How to Get and Maintain a Lean Closet

Recently, I found myself in a closet crisis. What was intended to be a two-week trip ended up being a month-long experiment in which I learned two things: 1. Living on 15 items is hard; 2. I have trouble remembering what I’m missing in my closet back home.

The lean closet movement—the idea that rather than stockpiling trendy items, you should invest in fewer, better quality clothes for a simpler wardrobe—isn’t exactly new. But it’s getting a reboot thanks to the Marie Kondo-esque minimalist trend that’s touching everything from our closets to our beauty routines.

I’ve always been fascinated by this idea of super-streamlined closets and the women who can pull them off. I also have a preexisting propensity for splurging on high-end basics—just what the lean closet movement calls for. But despite my best intentions, I’ve never fully been able to simplify my closet.

By the end of my suitcase living, I was totally sick of the items in my makeshift wardrobe, but I also couldn’t picture what was hanging in my closet back home—so much for loving every item of clothing I owned.

Armed with a journalistic sense of duty and a mind to give the lean closet a fair trial, I decided to experiment the right way. Here’s what happened when I tried a seven-piece wardrobe for seven days.

Day 1 outfit

Day 1

Reaching into my closet for my pre-selected outfit was awesome. Typically, I spend too much time paralyzed by my wardrobe indecision in the morning before ultimately reaching for another plain black dress. The pre-planned outfit made my morning a lot simpler (maybe Zuckerberg is onto something). I left my apartment with a spring in my step—that feeling you get when you feel extra pulled together. Score one for the lean closet.

Outfit #1: Club Monaco jacket, Levi’s Jeans, & Other Stories T-shirt

Accessories: Lien Do loafers, Ray Ban aviators, Marc Jacobs bucket bag

Day 2 outfit

Day 2

Two days in, the lean closet still feels totally doable—wearing the same pair of jeans two days in a row is not out of the ordinary for me even when I have a wardrobe full of options. Tonight, I have plans to get drinks with a friend—an activity I’d usually dress up for. Since I can’t change, I decide to get creative with the accessories.

Outfit #2: Levi’s jeans, Zara sweater

Accessories: Marc Jacobs bucket bag, Zara metallic loafers, vintage blue glass earrings

Day 3 outfit

Day 3

Slight hitch in the success of the lean closet: It’s colder than anticipated today. With a full closet at my disposal, I probably wouldn’t have chosen a dress. But with limited number of tops to go with my one pair of pants, I don’t really have much of an option. My shoes also aren’t super comfortable, so I take the subway to my meeting downtown, whereas I normally would have walked.

Outfit #3: Wilfred dress, Zara sweater

Accessories: Zara metallic loafers, J. Crew earrings, Madewell monogrammed clutch

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Cleaning house with organizing guru Marie Kondo:

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Day 4 outfit

Day 4

I re-wear yesterday’s dress for a dinner plan tonight. During the day, I feel a little too dressy lounging at the Upper East Side coffee shop that doubles as my office. Normally, I’d wear something more casual during the day and run home to change for the evening. Lucky for me, the silk dress is super comfortable, so I subscribe to Oscar Wilde’s theory that one can never be overdressed and own it.

Outfit #4: Wilfred Dress, Club Monaco Jacket

Accessories: Valentino Rockstud sandals, Madewell monogrammed clutch

Day 5 outfit

Day 5

Today is the first day I’ve had to get really innovative with my lean wardrobe by layering a dress over pants. This look is a little more daring than what I would usually go for…and I’m obsessed with it. Working with a limited number of clothes opens up a major opportunity to challenge your own style rules—whatever happens after my lean closet week, this will be a recurring look in my wardrobe.

Outfit #5: Wilfred Dress, Levi’s Jeans

Accessories: Neshama Project necklace, Madewell monogrammed clutch, Valentino Rockstud sandals

Day 6 outfit

Day 6

I realize so far I’ve been working with only five items of clothing. So today for a meeting, I introduce a sixth. This long black body-con dress is one of my wardrobe staples during a normal week because it dresses up or down so easily—I’ve worn it to upscale dinner parties and the movies with equal ease. It also happens to be super warm, which helps mitigate my quickly growing regret that I haven’t included enough pants combos in this week of outfits.

Outfit #6: Zara dress, Club Monaco jacket

Accessories: J. Crew necklace, Steve Madden boots, Madewell monogrammed clutch

Day 7 outfit

Day 7

By day seven, I’ve developed a whole new appreciation for my shoes. Although I’m getting a bit tired of my experimental capsule wardrobe, I’ve put more thought into how I style and accessorize my #OOTD than I ever have. If nothing else, the lean closet experiment has been a crash course in street style-worthy styling.

Outfit #7: Levi’s jeans, & Other Stories T-shirt, Talula Sweater

Accessories: Marc Jacobs bucket bag, Banana Republic leather sandals, Neshama Project necklace

Living lean was not nearly as hard as I’d anticipated—in fact, the hardest part of my limited wardrobe week was picking out my seven items at the start. Living with a streamlined closet became super simple, super fast. On day eight, I automatically reached for my Levi’s and Club Monaco jacket despite the fact that I have a full closet of fair game outfit options back at my disposal.

Enamored by how simple it was to feel chic every morning, I decided to take advantage of the minimalist momentum and tackle my overcrowded closet. While seven items may have been a bit extreme, I did put about 50 percent of my wardrobe in the donation pile. For the most part, the items in my lean(er) closet meet three criteria: 1. They’re versatile (i.e. they can transition pretty easily from day to night); 2. They fit well; 3. They nail a pretty minimalistic aesthetic (lots of neutrals and simple prints). I did hang on to my arsenal of black dresses—no matter how lean the closet, every wardrobe deserves a signature.

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