Project 333 - the Great Clothes Challenge

Seven years ago we sold up and travelled Europe in a motorhome. Anything that didn’t fit in the motorhome, or a hundred square foot storage unit, was sold, dumped or given away. It was a refreshing experience, but time moves on and we are living in a house again, brimming with stuff. We could never be described as consumers – we rarely go shopping for leisure and I haven’t bought any new clothes for a year, but I am feeling the need for a clear-out.

I work at home, squirrelled away in the garret where my office shares a corner of a large attic room that doubles as wardrobe and guest room. Our extensive collection of clothes fill two five feet hanging rails, a small wardrobe, a ten-drawer wire rack, a large three-drawer chest of drawers, five under-bed plastic crates and a large suitcase. How did we manage to go from a co-ordinated collection of technical travel clothing to enough stock to start our own charity shop? In seven years.

Once we stopped travelling and returned to normal life we started to shop again. I discovered charity shops and my husband decided to acquire a corduroy jacket in every available colour. When we bought the house in France I developed a dual-wardrobe – clothes for my working life in the UK and clothes for my French fantasy life. Living here in France full-time it quickly became apparent that my collection of second-hand Monsoon, Per Una and Hobbs linen was completely inappropriate. Even the scruffiest jeans are smarter than most of our neighbours and if you do go ‘out’ there’s no need to dress up – unless you want to look like a tourist. My collection of work suits live under the bed, in the large suitcase, as some kind of insurance policy, but after a year of ‘virtual working’ I can’t see myself going back to office life or even worse, the UK..

Taking inspiration from Project 333 I am mounting the Great Clothes Challenge. The basis of the project is to clear the closet clutter and select a co-ordinated wardrobe of 33 items (underwear and sleepwear excluded) to wear for three months, or roughly a season. The remainder is pared down, ready for the next season or three months. I may need to tweak the rules a bit, as it’s constantly raining here so a couple of waterproof coats are essential. The first step is to haul all the clothes out of their various hiding places and make THE INVENTORY.