Minimalism and the closet/wardrobe

[Zoebird]

Ok.

in moving to NZ, i minimized into a very simple wardrobe. It's worked *very* well for me, and I'm happy with it. I have one area of contention: shoes.

Here's my style:

jeans plus tank top plus cardigan with minimal jewelry and outerwear (appropriate for weather jacket, pashmina scarf)

or

yoga tights plus skirt over plus tank top plus cardigan with minimal jewelry and outerwear (appropriate for the weather jacket, pashmina scarf).

It is pretty much this every day. I have three skirts, one wrap dress, two pairs of jeans, several pairs of the yoga tights, and 5 tank tops.

underwear and outter wear of course.

But here are my thoughts/confusions, where my organizing/frugality question lies.

1. sweaters -- i have two right now that are functional. one i murdered and the other i managed to stain to high heaven. this was accidental, of course, so I can't wear these two to work. I would do well to have one more, but two would be better. Still, two feels extravagant.

2. shoes -- oh lawdy this has been a problem!

back in the USofA, i usually had three pairs of shoes: 1. sports shoes/hikers for cold weather; 2. everyday ballet style flats; 3. sandals.

because i would walk to the car, get in the car, walk to the door of the indoor place, and then repeat, shoes didn't get a lot of wear and tear. my 1 pair of shoes did, on account of hte fact that i would go for my walks/hikes in them in winter, but in summer, i just barefoot most of my long walks/hikes.

so, shoes lasted a fairly long time. and, when i came here, i brought 3 pairs of shoes.

here, i walk a lot. I walk a lot more than I walked in the US. and the conditions are generally wet.

so, this past year i has 1. pair of hikers; 2. pair of vibram five fingers that look similar to ballet flats but with toes; and 3. my sandals died so none of those.

I like minimalist shoes, because they are good for your feet (meaning, things that allow for natural movement).

the problem is that the hikers really only go with jeans, and i don't like to wear jeans to work every day. which means i rely on my vibrams -- and at $75 and lasting a year, that's not bad. i wear my shoes hard, and especially hard now tha ti actually walk a lot of places in them.

the problem with vibrams is that -- in winter -- the feet get cold and wet. and the shoes stay wet, and once wet-from-puddles, they desperately need a wash/dry. and in this wet climate, it takes a week to dry. which means i'm essentially shoeless for a week, or have to wear hiker with skirt.

and i think that's tacky and i don't do tacky.

So, the obvious solution is: more shoes.

the question is, what do I do? I need to replace ALL shoes.

I'm thinking:

1. wellington boots (which look good with skirts, too) for winter/wet days;

2. vibrams x 2 or vibrams plus these (http://www.onemoment.es/en/) (which are currently selling 3 for 2, and I was going to get 2 because it is a good idea when shipping anything to have more rather than less).

i suspect that this alternative shoe will not wear well (eg, i'll wear them out quickly), but i like the look and the price (about $20 per pair is a great price). I also like that they are biodegradable. that is cool.

anyway, with two-or-three pairs, i can wear two and rotate, and see how the wear pattern goes, and then break out the third pair. i love vibrams and find them great for all-purpose shoes (they function well as sports shoes, but are funny enough to make it in dressy situations, and in the alternative, i think the second kind of shoe makes a cool 'dress' shoe as well).

and then finally, get a pair of luna sandals (which are huaraches and cost $50).

This will take me to about 6 pairs of shoes, which is a lot of shoes. I'm freaked out by having 6 pairs of shoes.

Ok, what do you think, if anything?

[Merski]

Look into Clark Shoes if you can get them. Great for support and seem to wiggle the line between sport shoes and work shoes.

[reader99]

I have 6 pairs of shoes. They last longer when rotated, so having several pairs is cost efficient

[herbgeek]

I don't think 6 pairs is a lot of shoes personally, especially since they are for different purposes. Now if you said you had 6 pairs of black pumps, I might agree with you that 6 was a lot.

Another brand you could consider that crosses the functional line is Crocs. No, not the big clog ones that look dorky. They have a whole line of other shoes that look sorta cute, but are practical because you can easily wash and dry them, are very light, are very supportive and comfortable. I just bought one of these for vacation, because I didn't want to bring sneakers AND a pair of shoes I could wear with a skirt. http://www.crocs.com/crocs-crocband-flat/11072,default,pd.html?cid=001&cgid=women-footwear-flats These have the look of ballet shoes but have better support.

[Zoe Girl]

It sounds like a great wardrobe. I have a lot more but keep on trying to keep it down. Right now my work is being rather changeable about how we should dress, professional one day and get on the floor with the kids (wearing our work t-shirt) the other day. Sometimes the same day. I have 3 pairs of black dress pants and they seem to make the adjustment in the middle of the day easily. Skirts not so much, I have shorter ones with chunky tights since i am a short person and I really like this style.

