Minimalist Wardrobe
Greetings MFA!
I am working on a French-inspired minimalist capsule wardrobe and can use your help! I am 35, living in SoCal working at a homeless service nonprofit, where I typically wear a uniform (black shirt/jeans). On the weekend, I like to dress up as well as have a variety of options when I am working as an urban planner. Attached below is my current wardrobe list that i have slowly finetuned. I hope to develop my style in the long run but want to work with a standard business casual closet while I learn.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. I will try to include as much info per item.
Thank you!
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Minimalist Wardrobe
1x navy suit (blazer, slacks) - Armani
1x puffer coat - black Patagonia Down Sweater
1x navy Harrington jacket - Baracuta G9
1x vintage topcoat
1x quarter zip fleece - Patagonia Better Sweater
1x grey dress sweater - Banana Republic cashmere
1x black thick sweater - Banana Republic
2x white oxford shirts - Jospeh A Banks
2x light blue oxford shirts - Jospeh A Banks
1x off white linen shirt
1x black polo - Sunspel pique
1x white polo - Sunspel pique
1x navy polos - Sunspel pique
3x black shirts - J Crew Broken in
1x black jeans
1x dark blue jeans
1x grey trousers
1x workout shorts - Lululemon Breaker
1x dress shorts - Lululemon Commission 7"
7x boxer briefs - Exofficio
2x no show socks
4x dress socks
1x tube sock
1x running shoes - Brooks
1x dark brown oxfords - Allen Edmonds ox blood
1x black Chelsea boot - Allen Edmonds
1x minimalist white sneakers - Oliver Cabell
1x brown loafers or sandals - Birkenstocks
2x belt (black, dark brown)
1x sunglasses - Wayfarer tortoise shell
1x black hat
1x stainless steel watch
1x gray scarf
12 Replies
The 3 polos and 3 black shirts seem like odd choices to me. Are the black shirts an enforced uniform or just what you choose to wear?
Generally I would strongly recommend not buying so many clothes at once.
Do you already own the Armani suit?
Tbh there are more interesting choices than pique polo shirts that are still biz casual
This is a closet in process, one that I don’t fully own yet. I am a minimalist so I simply replace old pieces when needed. I don’t own the suit yet I just tried one on and will purchase when an event arises. For the three black tees, I just wear a lot of black. I appreciate the recommendations bc I do hope to evolve my style. My closet will also be a little bigger than the list bc I am a backpacker which has special wool pieces as well
And yeah the idea of creating a wardrobe like this and buying so much at once is not recommended
Could you let us know what you already own? Will be helpful i think
If you like black, I'd come up with interesting ways to wear it. J crew's broken in tees are nice summer weight tees
Black thick sweater is a good idea tho idk if banana Republic is the best option for that. There's a lot of really cool black thick sweaters out there
Personal opinion: avoid the cashmere dress sweater and quarter zip fleece, sounds bleh to me and the stereotype of what's wrong with biz casual.
Another personal opinion: normal harrington jackets are sortve boring and a baracuta one is expensive too
I’ll send some photos, and I don’t take personally I’m so new to this
I wouldn't get oxford shirts from jos a banks. At that price point, go for an untreated (ie not non iron) fabric oxford from lands end (sail rigger) or Brooks brothers on sale. Also Brooks brothers miUSA or PRL oxfords secondhand are great. If you can't fit into the ones I'm recommending, then just let us know and we can find some other options
I need to replace mine right now so I’ll keep an eye out for sales
There's no need for "dress shorts" unless you play golf imo
Don’t mind my ugly furnished room
Waiting to buy Oxford shoes in April for sales, dress Chelsea’s as some point as I dress up my chucks. Each purchase usually has something going out with it. My style sucks but watching vlogs and reading magazines to get a taste. My biggest inspiration is James Bond lol
Shoe selection looks nice
Why oxfords? If you're not only going to be wearing them with a suit, a derby is more versatile
That’s true. I want them for the suit but I may end up with 1 Oxford, 1 derby since in the next few years I’ll be having to dress up a bit more as per my age
Maybe some suede chukkas but I don’t like suede and wanted the Chelsea’s to take that role