How I Was Finally Able to Let Go of Clothes When 'Spark Joy' or 'Need/Don't Need' Didn't Work

This is a story about what I thought about and what I did between January and June of this year.
To give you a quick summary spoiler right away,I carefully selected my shoes and kept only the clothes that matched them, which allowed me to drastically reduce my wardrobe.That's the story. If you've got the gist of it, feel free to head back now! 👍

A recap of the story so far!

I encountered Asami Akiya's concept of "Self-Questioning Fashion" and decided, "I'm going to create a uniform of clothes that I'm truly satisfied with! Aiming for 3 sets for the year!" After watching the archive of last year's lecture (↓ the stream has since ended 😢),

I followed the teaching tostart by self-questioning your shoesand lined up all the shoes I owned, only to realize, "Whoa... do I have too many shoes?"I tried self-questioning on the spot and reached the conclusion that I didn't need this many shoes and that I should only keep the ones that fit my concept. However, at that time, I was only able to reduce them from 11 pairs to 8. Is this going to be okay? Well, what happens this time!?

I started keeping a fashion diary

According to Akiya-san, if you keep what's called a "fashion diary," you might find your own "axis" and even become a stylish person! W-what did you say!?

…Diaries were the thing I hated most about summer vacation homework. I want to forget about yesterday as quickly as possible and live only looking toward the future! I absolutely never want to reflect on things! …That’s the kind of personality I have, originally. But I don't want to be a frumpy me; I want to be a stylish me. With fewer clothes. So, even though it was incredibly painful, I decided to keep a fashion diary and take photos of my full-body outfits.
…That’s the kind of personality I have, originally. But I don't want to be a frumpy me; I want to be a stylish me. With fewer clothes. So, even though it was incredibly painful, I decided to keep a fashion diary and take photos of my full-body outfits.

Every time I looked back at the photos, I despaired at how frumpy I looked...
However, as the number of photos grew, I realized that even on days when I wore the same clothes,the impression was completely different depending on the shoes!T-this is it...!

I finally understood the importance of shoes with my whole body. The shoes I was wearing when I thought, even a little bit, "Hey, I look pretty good!" or "This might be close to my concept!" were... these ones!!

These are the two pairs I introduced in my previous note, now completely worn out from being worn so much. In the end, the shoes I wear the most are the "right" ones... Just as Akiya-san said in the first lecture! 💦 I should have just done as I was told from the beginning, but I have this troublesome nature where I can't understand things unless I try them myself and they really sink in...

These two pairs perfectly match my concept. (If you're wondering what a concept is, please read Akiya-san's article below.)

As the article says, you can't choose clothes without a concept. In other words, it means you can't let go of clothes without a concept! (←!?)
※ I will write an article later about my new concept after participating in the Self-Questioning Fashion class. Probably...

Decided on my spring/summer uniform based on my shoes! Goodbye to everything else

And then, it was the spring season for clearing out clothes.

Following the recommendation for a clothing purge, I held a one-person fashion show in front of a full-length mirror.
While putting on and taking off the two pairs of shoes mentioned earlier, I created several uniform patterns using only clothes that matched both pairs of shoes. And then,I decided to let go of the clothes that didn't match the shoes.And then...

Oh my goodness! In a little over a month, I was able to let go of 17 items (14 of which were clothes). As a result...

Two storage bins are now empty! I truly can't believe it myself! The space occupied by clothes in my closet decreased from 3/4 to 1/2. My room is tidy and it's easier to live in 😭
But I didn't just reduce them. Because the clothes I have left are close to my concept no matter what I wear (though it's not 100% yet), I feel great every day and have almost no worries about my clothes. I decided on 3 patterns for my summer uniform, so I was able to get through the days when I didn't have the energy to choose clothes due to the extreme heat...✨

You can't reduce your clothes based on 'need/don't need' or 'sparks joy/doesn't spark joy'

If you ask me if I need a lot of clothes, well, it's not necessarily that I need them. If I were a minimalist who could pursue only efficiency, I could probably reduce my clothes in a snap. I once reduced them that way, but before I knew it, I had rebounded. That was because I hadn't faced my own heart when I bought or let go of clothes. My desire for who I want to be is hidden in my clothes. I had let them go while keeping a lid on that. And later, I would be overcome by an indescribable anxiety, and my clothes would increase again.

So, I think about keeping only the clothes that spark joy, but since my desire for who I want to be is hidden in my clothes, even if just a little, there's no way they wouldn't spark joy. I can't let them go this way.

However, through self-questioning fashion, my 'desire for who I want to be' and 'anxiety' that I couldn't put into words were verbalized and brought to light. Because I was able to decide on my own unique fashion concept, I was able to let go of clothes with confidence. It has been five months, and I have absolutely no regrets about letting them go. I don't think there will be a rebound this time.

A year after encountering self-questioning fashion, I was finally able to realize 'uniforming my everyday clothes' this summer. Now, what shall I do for my autumn uniform...? The road to three sets a year is a long one.