Do you remember the excitement of getting a new dress for Christmas or your birthday? It was really exciting because it was a rare occurrence. Now it is relatively cheap and easy to buy a new outfit whenever you please and I feel that this detracts from the excitement. Is it the fact that we are trying to recreate that excitement that sends people back to the shops to buy more and more clothes and shoes?
Actually, I did not get a new dress for Christmas, in fact I did not receive any gifts of clothing nor did I buy any clothes during the Christmas season. This is the only dress I currently own. It is about 3 years old and I wear it at least once a week for about 8 months of the year.
I did not feel any need to rush out and buy something new for a special occasion. I have enough clothes at the moment to cover my needs which are the same as they were a few months ago. I did make this skirt before Christmas and wore it to a Christmas lunch with my work colleagues as well as on Christmas Day with my family.
One of my sewing projects is to make a new lining for a skirt so that I can wear the skirt to a wedding in March. The wedding is in Canberra so it could be quite cool so I want to make a jacket, probably black velvet and my sister has offered to lend me her black pashmina as well.
Although I am not strictly participating in Project 333 at the moment, I am constantly reviewing the clothes I own and deciding what may be the next thing to go and whether or not it needs to be replaced. Even though we still have the hottest part of the summer ahead of us, I am already considering what I will need for winter. I have lost weight in the last 6 months and I am managing to continue to wear most of my existing clothes but one of the first casualties was the one pair of grey trousers which I wore to work. I had been wearing them for several seasons and they were looking a little past their prime. I sent them to the op shop when I discovered that I could pull them down over my hips without undoing the fly. I must admit that they were always a little on the large side.
Shopping is definitely not a pastime for me but I will have to make a concerted effort to find some nice fitting trousers. I would like 2 pairs, perhaps a charcoal grey and a lighter grey.
I like good quality clothes that are a flattering cut and colour for me but I do not feel the need to have a bulging wardrobe. I am getting closer to my goal of only having items that I wear regularly and being able to mix and match most, if not all of the pieces.
If you haven’t heard of Project 333 then here might be the place to start. You can also check out some of my earlier posts on the subject by typing 333 into the search function on the right-hand side of the page.
Do you have any hints or suggestions for minimising the contents of your wardrobe?
organised castle 
My wardrobe still has plenty in it but I am happy to wear it until it wears out or I shrink. I have started to sew a new skirt this week as I find now I have more dresses. I find dresses useful as you dont have to worry about mixing and matching. I have a skirt I like but I haven’t worn yet this year, as it has been too warm to wear the top that looks best with it.
It is a challenge when your size changes but once I can no longer wear items they will be finding a new home. I would love some more dresses but I need to make sure they suit me and my lifestyle.
I find if you buy good quality and things you love you wear them for a long time. It’s always the ho hum things that you regret. Today I wore a relatively new dress down the street but the shoes were at least 10 years old. They were red so always good. Today around the house I had another dress which I would put at 8 years old.
Good point, Barb. I have always leaned towards quality rather than quantity in many aspects of my life. Project 333 has brought this into even clearer focus.