My unfashionable minimalistic capsule wardrobe design

My unfashionable minimalistic capsule wardrobe

I used Looby Macnamara's Design Web as a framework for this zone 00-design. The idea of a Capsule Wardrobe inspired me. I used mind maps and observation techniques for this design, MoSCoW (Must do, Should do, Could do, Won't do) for prioritization, Pinterest for collecting ideas and images, and many websites for conversion tables (clothing sizes), information and inspiration. I used principles from Mollison, Holmgren and Macnamara.

Using permaculture ethics for my wardrobe

People care: making a personal permaculture design for what I wear brings more permaculture into my life. It is an act of self care and saving a good amount of energy.

I would like to simplify and get my wardrobe organised. It would bring me joy to just grab an outfit from my shelves and know that I look fine! Having my wardrobe well organised would save me time and energy, and give me more confidence so that I can be the best version of me. It also brings more happiness because everything fits and matches.

It is also an act of family care (especially my teenage kids) when my clothes fit well and don't have (many) holes or stains. They don't have to be embarrassed.

Earth care: assembling a wardrobe that fits well, brings happiness and therefore creates less waste. With an excellent set of clothes I don't need to buy new and it is likely that I will take good care of them and repair them when broken.

If I accidentally rip a hole in my clothes made of natural fibers, I can easily repair it myself. Wool and silk can be felted, cotton can be mended so my clothes will last longer.

And if clothes become waste (and can't be given away), they will not weigh heavy on my footprint because I will choose only natural fibers and clothes that can decompose. In the past I have successfully used clothes as weed suppressors.

This design will be read by volunteers and course participants and maybe others. It might inspire them to be more conscious about earth care with their clothing too.

Fair share: I want less items with better quality, that are “locally” or at least ethically resourced. Better to spend my money for good quality at local businesses than to follow cheap fashion that needs updating every short while.

The clothes that I don't need, will be recycled, given away or decomposed when they are at the end of their cycle. Old clothes from the family are usually used by volunteers as work clothes. Sometimes volunteers need extra clothes because they come in one season and leave in another.

This design brings care for a more sustainable future. By publishing this design it might inspire others to be more conscious about their footprint for the future as well.

     Vision

My wardrobe is filled with beautiful, quality, long lasting clothes that match my lifestyle needs in that season. All items fit well and match, so that getting dressed is easy and quick.

My clothes are repairable and compostable, made of natural fibers like wool, silk, linnen and organic cotton.

When I need something new, I know exactly what I need and I have a mental checklist with my sizes, colour scheme, preferred style and I know what materials to choose.

More: see the PDF