A Developer's Minimalist Wardrobe Experiment

My Closet Wouldn't Close

The closet in my studio apartment wouldn't shut. Clothes were sticking out. I counted: 43 tops, 17 bottoms, 11 outerwear, plus miscellaneous stuff. But what I actually wore was 7-8 tops, 4 bottoms, and 3 jackets. I was wearing 20% of my clothes 90% of the time.

The remaining 80% were things I couldn't even remember buying. They'd been hanging there for three years under the belief that "I'll wear them someday."

Mark Zuckerberg said he wears the same thing every day to "reduce decision fatigue," and that suddenly resonated. I spend 7-8 minutes every morning deciding what to wear. Over a year, that's 42 hours. (That number is kind of jarring when you calculate it.)

Step 1: Sort the Unworn Clothes

I pulled out everything I hadn't worn in three months. Excluding winter items since it was spring, 34 pieces came out. I tried to split them into "might wear next time" and "honestly won't wear."

The problem: almost everything ended up in the "might wear" pile. The attachment made decisions impossible. Especially an expensive shirt I'd worn once -- "but I paid 80,000 won for this..." I know the sunk cost fallacy in theory, but my emotions don't cooperate.

Step 2: Forced Execution

Deliberation leads nowhere, so I set a rule. Anything I hadn't worn even once in the last 6 months goes, no exceptions. That cleared out 29 pieces. I listed 11 that were in good condition on Danggeun Market (sold for 73,000 won total), and the rest went to the clothing donation bin.

What remained: 17 tops, 8 bottoms, 6 outerwear. Still seems like a lot, but it's half of what I started with.

Three Months Living with a Minimal Wardrobe

Morning outfit selection went from 7 minutes to 2 minutes. Saving 5 minutes a day doesn't sound like much, but 5 minutes in the morning is worth 30 minutes in the evening.

Fewer clothes also made laundry easier. I used to let laundry pile up and spend 3 hours on weekends dealing with it. Now I do small loads twice a week. Fewer items on the drying rack means a tidier room.

But there were failures too. I got rid of all my formal-ish clothes, and when a friend's wedding came up, I had nothing to wear. Rushed out and bought a dress shirt for 59,000 won. Minimalism still requires at least a minimal set for different occasions.

I Tried the Uniform Approach

Five black t-shirts and three navy pants as my baseline -- I wore almost exclusively this for two weeks. Result: nobody at the office noticed. Developer dress code expectations are already pretty low, I think.

But one issue: I was bored. Wearing the same thing every day doesn't provide any variety for your mood. I ended up settling on a uniform base of 5 items plus 3-4 accent pieces to mix in. Full uniform life wasn't for me.

Current State

Three months into the minimalist experiment. The closet closes comfortably. Impulse purchases have dropped. Before, it was "it's cheap, just buy it." Now it's "will I actually wear this?" first.

I haven't become a true minimalist. The fact that I'm eyeing fall jackets right now proves the desire to buy hasn't vanished. But I've learned to pause one beat before making a decision. I'd call the experiment a success at this level.