Okay now on the shoes, I will tell you I have more shoes since i also need dressy heels and I have had shoes for ages and ages. My ultimate shoe for what yo uare talking about is a cow-girl boot. I live in Colorado so not everywhere is this acceptable, but I just do it and tell people I am from colorado. I got good boots a few years ago, Ariat, in my common colors of red and black. I wear them with skirts.. pants, jeans, everything except when it is really hot. They are comfortable enough to be in all day long, dry in the worst weather, warm enough with good socks for medium winter weather. If you do not like the western style then the english riding boot style with a flat heel is classic, comfortable, and meets the same needs.

[rosarugosa]

Zoebird: I'm not nearly as bad with shoes as I am with socks, but let's just say that I have way more than six pairs of shoes! I'm not really a shoe nut either; I consider buying shoes more of a chore than a fun thing. We do have a full range of weather here in New England, so one needs snow boots and sandals and stuff for in between. I work in a professional office environment, but I am mostly in jeans when not at work, so that requires somewhat of a range as well.
It sounds to me like you've really thought it through, so as long as you think you would get good use and value from 6 pairs of shoes, I don't think it's at all excessive.

[Zoebird]

thanks.

i like to keep the wardrobe as streamlined as possible -- and I need to do a cull of some clothes and replace a few things (obviously, shoes being one of them). So, now I need to design the budget.

my roller derby ($200 right now) is getting in the way! LOL it's good, though. The gear is purchased and paid for, this is just outdoor wheels (for endurance training), and the derby fees ($100) for the fresh meat.

but, the shoe budget is $75 (vibrams), $50 (spanish shoes), $50 (lunas), and then wellies. . . i haven't price out. I am also considering riding boots -- but of course I would pick the most expensive pair i could fine (double stitched, etc -- would probably last 7 generations). but, i won't need them (riding boots or wellies) until winter, so I can buy them then. I got a few sweaters (for free) from my client, so I think I'm golden there. And I could use a few tee shirts (i like long-sleeved), but I'm having trouble finding the quality that i need. It's expensive in NZ.

Thanks for your insights and suggestions too! :D

[Mer05]

You're way ahead of me on wardrobe! The best thing I've ever done shoe-wise is start keeping the work shoes at work, and wear walking shoes to/from. It's compartmentalized that particular shoe need - I have two very plain pairs of heels that go with everything in my wardrobe, and no room for expansion.

Half my clothes require black shoes and half only work with brown. I'm working on cutting that in half, but probably still won't entirely get away from black shoes...

[mira]

I understand your predicament - I hate owning lots of shoes too! But over the years I've come to accept that I need to own some that I don't wear regularly or else I'd have no appropriate footwear for formal/dressy situations, visiting hot places or outdoor activities. I envy my boyfriend who owns one pair of black dress shoes and a pair of everyday sneakers... ugh!

[rose]

Speaking of Crocs. Link to my fav sandals. http://www.crocs.com/crocs-patricia/10386,default,pd.html?cid=41U&cgid=women-footwear-sandals this croc sandal is like walking on marshmallows. even though it is made out of plastic or rubber or whatever it is, it looks nice enough to wear with dressy clothes. I can walk miles in them also.

[Zoebird]

I have plenty of dress shoes, it's every-day shoes that I require, and some that are specific to the climate needs.

Also, to confuse matters, I wear "minimalist shoes." THis means that we have minimal 'cushion' and 'support.' In fact, no support is best. Things like moccasins are a good example, or ballet flats.

My everyday shoe is the vibram five-finger. This has individual toe pockets and fits the foot like a glove. This has no support, other than a thin rubber sole to protect the food from sharps on the ground (and it's not a lot, walking on small rocks takes practice -- but it does prevent glass-punctures). It is as if you are barefoot -- or that is the idea anyway. And this, of course, is very healthy for your feet (yes, even flat-footed people).

So, the specific shoes that I am looking at are getting my every-day wear shoes. The current pair of vibrams has a hole worn into them from daily wear for the last year. I still wear them, because it's not that big of a deal to me. I would wear no shoes if I felt that I could "get away with" it. The real issue is that I don't like my feet to be dirty -- which is why I don't simply barefoot everywhere I go.

Then, of course, winter shoes that I can wear with my normal clothes (which tend to be yoga tights (calf length) plus tank plus skirt plus cardigan sweater. This is why i was thinking of wellington boots (well, Hunter brand most likely). They look good, keep the wet out, and can be worn for work (they are common on farms here) or for just wearing around. IT's really common for women here to wear wellies with dresses.

of course, these boots are not at all minimalist. I cannot find any form of minimalist, waterproof footwear. Some people recommended diving booties (also as an alternative to vibrams, which are viable and less expensive than vibrams), but they are not water proof -- and in the winter here, we definitely need water-proof!

So, right now, I'm looking at two vibrams (so that I can alternate days and have them last longer) plus one pair of wellington boots.

The total would be $450.

[Bastelmutti]

this croc sandal is like walking on marshmallows.

Great description! I am a recent convert to Crocs clogs and now dearly love my pair (bought for $15 during an Internet sale - if you sign up for their e-mail you get another % off, too, but I know some people don't do e-mail lists).