Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Simplified Wardrobe Has Some Famous Fans

President Obama, wearing a blue suit
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza; found on Whitehouse.gov, where content is licensed under Creative Commons, unless otherwise noted.

Have you simplified your wardrobe, moving toward a personal uniform? That works well for some people — and if you're one of those people, you have some good company.

Everyone knows about the black turtleneck and the jeans that Steve Jobs always wore — but did you know that President Obama moved to a simpler wardrobe?

Here's what Michael Lewis wrote in Vanity Fair, quoting Obama regarding his wardrobe and why he chose to simplify it:
“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions. It’s why shopping is so exhausting. “You need to focus your decision-making energy. You need to routinize yourself. You can’t be going through the day distracted by trivia.”

[via Ruth, commenting on an Unclutterer post]

And I just now saw the following video from Condé Nast Traveler about the wardrobe of New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof; it literally had me laughing out loud.



Related Posts:
Wearing Black: The Benefits of a Simplified Wardrobe
A Personal Uniform Fights Clothing Clutter
A Personal Uniform Isn't For Everyone

1 comment:

SueBK said...

I simplified my wardrobe because I couldn't find colours I can wear in the shops. I only buy neutral colours now. But I have a fantastic collection of scarves and jewellery. I could wear the same clothes all week and most people wouldn't notice, because I wear a completely different outfit every time.
It does make my morning a lot easier. Most of my wardrobe works with everything else in it, so I just grab top and bottoms and then decide what colour I feel like.