If you were to look in my closet you would see a WHOLE LOT of black and white. I love to color coordinate my clothes and the sections of black and white make up the large proportion of my closet. Anyone else?
I see people online who have more colorful wardrobes and I am a little envious (as I’ve written about previously) BUT I continue to be attracted to black and other neutrals. Tibi’s founder, Amy Smilovic, talks about the One. Ton. None rule which breaks down, simply, to;
One pop of color gives focus where two pops can distract. Ironically, a full flood of colors creates calm. And conversely, the absence of color- through neutrals- is a color story worth trying.
So clearly I am a NONE gal and I could perhaps make my way to ONE. But then I also heard this TikTok advice, which says;
If your outfit’s not interesting through color, then it has to be interesting through shape. And if it’s not interesting by shape then it has to be interesting through texture. If it’s not interesting by texture, then it has to be interesting by color.
This advice is gold for someone like me who’s outfits are not typically interesting by color. I think what this advice is getting at is that you have to create some friction in your outfit. Friction in sizing/shape or in texture. It’s like Allison Bornstein’s Wrong Shoe Theory.
I was able to find countless examples on my saved Pins of great monochromatic outfits that build friction in texture (and often shape as well). So I am no longer going to worry myself over building a wardrobe full of color that I don’t actually want to wear. But when I get dressed in the morning, I’ll build visual interest within my NONE colors.
And now an update on my NO SPEND! But to add some photos to an otherwise wordy post, here are pictures of items that I have WANTED to buy but have abstained from.
Lin, who inspired me to do my NO SPEND, had recommended the Sustain This podcast in one of her posts about her own NO SPEND. I instantly liked the three hosts and the different topics they talk about; style words, secondhand shopping, and more.
They had a recent episode about being an outfit repeater and they mentioned a phrase that really stuck with me; “competitive consumption.”
I got to thinking about the idea of being competitive consumers and how, in the era of social media, we are all participating in this competition whether we want to or not. If you are a content creator there is a competitive consumption in order to create fresh content (new pictures, fresh affiliate links, etc.). If you are just a follower of fashion media, you may find yourself competitively consuming to keep up with trend cycles or the online “joneses.”
I am a STAUNCH budgeter and I have found that over the last 10 years my clothing budget has increased month-over-month and year-over-year to accommodate my competitive consumption. Thankfully my household income has also increased to allow me that luxury, but part of this NO SPEND has opened my eyes to the way that I buy new items in a competitive manor.
I am on the hunt for that dopamine hit that something NEW provides me (if this sounds interesting, you can learn more from this Sustain This! podcast episode).
All of this to say that I have a good bit of work to do in the arena of retraining my mind to appreciate the multitudes that I already have rather than seeking newness in order to be satisfied with what I have. One question I have started asking myself when I add something to my wish-list is; “what is the story I’m telling myself about this piece?”
So, for example, the above items have stories like this;
Coat: I love and adore this coat but winter is COLD where I live and this coat wouldn’t practically keep me warm. As a jacket in Spring/Fall, the length wouldn’t actually fit my lifestyle.
Leather Trimmed Pants: GORGEOUS and fits my closet profile ;) but the only size left is a US6 and I am a 2/4 in most brands, paying to tailor these doesn’t make sense.
Floral blouse: a classic occasion-specific find. I would love to wear a blouse like this around Thanksgiving (which was weeks ago now) but buying for one thing in mind is irresponsible unless it’s a bridesmaid dress.
Stunning leather flats: These puppies would take two months of my normal budget and I would probably be afraid of scuffing them. PLUS, I’m not sure the anklet would be practically comfortable.
Really thinking through what the story is behind a piece I’m interested in as helped me identify when I’m living in a fantasy-version of myself or my real life.
Competitive consumption has definitely influenced my spending too and setting a better budget and sticking to it is going to be one of my key goals next year. I find that setting aside time to try on clothes has been a good way of increasing my satisfaction with my wardrobe, not a high exactly but excitement nonetheless. I usually do this when I'm sorting out my weekly ironing or when I just need an afternoon break from working (I work from home).