Something I have been pondering the past couple of weeks is the curious idea of the 333 project. In short it’s all about selecting 33 items of clothing and wearing them exclusively for 3 months. To start with I thought that 33 items sounds like a decent amount, how hard can that be? Then I found myself thinking of ways to cheat. It is an interesting idea though, and an exercise in restraint and focus. While cycling to work I found myself trying to break down the 33 into a number of jackets, footwear, trousers, shirts and so forth. It helps that socks, underwear and exercise wear doesn’t count. It does mean putting a way an lot of fine clothes though.
The idea does fall into line with the thinking of buying good stuff and really using it though. The idea of having a limited amount of really proper stuff as opposed to an (almost) unlimited amount of cheap rubbish would appear to be a wise and considered decision. Plus, as we all know, it’s the better stuff that is really nice, so this could really work to our advantage.
Perhaps the 33 could be broken down as follows (this would the early Summer selection):
- Shoes 5
- Jackets 5
- Trousers 5
- Shorts 3
- Shirts 7
- T-shirts 5
- Waistcoat 2
- Sweater 1
Actually, unless I’ve overlooked something really major, 33 items actually seems quite generous. Not being into man-jewelry, suits, ties, umbrellas and whatnots is working in my favour! The sweater is only there as it’s handy until summer finally stops playing silly buggers. I’m sure the numbers will switch around, but maybe 33 times isn’t a huge amount after all? I can see how it might be a lot harder for women though. And come Autumn it might be more difficult when adding in a scarf, some gloves, a warm hat and so forth.
The next step would be to select the actual garments for each category and then put away the rest of the stuff that clutters up the archival closets in the mansion. Heck, I might free up enough space to start an AirBnB. Just kidding, I don’t have walk in closets…
I’ve not decided on this yet, but I find the idea of reducing the number of garments I own to be quite compelling (and I have been busy recently selling off my excess on my For Sale page!). If we look past the hipster/fad/etcetera side of the idea, does it sound like something you might consider?
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