What I Am Wearing

The minimalist fashion movement calls for consumers to focus on clothes fitting their personal style, paring down to the essentials, and creating a capsule wardrobe.  This can be further defined as timeless, simple, elegant, unadorned, monochromatic pieces you can put together in a myriad of ways. Minimalist dressing provides the maximum effect with ease. 

When we moved from a free-standing home with a substantial number of closets to a downtown loft with two closets, I began to pare down my wardrobe keeping only the most important and donating the rest. Retaining only the things worn in the last year was a beginning. Next, paring further to clothes black or cream in color. These clothes on wooden hangars and arranged in groups of similar shades looked like a work of art. Adorning the walls with my collection of antique flower botanical prints was the final touch.

When we moved to our new home in the Texas Hill Country there was more paring down and a consideration of clothes to fit my new life. Still monochromatic, timeless, unadorned, and so on, but better suited to a range of activities.

These photos show a dress made from an old sleeveless turtleneck sweater and a remnant of fabric. The neck of the sweater was too long, so I folded it inside and made it less bulky. The skirt fabric was gathered and stitched to the bottom of the turtleneck, right sides together. It is endlessly gratifying to repurpose what you have on hand, or to make something new from something old.

Here is a photo of a group of us outside the San Antonio Museum of Art. We had visited the Dolph Briscoe Western Art Museum and were at SAMA for lunch at Tre Trattoria. This dress is wonderful to put on for a quick pulled together, comfortable monochromatic look.

After wearing the dress several times, other, similar, and very beautiful dresses were featured in online fashion magazines. Seeing something similar online may give you further confidence if you feel any trepidation about wearing your own creations.

This photo was in Harper’s Bazaar today in a feature on Spring/Summer 2024 fashion. This is a design by Lucie and Luke Meier for Jil Sander. Underneath the photo, the caption reads, “They consciously explore the possibilities that arise fusing tailoring and technical, feminine and masculine, daywear and glamour…in both forms and material.”

This is Khaite’s Romee dress now available for pre-order. This dress has a sculptural effect in movement that is clearly evident in the brief film on the Khaite site of a model walking in the dress. The statement about the clothes in general in the “About” section reads, Designed to be cherished, each piece proposes a fresh balance of opposing elements – past and future, masculine and feminine, strength and softness, structure, and fluidity…”

(Balenciaga in Black; Photo by Philippe Pottier)

This Balenciaga dress from 1952 has a similar silhouette, thus illustrating the timelessness and flow to be found in fashion.

Clothes should something we cherish; and something to give us joy and ease.

(Eighteenth Century Clothing – History; www.martelnyc.com)

Perhaps you will find something to repurpose in your own closet. Remember, minimalists keep it simple!