Now, just looking at the title I typed I’m laughing at myself. Really? Buying clothes as an art?

I’ve never been into fashion, knowing what ‘my style’ is, or what is trending in the fast fashion world. My idea of a personal hell is strolling through a mall on a Saturday afternoon, browsing racks and trying on a bunch of shit. I’d much rather pull all the weeds in your garden for you and cook your dinner.

When I look back over my clothing purchases, outside of a few very intentional purchases for my Kilimanjaro trip in early 2022, I’ve bought simple things off of Amazon, a few orders from ThredUp, and the occasional sweater or pair of pants from a lovely consignment store in Bend, Oregon, called Cosa Cura. Oh, and one t-shirt off of Etsy that I just couldn’t say no to. I mean, look at that cat? It was too perfect.

Last year, inspired by a friend on Instagram, I started considering moving toward a capsule wardrobe when I was ready to start replacing my worn out items. She was simplifying, buying high quality items to fill gaps in what she had, and embracing this change.

The seed was planted while I was also learning more about chemicals and toxins in our clothing, how wasteful the fashion industry is, and how tons of discarded clothing ends up in places like the beaches of Ghana. I decided that when I would replace or add a clothing item going forward, I’d do the research to find a sustainable company that used natural fibers and dyes, and had great reviews from past customers.

Now, I’ve been practicing cutting down on purchasing items that have toxic chemicals and endocrine disruptors in them for about 5 years now. In 2020 I started making my own cleaning supplies, purchasing largely organic food in 2023, and changing out bathroom products and make-up over the last year or so. (I highly recommend the Yuka app to see what kinds of perfectly legal, wildly unhealthy things are lurking in your pantry and bathroom drawers.)

It would have been easy to jump all in, get rid of all the things that contained the chemicals I wanted to move away from and restock, BUT – I didn’t. Balancing health and creating undue waste is something I consider frequently, which brings me back to my wardrobe topic.

I’m not sure where my recent tipping point was. It may have been grabbing the third tank top in a row that was completely misshapen, the favorite leggings that had a hole in them, and throwing on the jacket that had the seams pulling apart in the arm pits that did it. I looked at the staples that I wear most often and realized the condition things were in.

Holes, discolorations, stretched out leggings I had to keep pulling up during workouts, a white shirt that was now brown-ish, fitted shirts that now hung limp at best, you get the idea.

As a part of this no buy year I did state that I could replace things, and it was clearly time to do that.

Before hopping online or driving to a store, I revisited my inspiration about the capsule wardrobe. I tried watching a few YouTube videos about it… and was instantly bored. Instead, I’m thinking about how I’d pack for a month-long trip to Europe. When I’ve done those trips, I intentionally choose things that all go well together, are higher quality, so they wear well, and are things I like wearing. That seems simple enough, right? I didn’t need a YouTuber telling me how to do it.

Next I emptied out my drawers and closets (honestly, I have two drawers and equivalent to one modest-size closet where I store things so I didn’t have huge mounds of clothing to go through) and sorted things into three piles. Hell yes, maybe, and no.

The hell yes also included things I wear all the time, no matter how worn out they were. The maybes went into a trash bag in the basement that I’ll revisit in a couple of months, and the no pile was sorted between things I could donate, and things that were too worn out for anyone else to possibly want them.

Next, I logged all the hell yes items that were completely beyond their intended lifespan. Then I looked at the worn-out items in the no pile. Were they things I would have kept wearing if they were higher quality and withstood the test of time better?

All of these items then went on a replacement list. Clearly, I loved wearing those items and would be happy with a high quality, sustainable, natural fiber replacement.

Here’s what went on that list:

• 6 tank tops
• 3 pairs of pajama pants
• 3 sweat shirts
• 3 pairs of leggings
• 2 pairs of jeans
• 3 t-shirts

There were a lot of other things I had in my no pile that I could replace, but I don’t feel the need to. I retired ratty old running shirts, but don’t want to add more. I’ll cycle through the ones I have left instead. The same goes for the three pairs of tech running shorts, dress pants, and five sweaters. Just because I’m purging them doesn’t mean I need to replace them.

Next, I thought about colors. I wanted everything to mix and match easily for maximum outfit combinations. In looking at my current rotation of favorite things, the color palette is simple. Neutrals, blues, and greens. I also took note of the colors of items I most disliked in my closet. I would not buy anything grey, red, or beige. That would be a hard pass every single time going forward.

Now to the purchasing! I spent longer than I care to admit researching different companies, and already had some earmarked for the day I actually felt like replacing things. There were a few articles online that were also helpful in pointing me in reputable directions.

Here’s what I purchased and the companies I ordered from:

• A pair of black leggings from Groceries. They dye all their clothes from vegetables, are made in California, and regularly share videos and photos of their clothing factory and dye studio. I love what they’re doing!
• A pair of joggers (that I’ll use as pajama pants mostly), two tank tops, and a v-neck tee from Pact. They use GOTS-certified organic cotton and Fair Trade-certified factories, and have very reasonable prices.
• Two tank tops from Yes Friends. They use GOTS-certified organic cotton, solar-powered factories, and GOTS-certified dyes.
• A pajama set and pair of joggers from Boody. I love that they’re PETA certified and are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
• A sweatshirt from Definite Articles. Their clothing is BPA and PFAS free, and I LOVE the colors they offer.

There is one additional clothing item I bought that wasn’t on my replacement list, but was on my mental wish list for years. A high-quality white linen button-down shirt.

I looked through multiple sustainable options and came to the conclusion that it would be about $200 for what I wanted.

That was twice was I was comfortable spending on something like that. So, instead I landed on an $89 linen shirt from Aritzia that had rave reviews on Reddit. It’s an item that will go with every outfit combination in my closet, so I anticipate it will get a lot of wear.

While I don’t love clothes shopping, I do love practicing discernment and the artful aspect of decision-making. I thought about my favorite long-lasting items in my closet currently. A long houndstooth coat I’ve had for 15 years, a running jacket I’ve had for almost 21 years, my Doc Martens that I know will last a loooong time, and my North Face fleece I’ve worn consistently for 13 years. They were all an investment in quality. In choosing the Aritzia shirt, I’m hopeful that it will last a very long time.

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! I can’t believe I could write for this long about clothes! But it felt like a valuable thing to spend time writing about since it boils down to intentionality, the impact of choice on myself and others, and is forward thinking toward a long-lasting, high quality wardrobe that will hold up a lot better than my assortment of $10 Amazon tank tops.

Oh yeah, I think it’s also worth mentioning that I already unsubscribed from all the email lists I agreed to yesterday to get the initial purchase discount. These companies seem great, and I still don’t need anything extra in my inbox telling me about what I ‘need’.