You want to open your closet and feel instant clarity on what to wear. Then you want to feel joy because you know you love everything in your closet. Each item makes you feel great for more than one reason. Every outfit is comfortable, easy, and suits your individual lifestyle. Everything works together. You know what you have and you can see each item because your closet now has breathing space.

5 steps to choosing a minimalist wardrobe:

1. Choose ethically and sustainably made new clothes.

If you're going to go minimalist, you might as well make your choices count for other people and for the Earth. This is the part where you clothes feel great in more than one way. They flatter you and you feel good because you're not part of the fast fashion cycle of destruction and abuse. I never buy new clothing unless the company has a commitment to ethics and sustainability they specifically mention on their website. I use the Good On You app to look up specific companies for their practices and you can see their grade.

2. When shopping for basics or need to buy cheap, thrift.

I love shipping thrift stores. When I buy second-hand, I allow myself to buy no matter what the brand is. Hey, you gotta draw a line somewhere. I do look for brands that follow ethical and sustainable practices even in thrift stores. Thrift stores are for me a great way to shop for basics. Thrift stores are a great way to save money and embrace sustainability in your personal shopping choices.

3. Fall in love with neutrals.

For me, even though I love bold color, neutrals are the key to a cohesive minimalist wardrobe. Most everything I wear goes with everything else because I have a lot of black, tan, and gray. It just works. If you don't embrace neutrals, you end up with closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. I like to embrace color and fashion with on-trend accessories or vintage jewelry that may not be in style, but is in a color I just love.

4. Follow your own style guide.

Instead of shopping trendy colors that will disappear next season, choose colors that you love. My sister created a style guide for me. It has both neutral and bright colors and it serves as a guide when I shop. If an item is a color that is not on the style guide (or a neutral that goes with the colors in my style guide) I don't buy it. Easy peasy.

5. Find a couple companies you LOVE and feel good about supporting.

I love softy, cozy, comfortable clothes that are flattering, have a bit of stretch, and are well-made. I’ve had a hard time finding affordable, sustainable online brands that use ethical practices consistently keep items in stock. However, one such company is Wear Pact.

6. Final, bonus step! Know that there's no one way to do a minimalist (or capsule) wardrobe.

I've had large, medium, and small wardrobes. The exact number of items (and what I include in the count) changes.

Here's an image of a list of what was in my capsule wardrobe a few years ago during a 3,000 mile (4800 km) road trip.

And finally, here's yet another list that you might find useful.

Basically, have fun with this process! There's no one right or wrong way to do it.

There’s a full capsule wardrobe guide and spreadsheet available for free when you sign up for my newsletter here: GenevieveParkerHill.com/contact.