Can Fashion and Minimalism Collide?

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately on minimalism.  I have been a minimalist by default because we move every 2 to 3 years for the past decade which means I have to downsize by default.  In Seattle, we went from a 1500 square foot townhouse to an 800 square foot apartment.  Half my stuff ended up in storage.  Then in 2013, we moved back to Southern California into a more spacious La Jolla apartment.   I actually had to buy a few things to fill it up.  Then recently we moved again, this time into a house with a two car garage and a huge storage space.  I have never had this much space to hoard stuff!
Note the zen plant and lack of clutter.




I am a minimalist when it comes to furniture and house accessories however my handbag collection is easily over 500 pieces and don't even get me started on the belts.  I use the bags for my inspiration for future collections.

To be a true minimalist, does that mean I need to get rid of all these handbags?
I refer to all the bags and accessories as business assets.  I need them to do business. (sort of)

In general, clutter makes me feel nervous.  When I walk into a room that is cluttered it stresses me out.  I don't like papers laying around.  When my daughter was younger it seemed like the schools sent home acres and acres of paper every day.  I felt bad that I constantly recycled her art projects, but I felt like if I even kept two weeks worth of art projects I would be a candidate for the reality show on TLC about Hoarders.

I definitely could clean out some of my closets. I have jeans from 2009 that I know I will never wear again.  They were just my favorite.  I have coats from Seattle.  I will never move back to a cold climate so I just hang on to them because they are cool or have real fur on the collar.  (Yes, I wear fur).

When I was a travel writer in Thailand & Laos I remember I lived out of a small rolling suitcase that weighed 6 kilos for almost a year.  That was amazing and liberating! I wore the same clothes over and over.  I still have the Guess? denim jean shorts that I wore almost daily.  Back then, Guess? made the most amazing quality jeans.  I bought the jean shorts in Australia and wore them in Thailand for over a year without a rip.  In my small rolling suitcase I had like 4 shirts, one pair of jeans, one pair of shorts, and one pair of running pants.  I had a pair of sneakers and a pair of Adidas flip-flops.  Remember the shower shoes of the 90's?  I also had a hair dryer (for my frizzy hair).   I would do my laundry at the guest houses I stayed at in between towns and villages.  It was liberating, but I was also single and basically homeless.  I kept my stuff at a $50 a month guesthouse in Chiang Mai where I was based out of.  That was then, this is now.  I now have a spouse, kid, pug and a mortgage that is like you know, a Southern California mortgage. I can hardly live out of a suitcase.  I know how to live with less, but I do prefer running water to taking a shower with a bucket.  Been there. Done that.

Is it possible to be a Minimalist and a Fashionista?  You tell me.   So far my favorite blog to follow on this topic is www.becomingminimalist.com   It is a blog about a family of 4 that has downsized their lifestyle.  I don't think the wife has 500 bags, though.

What is your favorite idea about this new trend?  Is it here to stay? I would love to hear back from you dear reader.  Email me at roccodante@gmail.com

xo
www.tarasauvage.com

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