Wabi-Sabi Living: the Ten-Item Wardrobe

All things wabi-sabi have been floating through my brain these days.  Ideas like - simplicity, serenity, understated elegance.  Lovely words!  Uplifting words!  Words that I want more of in my life.  One of the things I've been thinking about is how this applies to the clothes I wear. 

Wouldn't it be nice to have a well-organized closet containing just enough clothing so that you always feel well dressed for any occasion.  That is my definition of how wabi-sabi applies to our wardrobes.  A noble goal, but how to attain it?

When I read about the ten-item wardrobe I was intrigued.  According to Jennifer at The Daily Connoisseur, this is how chic French women dress.  They value quality over quantity and stock their wardrobes with just a few well-curated classic items that all work together. 

Of course, there are pros and cons of sticking to a ten-item wardrobe.  Some thoughts and observations from Jennifer are as follows:

PROS

1. Dressing in the morning is streamlined as everything mixes and matches.  

2. It is easy to take stock of clothes that are wearing out when you only have ten items
3. Since each item has to pull its weight, an item that is worn out will be replaced rather than just stored.  

4. You will be less likely to go on mindless shopping expeditions since you already have a stocked wardrobe.  

5.  And finally, with only ten items of clothing your closet will be a thing of beauty.

CONS

1.  If all your clothes get dirty at once, it could be a problem.

2.  Having such a limited variety of clothing items may mean you get tired of wearing the same pieces of clothes or the same colours all the time (okay, this last one is mine).  

While I'm not a clothes-horse I regularly wear more than ten items, but I'm always up for a personal challenge and this one sounded interesting. I decided I would challenge myself to see if I could survive wearing just ten pieces of clothing for a month. 

So are you ready to see the ten items I lovingly selected (it was agonizing! like choosing your ten favourite children). And just so you know my ten-item wardrobe doesn't include the following: shoes, outerwear, scarves, necklaces, undergarments, sleepwear, or exercise wear.  It is still quite cool here in Ontario although some days are warming up in the afternoon, so I had to include enough layers to keep me comfortable in a lot of different temperatures.

I thought these ten items would work well together (with the exception of the red cardigan and the rust cords). I could have included another neutral cardigan in place of the red one, but I felt I needed some colour (I like to wear bright cardigans to add some colour to my outfits.)

1. Cream/navy striped shirt (Banana Republic) 
2. Flowered blouse (Eddie Bauer) 
3. White V-neck shirt (Eddie Bauer) 
4. Black V-neck shirt (Eddie Bauer) 
5. Gray cardigan (Eddie Bauer) 
6. Red cardigan (Eddie Bauer) 
7. Jeans (Eddie Bauer) 
8. Rust cords (Joe) 
9. Black pants (Banana Republic) 
10. Black skirt (I've had it for years)

I'll keep you posted as to how I'm doing and, if I remember, I'll take some photos too.

Do you think you could survive?

When I told my son what I'm doing, he just shrugged and said that that is what he wears all the time. The boy's a wabi-sabi master!

Wabi-Sabi: 5 Ideas for Your Home

Wabi-sabi is a wonderful new-to-me Japanese concept that embraces simplicity and beauty that comes with age (you can read more about it here). I've found this concept to be very inspiring and have been letting the ideas trickle through me this past week ever since I read about it.  
One of the things I've been pondering is what wabi-sabi means for our homes. I thought it would be interesting to find some examples of rooms that exemplified the principles of wabi-sabi. When I looked at these beautiful rooms, I was struck by five take-away ideas:
1.  Use real art.  Real art in our homes will reflect who we are and what our interests and tastes are better than a piece of art that was bought at a chain store (I actually worried when I was selecting the photos below that someone would recognize one of the rooms from a Potter Barn ad or something so I looked hard for something that seemed original).

Canadian House and Home

Mix and Chic

2.  Use handmade items.  Since handmade items are all unique, they help our homes be original and personal. The handmade items might be anything from a quilt, or some pottery, to a hand-forged stove venthood.  They might be something you have made yourself, or a family treasure, or something you purchased at a craft sale.

Country Living

Ironcraft

3.  Use natural elements.  This has got to be one of my favourite ways to decorate.  Not only do natural items have the right price tag - free - but I love the organic feel they give a room.  I'm always collecting pine cones or rocks or twigs to decorate with.  Natural elements also mean decorating with natural wood furniture or floors or wood beams or even using live plants in your home.

Poetic Home

Homes

Style by Emily Henderson

4.  Use vintage items.  The signs of age and patina that often accompany vintage items add to the charm and sense of history. These items may be family heirlooms, or be treasures from thrift or antique stores, or they may even be worn parts of your home like exposed brick or beams.

Country Living

House Tweaking

Laboheme

5. Clear the clutter.  A room that is carefully edited helps you appreciate what you have. Space and light then become the most important elements in the room rather than the furniture and objects of daily living. Clearing the clutter creates a calm atmosphere and helps you focus on the people in the room rather than the objects in the room.

Jessica Helgerson Interior design

Country Living

Aren't they beautiful rooms?  Did you notice any other trends?  How did these ideas resonate with you?  

I am pretty faithful at #3 and #4, but need to work on #5 (in a big way!)  How about you?

The Essence of Wabi-Sabi

Have you heard about the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi? 

It is the idea of finding beauty in authenticity and imperfection. Roughly translated wabi means simplicity and sabi refers to beauty or serenity that comes with age.  Aren't they lovely concepts?

I only recently heard the term and have been intrigued to find out more.  

I've been reading about how the concept of wabi-sabi can be applied to so many areas of our lives. 

Embracing wabi-sabi  in our relationships means forgiveness and acceptance of the imperfect people in our lives (including ourselves.)  

Embracing wabi-sabi in the kitchen means cooking that is natural, simple, and creative.  

Embracing wabi-sabi when we dress means we take care of ourselves, we wear clothes that are comfortable and suit us, and we have enough to wear, but not a superabundance of clothes. 

Embracing wabi-sabi means decorating our homes with handmade or vintage goods or materials that weather well.  It means reducing clutter so we can appreciate what we have. It means surrounding ourselves by things that tell our story, that reflect who we are. It means accepting that our houses are not lifted from magazine pages and they will have finger prints on the walls and stains on the carpets made by the people that we love and live with. 

Some people are better than others at living with the concepts of wabi-sabi.  I probably fall in the middle and am very comfortable with the concepts in some areas of my life and need work in others.  

I love the idea of finding the peace and balance that comes with accepting simplicity and imperfection in our lives.  

What about you?  Are you the master of refined beauty?  If so, do tell.  If not, then perhaps you would like to explore the concept along with me as I look into the ideas and how to apply them to my life.

p.s. I just noticed that I have a wabi-sabi blog name.  Go figure!