By Rosario Badilla.
“It’s getting hot, we need to get out our summer clothes,” my mom would tell us every time jackets and vests started taking up unnecessary space in our closets.
It was a ritual, a happy and eagerly awaited moment. At the beginning of summer and winter, my sisters and I would open the plastic boxes that had been stored in the attic for several months. As I took out my clothes, smelling of storage and still a few wrinkles, I thought that much of them had been forgotten, completely erased from my mind.
We continued doing the same thing for many years, and I continued doing it even after I left home. It made perfect sense to me—why would I want vests in the summer?
But a year ago, on a January day when it was freezing cold and dresses weren't an option, I read something on social media: "It's on these days that it makes the most sense to have a single, timeless closet; I have all my clothes in one place," and a woman was showing off wearing pants and a vest.
At first, I questioned it a bit; my annual ritual still seemed like a good idea. But it just kept going around in my head.
Then I started getting more involved with the world of sustainable fashion and the idea of having a minimalist and timeless closet. At that time, I went to a local fashion fair with a friend. I tried on a sparkly top. It fit well and I liked it, but it didn't fully represent me. My friend told me, "I think you should wear it; you don't have many shirts like this for going out to parties." But it was precisely because it wasn't a very versatile piece that I decided not to buy it.
My friend's statement was true. I've never been one for shiny or elaborate t-shirts. On the contrary, my clothes are basic and formal; that's my style. But regardless, I can still create a fun and sophisticated look with my everyday clothes. Understanding this made me completely agree with the woman on the social network: the less clothes I have, the more unnecessary it is to store them when the seasons change.
“I try to help my clients fit all their clothes for the year in their closet. When you store clothes you don't wear, you forget what you have, and if summer starts to get a little colder, instead of going to the grocery store to get them, you end up buying something, usually fast fashion,” says Mariana Pattaro , a Brazilian style consultant, founder of recloset.cl , and the woman behind the social network.
And for all our clothes to fit in the closet, it's essential to know how to carefully select each piece that comes in. We need versatility and the ability to identify what represents us. "It's very important to know how to look at our closet. What we have there is our story, and it tells something about a purchasing decision and a preference. Comfort, fabric, nostalgia, color, cut. Identifying what represents you makes it easier to eliminate excess," says Mariana. She adds that "when you have only clothes that you love and that look good on you, you end up wearing each one much more, and the need for more disappears."
In addition to knowing how to identify our tastes, the timelessness of the clothes we buy is very important. A timeless closet means having clothes that aren't necessarily defined by a particular trend. "The idea is to have things that will continue to work with your style over time," says Mariana.
Having a timeless and consistent closet means we wear clothes more, since we don't discard or give them away because they're out of season or because we get tired of them, but because they wear out. "I'm willing to pay a lot more for a piece of clothing that I know I'll wear for many years, or better yet, that my daughter will inherit or I can give it to a friend, and it will still be in good condition," says Mariana.
It's a completely different way of thinking about and consuming fashion, one that has to do with slow fashion. If you buy seasonal clothes from fast fashion, you know the quality isn't good and they won't last long. So you'll want to pay little for them and won't worry about giving them a longer lifespan, because you know you won't like them next season.
It's very important to clarify that a timeless closet doesn't have to be the same for everyone. " I don't believe in the concept of 10 essential items in a closet; the white shirt, basic jeans, the black dress, which are the most minimalist and normalized clothing styles for everyone," Mariana adds.
This phrase was completely liberating for me. For a long time, I wanted to have the essentials of every minimalist wardrobe, thinking it was a good way to consume less. But I realized I never stopped buying; the list of must-haves was always growing, making me want something new, which often didn't even define me or relate to my style. Like the sparkly top, I was on the verge of adding a piece to my closet that I'm sure would end up forgotten in the back.
It's not necessary to make everyone uniform; quite the opposite. "It's key to identify the things that make me different and, with those characteristics, build a closet that, when I look at it, I don't care whether it's fashionable or not, because it represents me, fits me comfortably, and makes me recognize myself when I look in the mirror," says Mariana.
For me, it's been a slow and steady journey: changing rituals, unlearning habits, getting to know my tastes. Every day, I make the decision to live a more sustainable life and closet, recognizing that there are always purchases I could have avoided and celebrating the times I made good choices.
That green bikini is already out of my head, I don't need it, I don't need it, I don't need it.