Encapsulated

I've been reading the Project 333-- 33 wardrobe items for three months--blog for a few years now, without ever participating. This week, when a new challenge post popped up, I finally thought "why not?" and decided to take the plunge.

Part of why I've never participated before is that I've never seen the point--I don't have an overstuffed closet, and most of what I own is secondhand anyway. Now there were those couple years in Glasgow, where fast fashion at the end of the 90s was much cheaper than it is here in the U.S., that I went a bit overboard. And then I had to leave a great deal of it behind because I only had two suitcases to move back to the US with, and since then continuous sticker shock has curbed any remaining shopping impulse. So my closet, while full and generous by the standards of much of the world, is probably not one of your average American.

I don't consider myself a minimalist, though. My craft drawers are stuffed full with supplies, I have knickknacks on every available surface, and my walls are more or less covered with bookshelves and artwork of varying degrees of aesthetic. Despite my penchant for occasionally attempting to empty the contents my house into someone else's, I still own way too much stuff to use the term "minimal" in any seriousness.

I'm not wild about the term "capsule wardrobe," even less
so after reading it approximately 5138 times in a couple
hours, so this is just my wardrobe for July-September.
Yes, I iron them before I wear them--I don't go to work
with that many creases.

Anyway! All that to say, here we go. I counted all the clothes and shoes I currently have out (cold-weather things are tucked away for the summer), excluding running and cycling clothes, underwear, and pjs (as per the Project 333 instructions), as well as everything in my mending/remaking drawer which is not currently wearable anyway, which brought me to a total of 67 items--admittedly, a higher number than I was expecting. Some were easy to put aside--two suits I no longer require for work but am keeping around in case of need, a couple dresses and a shrug I only wear to Broadway theatres (also kept in case of need!), casual trousers that I didn't put away for the summer but am unlikely to be wearing outside any time soon. Others I had to more or less close my eyes and point.

Counting the three pairs of shoes I currently use (but not my running shoes, since they are workout wear), I pared it down to 32 items for the next three months--that extra space is in case I finally get anything out of my mending drawer back into proper rotation. That won't be until I finish my current knitting project, that's certain. I probably went too heavy on the skirts, given how little I wear them, and after a few weeks I may swap one or two of them out for a work shirt. Well see how it goes. Here's what I have for now:

• 8 work shirts
• 4 dress trousers
• 1 dressy (but not for work) shirt
• 5 skirts
• 1 casual trouser
• 7 t-shirts
• 2 shorts
• 1 dress
• 1 pair heels
• 1 pair boots
• 1 pair sneakers

Have you ever tried any of these wardrobe challenges? How did it go?