Matt Souveny was feeling overwhelmed by the unworn clothes languishing1 in his closet when he began poking2 around Reddit's menswear forums3, where style-conscious men debate different shoe leather and denim4 brands, or bravely seek constructive5 feedback on how a suit fits.
马特·苏维尼在逛红迪网男装论坛时,对他的衣橱里那些一次也没穿过、慢慢过时的衣服感到很头疼。论坛上注重穿着打扮的男士们在讨论不同鞋子的皮革和牛仔布的品牌,也有人大胆地寻求衣服是否合身的建设性意见。
Souveny, a Canadian Air Force pilot, got into discussions about what to wear if you could only choose one
outfit6 for the rest of your life, a popular topic on such forums. It was hypothetical at first, but as the list grew, Souveny
decided7 he had enough intel to turn into a real-life experiment.
"I'd been trimming it down over the past year, but after that conversation on the Internet, it really struck me that I don't need all this stuff," he said.
As of June 1, Souveny has pledged to pare down(减少) his wardrobe to 10 articles of clothing for the next year, excluding socks, underwear and outerwear.
The list includes: one pair of pants, one pair of shorts, two T-shirts, one button-down, one sweatshirt, one pair of sneakers, one pair of boots, a blazer(运动夹克) and a belt.
He declared his intention in May to wear one outfit for one year in a blog post titled "minimalism." The
timing8 couldn't be better, he said. He and his wife were moving to a smaller home, and he would be on
parental9 leave from the Air Force for six months, freeing him from the daily obligation to wear a flight suit.
It was also a way for him to start experimenting with how to live with less overall, he said.
"We've found over the past year that having less stuff can actually allow you more freedom. Instead of spending free time sorting stuff, or organizing stuff, or searching through stuff for other stuff, you can hopefully spend more time doing things that you want to be doing," he wrote.
Most of us
aspire10 to de-clutter our lives at some point.
Shunning11 all material possessions is a big leap for most, but slimming down one's closet is an easier first step. Popular minimalist fashion movements include the 10-piece capsule, the five-piece French wardrobe andProject 333, which invites participants to dress with 33 items or less for three months.
When people recognize the benefits of fewer choices in their closets, they start thinking about how to apply the philosophy to other areas of their lives, said Courtney Carver, creator of Project 333.
"It's sort of the
gateway12 drug for further
simplicity13, because that's where we start each day," Carver said.