The Great Spring Clean

I'm cleaning out my wardrobe for the first time in a couple of years.

The last time I did this I had just got back from Japan. I had been through a traumatic divorce, moved out, and spend the winter ruining some personal relationships. The flat I was staying in with a friend was coming to the end of its lease and I was determined to travel slowly for some months. My first stop was a month in Barcelona, then a month in the UK because of some tax implications, and then a month in Japan. Because of this I was trying to trim my wardrobe down to the bare essentials.

As then and as now I look at my wardrobe rail, bowing and creaking under the sartorial weight, and wonder if I couldn't do a bit of trimming down here too, though nothing so drastic as the suitcase-full that I had back then. I've gotten a bit too into the pre-loved market of late. I bought some vintage Levi's jeans that were the perfect wash for me, and from then on I made a vow to avoid buying new clothes ever again. Except perhaps underwear and shoes.

The trick with sites like Vinted and Depop is that the perfect fits are really the minority. With most of the things you buy, unless you're absolutely certain, it's going to be a strange fit or be too thick or thin or pulled out or bobbled. For this reason I try to go towards the middle of the pack, price-wise. My advice is not to go for cheap brands cheaper, but rather to go for middle or expensive brands at a more affordable price-point.

At any rate, I'm approaching a stressful period as a renter. My lease is up in June, and that will come with a moving day. That means all of those terrible garments that I bought and weren't quite right that clutter the bannisters and shelves, and overflow from the wash basket, will need to be moved. Every one an albatross around my neck, and often around my arms or legs as well.

The steps taken, then, were as these: A) Make a list of my ideal, minimal wardrobe. What's the minimum I could get by with? B) Take inventory. What have I got? C) Match the two. By process of subtraction, what is the remainder? Then for that remainder, can it be shed?

This is working well so far and I have listed plenty of items, much of it too old or worn out to be of any use. I have listed at a couple of quid above what I think it might be worth, and each week an item does not sell I will lower it slowly, one pound sterling at a time, until eventually donating it to a charity.

I must say the process is enjoyable. It's an extra thing to do in the evening, and so much the better. I'm making money, although not so impactful a sum, and I've been able to curate my dream wardrobe. I reflect that the dream wardrobe of RDW is quite straightforward. There are dark trousers and light trousers or jeans, a plain t-shirt or vest (often white), then an oversized cotton shirt, so that it hangs loosely off the shoulders. Sometimes the shirt is a crewneck jumper, similarly roomy. Sometimes the trousers are the shortest athletic shorts I can reasonably leave the house in. The effect is much the same 90's-coded big-top-little-bottom sort of thing. I rather think that having a uniform like this suits me well, as a man who clings to routine and standardisation like a diver to his oxygen mask.

The thing to understand and nail down, it seems, is the colour theme. You don't need specific colours in mind - though it helps, but a broader spectrum is the ticket. I myself am an Autumn. Oranges, browns, forest greens, earth tones. That is where I live, and can be found in the evenings and on weekends. Black does little for me, likewise blue. But this is to be seen for yourself.

Shoes have been trickier. I have always had a fancy for white trainers. The straightforward kind like a Stan Smith or Chuck Taylor - though the latter are unwearable for anybody with an arch in their foot. I find black shoes of all kinds do not suit me. I even tried the very fashionable penny loafer in black and brown, and neither had the effect I'm after. Alongside that, regular brogues tend to look like school shoes. I have on order a pair of suede clogs - a particular brand made them very fashionable a year or two ago, and I've seen some men looking very good in them - fashion forward. I've picked an earthy tone - a sort of taupe - and I shall see how they are.

There is something pleasing about emptying the old flat. Seeing the extra room is a tonic and feeling good about what you're wearing never hurts. I feel more at home in my body and clothes than ever in my life, and when the wardrobe is cohesive, and everything goes with everything, you have one less thing to worry about.