Dana's 18 Items

In moving back home and trying to fit three-years of apartment living into a single bedroom, I realized how many material possessions I have accumulated over the years. I felt it was time to simplify and minimize…hence, the shopping embargo and clothing challenge.

Holy crap, I have a lot of clothing…among other material things. So all this, is a good idea. Granted, in embarking on a wardrobe of 18 items doesn’t really reduce the number of worldly possessions (I am not getting rid of the other clothing). But I am hoping it will teach me to live with less. We will see how well it takes.

Given that I have so much clothing…winnowing it down to just 18 items was no easy task. Beyond the many options I had available to me, I also had to take into consideration that all 18 items I chose were actually interchangeable and wouldn’t be so ostentatious that would make frequent wear too noticeable and annoying. As such, you will notice that the clothing I chose are a bit more muted that what you might normally expect me to wear. But don’t worry, this is where the accessories come in!

Additionally, I had to take into consideration the bay area weather. For those of you unfamiliar, fall is actually the warmest season. As such, I was torn as to whether to bring shorts. In the end, I thought it would probably best to just stick with pants. Not to worry, many of my clothing trademarks are still included (read: tank tops).

So, it comes down to this. The 18 items. Hopefully this all works out.

(4) Pants:

I have chosen gray jcrew khakis, dark blue jeans (cut long, so they have a cuff), regular blue jeans, and a light blue jean. All are cut fairly slim, but not skinny.

(4) T-Shirts:

Here we have a lot of heathered colors...which some may realize is also a common trend in my clothing. On the top, I have selected a heathered brown american apparel 50/50 blend crew neck, a sorta deep-v gray and white stripe from american apparel (gray stripe is heathered), and a heathered gray pocket v-neck. The second picture is the front and back of the same t-shirt, its a steel gray blue color with a large screen print on the back.

(4) Shirts:

Shirts were a little tricky. I figured, to be safe, I need to have at least one shirt I could wear to a more formal occasion, hence the white shirt on the bottom left. However, it was also necessary for that shirt to be able to fit into a regular rotation. This is a fairly slim-fitting shirt, so I think it will work. The other shirts include two flannels (both on the top). One is a light grey snap-button in the style of a western shirt (Club Monaco). The other is a blue and yellow plaid, like a more traditional flannel (american eagle). The last shirt is navy oversized buffalo check (also from american eagle).

Other Tops ((1) Thermal, (2) Tanks, (1) Sweater):

Thermal Henley with snap-buttons and a slight v-neck. Also heathered.

Red tank (heathered from american apparel) and a yellow tank with red, white, and black stripes...maybe some blue in it too.

Club Monaco sweater, light wool knit. Gray and white stripe with a navy waistband.

The Jackets ((1) Hoodie, (1) Blazer):

Blue heathered hoodie.

Navy blazer. Here, I again wanted something formal enough for dress-up occasions, but not so fancy that I couldn't wear it in every day situations.

So, there you have it. My 18 items. Of course, there are accessories...hats, scarves, shoes, belts, ties, etc. But I figured those can be little surprises along the way. Not to mention that Paul will have an nearly endless supply of accessories, which makes posting pictures of them individually difficult to say the least.

If you have any clothes combination suggestions, feel free to comment. Or comment on the wardrobe generally. Be on the look out for the daily images posted of our outfits!