The Tree Of Life

It's been over two years now since I first started journeying towards a more minimalist lifestyle and mindset. In that time there has been a significant shift in the aesthetic of my home from one of clutter and busyness to one of space and calm. My wardrobe however has been a massive challenge in this journey and I've struggled through various cycles and approaches to let go of the excess and reduce my hoard to a usable, fulfilling amount. I've felt like I've made no ground. I look in my wardrobes and drawers and under bed storage and closet space and see rows upon rows of clothes, many of which I've never even worn and I feel immense guilt at the scale of my problem, at the money and time I've wasted acquiring all these unworn clothes, and at my inability to part with them. It's only in revisiting my original blog and starting to go through all the posts from my archive that I've been able to see just how many clothes I no longer own. Sure I've acquired many, many more since 2012 when these photos were taken, before I became more mindful and intentional, but there was a time when I would have kept everything, even worn out, broken, useless things (I must admit, even now, I still own a pair of cherry patterned flats that have large holes - my feet will touch ground kind of large holes - in the soles, so still struggle with this). But looking at this outfit today, I can see what I no longer have. I've parted ways with the cardigan (as I type this I'm a little unsure if I have actually let it go or if it might actually be lurking in a 'to mend/to alter' pile somewhere - I'm shaking my head at myself), the jeans, the coat, the scarf and the boots. What saddens me though, is that because I own so much, the truly special pieces have no chance to shine. The tree of life necklace I'm wearing for example (close up shot on the original post). Tich had it custom made for me. It's not that I haven't taken care with it, I know exactly where it is but because I have so many other choices, many of them tat to be quite honest, it just gets lost in the multitudes and never picked out. I always thought I had so many clothes because I loved clothes so much, but actually in having so many nothing is truly loved. It's in refining my choices that I show my love for specific pieces.

I'm wearing:

Dress (old): H&M
Top: thrifted
Cardigan: Avoca Anthology via a charity shop
Jeans: thrifted
Coat (old): H&M
Bag: charity shop
Scarf (old): Internacionale
Boots: Ebay
Earrings (old): George
Necklace: gift from Tich
Bangles: thrifted

Photos taken by Tich

Photos originally posted October 23rd, 2012 here