Minimalism: A basic charm

Minimalism: A basic charm

I sometimes get asked whether I mistake dressing in a basic way as dressing in a boring way. As a serious outfit repeater this question is an unavoidable one, but I dare to say now that I have never spent less time picking an outfit than I did before.

Take my two pairs of Isabel Marant Dicker Boots. Both styles were utter investments, first one I made while still being at university and the latter one was made last year, as a self-given celebration gift for switching jobs. Both are worn for complete contrasting occasions; the beige ones are the everyday-type of boots, but the black pair instantly levels-up a simple ensemble, sprouting their casual chic wherever I walk.

I am at a point where I experience the joyous moment of picking an outfit in the morning in less than five minutes while maintaining one level of consistency when it comes to my style. I have a closet consisting of basic items, which after a couple of years and wear need replacement. Every now and then I decide that my basic wardrobe would need a new staple, and go through a rigoruous search for the perfect style. But to call myself somewhat of a ‘minimalist’ would be considered downright blasphemy.

Frankly, I am fed up with the fallacy of calling one-self a minimalist. Nowadays, talks about ‘minimalist fashion’ are nothing but a hold-up for ambigiuous fits and androgynous one-layer ensembles, where girls wear twenty different versions of the ‘palazzo pants’ and the shapeless sweatshirt/jumper to look in-style for a month or three. I can tell you with a hundred percent sincereness that I find it rather hard to call someone with an exaggerated shopping habit, a closet full of gifted and/or sponsored clothes and a contemporary shoe collection consisting out of a four-digit number a ‘minimalist.’ Though I also find it hard to express what minimalism then consists of. But I certainly do know that it is more than dressing up as a Stella McCartney/Alexander Wang worshipper or proudly wearing a pair of simple Celine sandals and a white t-shirt while proclaiming you have endorsed ‘minimalism’.

Breaking fashion down to it’s bare essentials, it’s nothing more than sheer consumerism, while minimalism is a live-long search that goes way beyond the simpleness of fashion. So in my humble opinion, combining the words ‘fashion’ and ‘minimalist’ is a bit contradictory. And honestly, how is someone participating in the idea of a basic wardrobe when there are five different pairs of Celine shoes in their closet? It’s rather odd – I would advice every single one of them to look up the meaning of the word ‘minimalist.’