Albicocca – Mirella's Way

Minimalism means something different to everyone. On this blog, I write about what it means to me — and also about things that are connected to it, sometimes indirectly, sometimes very directly. It all depends on how we understand minimalism.

For me, minimalism is a life philosophy, close to Stoicism. It’s not only about order in a wardrobe, in a bag, or at home — it’s also about order in life itself. This sense of order matters, because when things are arranged, we know what we have and where it belongs.

But order alone is not enough. Just as important is awareness of our choices — what we put into our wardrobe, our life, our everyday routines, and what we carry with us through life. The fewer things we carry, the lighter we feel. And the more consciously those things are chosen, the easier they are to carry.

Being aware of our values makes decisions easier. When we know what truly matters to us, choosing becomes simpler. Today I want to write about decision-making using the example of buying clothes.

I focus on clothing because we spend a lot of money on it, it takes up a lot of space in our wardrobes, and the fashion industry generates enormous pressure on the environment. I won’t go deeper into environmental issues here — I’ll write about that another time. Today I want to focus on the moment of choice.

Yesterday, my daughter and I were looking at jackets. She stopped at one and said:

“I like it, but it’s not my style.”

I found that remarkable, especially coming from a six-year-old. I like it — but there’s no place for it in my wardrobe, because it’s not me.

For adults, this decision is rarely so simple. Often, we don’t even know whether we really need something. Clothes are a bit like food shopping — when we’re hungry, we buy far more than we need. The fridge fills up, we can’t eat everything, food goes bad, and we throw it away.

The same happens with clothes. We buy impulsively — because something looks great, because it’s on sale, because it feels like an opportunity we can’t miss. Later, at home, we either wonder why we bought it or simply put it in the wardrobe and forget about it.

When I need a specific piece of clothing, I often check Vinted first — an app where you can buy second-hand clothes. I’m always amazed by how many items there are that are brand new, sometimes even with tags still on. I wonder whether these are unwanted gifts or purchases made without much thought. Of course, when shopping online, clothes don’t always look the same in real life — the colour, the fabric, the cut. We can return them, but returning also takes effort and energy, which we don’t always have enough of, even if online shops make returns easy.

That’s why I find it helpful to have a few simple principles when it comes to my wardrobe:

• knowing my own style and colour palette,
• setting limits on how many items I want to own,
• following the rule: when I buy something new, I let go of something old,
• owning a few good-quality, classic pieces that can be combined in different ways and worn on various occasions (like the little black dress).

Before buying something, I also try to decide in advance:

• what I actually need,
• how much I want to spend,
• which brands or shops I trust — this also helps reduce impulsive purchases.

For me, it also matters what materials clothes are made from and which brand stands behind them. But that’s a topic for a separate post.