So this one starts with a little characteristic misanthropy. Then it gets honest. Then it goes back to misanthropy.
I feel like everyone's so into minimalism right now. Generally in fashion, minimalism can refer to a few things: minimalism of aesthetic, for example, is definitely a thing right now - muted color, simple pieces, visual interest arriving from structure as opposed to color or pattern, everyone in Sweden. But even more powerful right now is wardrobe minimalism. Have you noticed this? Like on the Internet - tumblr and Pinterest and every goddamn blog, everyone's all about minimalism. I think it started picking up steam about two years ago with the five-piece-per-season "French Wardrobe" (ask me how ridiculous I think that name is, please). And then from there it branched out into, what? Capsule wardrobes, "30 pieces for 30 days" challenges, "curation", I don't even know what else. Fucking fashion magazines have us all going out and buying more things so that we can simplify and pair down our wardrobes into like 15 perfect pieces.
What is happening to you, America? We are the land of the free! Capitalism! Buy more things, damn it!
Okay, but seriously, I get it. No, I really do. First of all, let me eliminate any accusations of hypocrisy and say that "minimalism" appeals to me in a really big way.
I'm a perfectionist. I would rather have one perfect, ideal white t-shirt than five less-than-perfect ones. I've been on the hunt for that t-shirt all my life, and I will pay exorbitant prices to get it once I find it. (I suspect it may be Alexander Wang). Further, I also understand having limited space in your apartment, or traveling a lot, or being on a budget and wanting a wardrobe that just works, or whatever. Go you, man. Fuck, I fully and totally respect the feeling of wanting to be simply your life, and be free from your shit, and have clothes that just perform their functions - whatever they may be - without interfering in your life. I am on that ship with you, man. I am flying your flag.
I don't know though. I kind of think there's more to it than that. This whole "minimalism" thing has caught steam in such a big way. Obviously there are political, economic, and social appeals to minimalism, too. Buying few quality items rather than hundreds of pieces alleviates a lot of the social strain and economic division of the current fast-fashion market. It's better for the environment. It's a political rejection of consumerism. Personally I'm inclined to believe there's more of a social phenomenon behind it.
When I packed for that trip I took this summer, I totally bought into that whole minimalism thing. I think it was a bit of romantic notion on my part - traveling solo around the world with nothing but a carry-on suitcase. I carefully planned my wardrobe down to the tiniest detail - it was something I felt like I'd had years of practice for, having had so many articles about cohesion and color planning and versatility trained into my thoughts. And when I got on the plane, I was a little proud of what I'd done. There's this weird idiosyncrasy I've had since I was really little, in which I really hate carrying multiple things, but I feel lost without a single bag on me at all times, carrying all the essentials. Like in case we need to get up and go, you know? Where, I don't know, but there was something so freeing about feeling like I had everything in the world I needed with me.
It's funny though, because there still somehow managed to be things that I never wore - I mean literally, never, even though I ended up in about every temperature and formality range I could've imagined. And by the time I got to my last destination, I was so sick of that fucking suitcase, there was a little bit of the "call of the wild" going on every time I left another country - dump everything, put jeans and a t-shirt and some clean underwear in my handbag, and run away. It was this very weird personal state where the only actual constant was myself, and I can do myself in black jeans and a silk popover every day for the rest of my life, so fuck the rest of it. I don't need any other identities, I don't need any other clothes, throw away all the baggage, literal and metaphorical.
Also, just fuck trains, fuck carrying that heavy thing around for two months, and bless all those random people that sprang to my aid when I couldn't lift it. That might've been most of it.
What's even funnier is that since I've been back stateside, my life has calmed into, if not predictability, then at least consistency. And oh shit, what do you know? I've found myself buying a ton of clothes. It's definitely not boredom and, honestly, I'm really, deeply happy right now. So although I am totally a stress-shopper, this time, I can't say it's filling any kind of ~tragic emotional void~.
I'm not really a fan of consistency though. This is New York. This is the city of constant motion and constant consumption. I want the next thing. So there's so much more temptation to experiment. I can't imagine a minimalist wardrobe right now. I need room to move personally, because right now, I don't have it literally. Last night I bought a marinière. This brings my count up to three. But I don't have one in red and white stripes yet!
Fuck simplicity! Let's consume! I buy, therefore I am!
Why are we all so into minimalism, you guys? I'm not sharing my personal anecdote to suggest that every one of us craves simplicity because we have escapist fantasies. Or that we buy because we want to play with our identities. Everyone's after different shit. But what if we aren't?
But really, to what extent do you guys think minimalism is an escape, an opting-out from the constant social pressure of display, of self definition? Because it smells to me suspiciously like by narrowing things down, by simplifying, we're deciding to remove ourselves from the constant pressure of redefinition and recreation. You know? It's constant, it's consistent. And given that the great majority of the trend seems to be taking place among an age group, and in an era, who clearly remember life immediately post 2008, it seems like it's a chance to reject this capitalist pressure to consume, to be constantly redefined by our things.
Why are we all bragging about it, trying to achieve it, and shaming ourselves for not doing so?
Here's my minimalism trend theory: I think that we all have a ton of choice. The post-modern world is a constant affirmation of possibility, and in that possibility, we lost meaning. That's been done to death, we all know this, no need to rehash it. We're all in this weird post-post-modern Internet world where every single one of us can scream our identities from the rooftops, and it's getting lost in the din and cacophony. We're everything and we're also nothing. We're commodity. Create yourself! But who fucking cares!
And so I don't know, don't you think there's something kind of appealing about creating something honest and simple for ourselves? To look at our wardrobes and say okay, this is it. I am these things; these things are mine and they are me. This is self-branding, just like the Internet age has carefully taught us to do. We're still creating a self, an image. But this is at least calm. It's a consistent, quiet voice. It's refreshing. It's a pause in the constant motion. Oh god, let's just pause for two seconds and free ourselves from our shit and have our wardrobes just work. Let's be one person, with one identity. Let's do it in black and white, too.
And then let's put it on our blogs.
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