfortable because all of my clothes are comfortable.

 Keeping clothes around that you don’t love to wear is an unnecessary stress.   It’s a micro-stress, but it’s still a stress.  I kept a flannel shirt for several years because it looked good.  I never wore it because the buttons would always come undone and it wasn’t very comfortable.  It was nice and new though so I kept it around.  It didn’t take up much space and I had room for it but whenever I looked at it I would feel bad that I didn’t wear it more often.

“It’s so easy for guys, women have to look cute.”

I admit there is more societal pressure for women to dress up and look cute.  Women also seem to get more joy out of combining clothes to make outfits.  Guys, this is easy.  We are only expected to were pants and a t-shirt 95% of the time.  Don’t over complicate it.

Ladies, I know you may not be able to get away with one pair of jeans but do you really need 47 t-shirts of various shades of yellow stuffed into your dresser?  Do you often find yourself trying to get dressed but you’ve got a Netflix amount of options to choose from?

Unchain yourself from an overcrowded wardrobe full of clothing you’d rather not wear.  Get rid of everything that isn’t your favorite and see how much less stressful getting dressed can be.

Amateur tip #2: Focus on buying fewer but higher quality clothes.

Now when I say high quality I mean well made and comfortable. Not simply expensive because of the brand name.  Buy clothes that will last a long time and be comfortable.  Instead of buying a bunch of jeans that aren’t comfortable and wear out quickly buy one or two nice jeans and just wear those.

I have one pair of nice jeans and one pair of work jeans

I don’t ever have to think about which jeans go with which shirt the best.  I have a nice pair I wear on the weekends and a work* pair.  They are both super comfortable and go with everything.

I buy Joe’s Jeans from Nordstrom’s Rack but I see Amazon has them as well.  They are a little spendy at around $80/pair but I wear them all the way out.

Personally, I would rather have 2 pairs of perfectly fitting jeans that cost a total of $160 rather than spend the same amount of money and have 6+ pairs jeans ranging from cheap and uncomfortable to fairly expensive and tolerable.

*Also, I have two random work pants in case my work jeans get particularly dirty.   I don’t ever wear them though unless my jeans are too filthy to work in.

Amateur tip #3: Don't shop for clothes at a mall.

Malls are for dummies.

I never shop for clothes at a mall.  Malls suck you into spending way more time and money than you initially planned on.  If you’re OCD and feel the need to look in every store for fear of missing out on that one perfect item that will finally complete your wardrobe then malls are especially bad for you.

I wear the same brand of jeans, same brand of shirts and same brand of underwear.  I don’t ever need to set foot into a mall.  Malls suck the soul out of you and leave you feeling empty.  Everyday I don’t enter a mall my happiness meter gets just a little bit higher.

Wearing the same brand of clothes makes replenishing your wardrobe a breeze.  You already know your size and style.  If you need more jeans or shirts or underwear just get the same brand you know you’ll love.

It’s amazing how many clowns can be found at your local mall.  They just walk around with their mouth agape looking to see where they can squander their hard earned dollars next.

Once or twice a year I go onto Amazon and buy several Next Level t-shirts.  They come out to around $6/shirt and are the most comfortable t-shirts I’ve ever worn.  Like my jeans, I keep my newer shirts nice and my older shirts are converted to work shirts.

This might by too much information but nothing ruins a day faster than an uncomfortable pair of underwear.  It doesn’t matter how stretchy your jeans are if your underwear bunches up into your nether regions.  Calvin Klein Cotton Stretch underwear fits me well.  I’ve bought other brands that are basically the same but they don’t fit quite right.

For the love of all things holy find yourself a brand of underwear that works for you.

I’m still working on finding the most comfortable pair of socks but I’ve got the underwear thing handled.  I have one nice pair and one…just kidding. I have lots of underwear in my minimalistic wardrobe.  I’m not an underwear minimalist.  However, I did recently have to get rid of several pairs of brand new underwear that I ashamedly bought because they were cheaper than the Calvin Kleins.  Predictably they weren’t nearly as comfortable.  The Sunk Cost Fallacy made me keep them for way longer than I should have.

Amateur tip #4 Keep non-work clothes to a minimum

How many days per week do you wear non-work clothes?

I don’t need to dress up very often. So why keep around 10 different dress shirts?  I have one nice comfortable white dress shirt and one light blue dress shirt.  This is borderline one too many dress shirts. Both my dress shirts fit my body well.  They aren’t boxy or too long and they aren’t stiff or too tight.  They fit really well and are very comfortable.  Again, for the same amount of money, I’d rather have one or two nice dress shirts than 10 ill-fitting dress shirts.

Nobody will notice if you wear the same outfit every half year or so.  If you don’t need to dress up very often why waste space with multiple outfits?

If you have to dress up for work then maybe keep casual clothes to a minimum instead.  If you wear dress pants everyday and shorts on the weekend do you still need to own 10 pairs of blue jeans?

Amateur tip #5:  Don't just buy shit because it's on sale.

You aren’t saving 33%, you’re spending 67%.

Much of this can be avoided if you follow tip #3 and avoid malls.  Malls are always having pretend sales where they charge you triple and mark it half off.   If you don’t need it you’re still just wasting money.  Everything you own will take a small mental toll on you.  Don’t let something have space in your mind just because it was 33% off.

Do you wear anything in your wardrobe because it was on sale?

Pop quiz: Suppose you have several button up shirts at home you never wear.  You’re in a mall like a dummy and you see one you like for 90% off.  It’s normally $100 but today only it’s $10.  They’re practically giving it away!!  Do you buy it?

Answer: NO!! F*CK NO! And leave the mall.

Unless you are at a shortage of a particular article of clothing don’t buy more of it just because it’s on sale.  Chances are you’ll wear it once or twice and it will be relegated to the back of the dresser until you eventually donate it to Goodwill at some point.

Just because a store normally way overcharges you doesn’t mean you are suddenly getting a deal because it’s on sale.  It’s on sale because nobody else was dumb enough to buy it at the full price.

If you need something then a sale is your BFF.  If you don’t need something, a sale is a waste of your hard earned dollars.

Related:

Good People Don’t Go Black Friday Shopping on Thanksgiving

The Retirement Plant

Life is Short- Spend for Today vs. Save for Tomorrow

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