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Helmut Lang blazer, Ashley Fogel tunic, J Crew belt (similar), Topshop boots, Karen Walker rings
Pitch black. One thing I love is rediscovering pieces that have for whatever reason, gone unworn for a number of months. After moving in January, I had asked my mum about what had happened to this tunic dress of hers, as she never wore it. Needless to say, the tunic ended up making its way into my wardrobe, and with that, the feeling of being new all over again.

Many things could be said of the 'Wellington uniform' of all black, that it is dreary, depressing or the like, but then at the opposite end of the scale, wearing all black can look chic, or be an interesting combination of layers and textures. Sometimes it's also all you want to reach for when you hear the wind bashing against your window. Either way, I love its simplicity, and wearing simple pieces like this makes me appreciate, and wonder of the potential for what an all black wardrobe could look like.

 

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The trend of paring down, and culling one's wardrobes seems to be sweeping the internet. It's as though excessiveness has reached a ceiling point, and resulted in the resolve to pursue style in the opposite direction, in a more minimal fashion. Dead Fleurette and her well thought out and eloquently formed posts possibly had something to do with this, or at least they had an influence on me.

While I am conscious of an innate desire and willingness to shop smarter - which as I note, may not necessarily mean less - there is a voice within me, trying to compel me to shop, which is something that I no longer wish to subscribe to.

I've spent the past week reading, blogs, and books, about forging a more minimalist attitude in regards to shopping, which have changed my views, more so than any past reading had done at least. This now extends far beyond my wardrobe, although these other excessive items appear to be more difficult to let go of, such as: letters from old friends, memento's of trips abroad, recipes I would like to try and little trinkets I have collected over the years. It's interesting that my wish to have a more pared down wardrobe is having a trickle-down effect to the rest of my belongings, but I already feel better for the few things that I have since disposed of. I imagine this will be yet another thing I will slowly chip away at.I guess, like with wardrobes, have too many things can become a cause of stress or anxiety, and in reality a lot of it is unused or long forgotten.

While I'm not trying to espouse a minimal lifestyle, there are particular elements of it that I find intriguing, and would be interesting in adopting similar principles in my own day-to-day life. I like the concept of being able to quickly pack up your belongings and flit away to some interesting or unknown part of the world at the drop of the hat - not that this is ever likely to happen to me.

In this regard, I've been continuously whittling down my wardrobe, which I would think at this point should be close to nil, and have managed to come in at under 100 items, a number that while large to some, I feel suits me and my circumstances rather well. My shoes, number less than 24, although this high a number still concerns me. The problem here lies in the fact that I feel as though this part of my wardrobe is complete, and thus requires no further culling. Perhaps with a bit of resolve I may be able to cut out a further 2-3 pairs, but as my mother pointed out to me, if I love all these shoes, then there really is no need for me to attempt to cut it down any further. I have a feeling that perhaps, as that old saying goes, "mother knows best".

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T by Alexander Wang shirt; Helmut Lang blazer; ASOS envelope clutch; Marc by Marc Jacobs turnlock bracelet; T by Alexander Wang skirt; Alexander Wang heeled boots; Marc by Marc Jacobs katie bracelet

The above image sums up the sort of thing that I like to wear on a regular basis. Simple and clean, with minimal or no fuss jewellery. I've been trying to use clutches where possible, just to justify owning the few that I have, as I tend to play favourites with my purses (although considering some of my previous purchases, I would say this is a good thing) - that and I am too lazy to switch all the items floating around in my handbag to another one. I also tend to forget how much more pulled together a blazer can make an outfit look, as I love the comfort and slouchiness of a cardigan

The irony of these sorts of outfits is that it is very reminiscent of what I wore every day during my college years for my school uniform, bar the tartan and awful teal colour. Over those five years it probably became ingrained in me that this is the sort of thing that I should wear, even though I loathed having to wear that uniform and relished having a "mufti day" each term. Thankfully the same can't be said about the polo shirt and culotte style shorts I wore during my intermediate years...