Rule of 5: a linen shirt

In 2018, Poloma wool released a capsule of garments with abstract drawings of the female form. The garments were out of reach then. This is precisely the kind of art that I don’t like seeing on walls but adore on fabric that wraps around the body, further abstracting the drawing. A search ensured over the subsequent years for something similar and wearable for my sensibility. Something 10x better than all the ones I have ever wanted has been found. WithNothingUnderneath collaborated with artist Alexandria Coe to create it. Since it’s arrival, I have been holding on to last of summer more dearly. First chilly day ? Walk to the ice cream place at the end of the day and shiver with someone special. Grab the last of the rip tomato boxes on craigslist. Eat that smoothie bowl topped with honey after a morning swim. Pre-fall fashion buzz ? Picked up that beach-ey summer read (The Wedding People). Savor the brown dormant grasses on the hills that will soon green up. Plan that last camping trip that we may or may not take, before peak-fire season and rains arrive. Wear all those linen garments a few more times. Condition the leather jackets to get them ready to play. Call to register voters for the Environmental Voter Project and ask them how their summer went.

Image Source : With Nothing Underneath.

My closet. Shoes and outerwear in a coat closet.

I always get a much clearer idea of what I actually need at the end of a season, not at the beginning. After all, hindsight is 20/20. How did I actually spend my days? What did I really wear? Looking back gives me the clarity to see what’s worth keeping and where the real gaps are. I realized I didn’t wear as many dresses this year, and I already have more than enough. So, a note not to buy any next spring.

- “I’m not shopping for Fall”, by Total Rec.

There is scope of wear for yet another linen shirt looking at my most worn this summer. I hope it is something I will actually wear and not some fantasy from my youth that I finally managed to hungry grab. When asked about the shirt at work, I lied : “It’s a butterfly”. When asked elsewhere, she is a naked woman. With choosing something fun, I surprised myself. As I seek discipline for my consumption, I thought it will be all bread and no roses. Or maybe my belly is fed and I can now go out to seek the wild flowers. I aint bothered about how to style it. Anyway I wear it, is the right away for me.

So far, Rule of 5 has been a parody of what I thought it would be. Me showing what I newly buy, is strange and uncomfortable. There is no dramatic behavior change that has turned me into a monk. What did change is the distance between “that is lovely” and “where are the shopping links ?” I will forever be thankful that this aspiration for less stuff is voluntary and not imposed upon me by poverty/war/natural disasters. I am grateful for being able to work on it at a pace that I have set for myself. Until next post, here is something to chuckle at :