Sunday 5 April 2009

Weekend Thought: Your wardrobe is more than a piece of furniture

The art of wardrobe building is not fast or haphazard; instead it is developed and nurtured over time. A mans wardrobe may rather eloquently tell the story of his life less ordinary. E. Tautz

During an afternoon of procrastination last week TheSundayBest gave me a new blog to sink my teeth in to after I was moaning about the internet cycle I had got myself in. I needed something new to both pass the hours after lunch and inspire, Daring Fireball delivered with a post on Complex systems and the success of Apple. John Gruber begins the post with an extract from Gall's Law and applies it to my favourite technology brand.

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.” Gall's law.

If there is a formula to Apple’s success over the past ten years, it is to start with something simple and build it, grow it, improve it, steadily over time. Evolve it. As I find it quite difficult now to think of anything other than men's fashion and style (seriously, I need help...what happened to me?) I was reminded with the art of wardrobe building post. For me, the wardrobe is a complex system which requires a simple base which is then added to slowly over time. EJ will be the first to tell you that I am quite an impatient fellow but it is all about making measured, (mostly) calculated decisions.- of course from time to time we all need an impulse buy or two, some of which we might regret a few months down the line but mostly these buys fit quite nicely and add to the story of a wardrobe. When we met up with Patrick Grant he reminded us that there is something very charming about building a collection of clothes, every piece having a position in the wardrobe. When one of their longest clients at Nortons died last year (after being a customer since 1945!) an extraordinary wardrobe was left. The chap was far from an extravagant man but bought wisely and his wardrobe certainly told a story. It is something of a lost art that a lot of people just don't consider anymore. We think it is about time that people considered this art once more.

So, regardless of your brain's hemispheric dominance we think it is about time that you see your wardrobe as more than a piece of furniture. If your scientifically minded, just think of Gall's Law and see your wardrobe is a complex system and if you are a little more visual, your wardrobe is a story telling piece of art.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Swell post. I long for the day when I finally practice what I preach ie. accumulate worthwhile pieces primarily, and succumb to impulse buys infrequently. Alas.

/Male Mode.

PS. Not sure if you're bothered with this sort of thing but...I tagged you! Check out Male Mode for deets.

Emma Homestay Bandar Tasik Puteri said...

Great article!

Saying goodbye to clothes is hard but I have adapted to it these recent months, because I need to build a more quality wardrobe of less junk, not to mention I cannot lug all my stuff back to Malaysia after graduation. Hence, selling my stuff is the best and profitable way to get better pieces in the future.

Anonymous said...

Steve - nice post!

Got to say - building a wardrobe up steadily over time is the perfect way to do it - allowing you to really hunt for the key pieces of the season...

But between seasons do you rip it down and start a blank canvas or is it more a case of 'renovation'?

Apologies for the building puns, couldn't resist!

Lew H
blog.topman.com

Lew H said...

Steve - nice post!

Got to say - building a wardrobe up steadily over time is the perfect way to do it - allowing you to really hunt for the key pieces of the season...

But between seasons do you rip it down and start a blank canvas or is it more a case of 'renovation'?

Apologies for the building puns, couldn't resist!

Lew H
blog.topman.com

Style Salvage Steve said...

Cillian: I know exactly what you mean. I think we'll always need the odd impulse buy though! Thanks for tagging me...
Nabonies: Now that must be difficult. Let me know where you are selling it, I might pick up something!
LewH: Ever since I came across this idea I've found it difficult to think about anything else. I love the idea of a wardrobe being an ongoing project. As for seasonal dresssing, as long as the base of the wardrobe is strong it will be fine, obviously jumpers be packed away for the summer. Little tweaks are the way forward.

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