So, a few years ago, I moved to NYC from Chicago. I'm sure you've heard of the 3rd world living conditions here. When I first moved here, I lived in a 1-bedroom apartment with 2 other room mates. I only brought one suitcase. Even then, I had to store my shit in the roach-infested kitchen cupboards. So, needless to say, my once-fabulous wardrobe has been reduced to almost nothing. And then, I got bedbugs and had to throw out everything once again. NYC can be a terrible place.
1. Since the One Suitcase and the bedbugs, I've been slowly rebuilding. Amazingly, I don't even miss most of the stuff I've thrown out.
2. I still don't have a lot of room or a clothing-centered closet. My one closet is being used to store books and other things. I've got one shitty IKEA drawer set, which broke immediately and I can't afford to get a new one. Most of my clothes hang on a clothing rack (see pic) or are in boxes. There isn't even room in my apartment to have another one of these clothing racks.
3. Because of the space condition, I have to be REALLY careful about what I buy. I have to really think about fast fashion:
I don't know how many times I went shopping and was like "what a nice shirt, but it's cut funny or see through. Well, I'll just wear something underneath! or over!" No way... I can't do that. i never, ever buy "layering" items. you're forced to increase your wardrobe like 3X!
4. Again, space condition: Everything is categorized by season. Every season, I store the stuff I won't wear and take out season-appropriate stuff. While most people do this in the summer and winter (or never), I do this every 3 months.
5. I've thrown out boxes of accessories. Really... they were my vice for my entire life until I moved here. Gloves, jewelry, garters, scarves, hats, hair clips, wigs/extensions, other hair stuff, cosmetics... clubbing accessory stuff like cigarette holders, cases, horns, bags, belts, harnesses. Today, I only actively buy rings (they are small) and earrings/body jewelry (also small). I used to LOVE the cyberpunk look, but it was so wig/accessory heavy, that I sadly just can't do it ever again. No space for it.
6. Again, space issue: I have to buy clothes that will fit for both work and fun. No space for two separate wardrobes.
7. That being said, I DO end up buying some clubwear-only stuff. They take up valuable room, but lol, i live a LITTLE sometimes...
8. I don't sew anymore. sewing requires fabric...fabric requires storing.
9. Most of my current clothing is from Century 21, Beacon's Closet (both HIGHLY recommended if you ever come to NYC), and American Apparel.
10. I prefer to buy skirts and loose clothing, cause you might get a couple extra wears out of them before you need to wash them. On a similar note, the long skirt/cropped shirt look is insanely practical for me right now. Small things=easy to hand wash. Skirts=don't need to wash as often. Maybe not a big deal for people who live with a washing machine, but when you've got to climb a bunch of stairs and head down the block with a big bag of laundry... it kinda does.
 |
| my wardrobe/clothing rack. |
How satisfied am I with my current situation? Well, I'm kind of happy that it's streamlined, though I'm kind of bored of the things I have now. What I really want is t-shirts with fun things on them. I just realized that aside from 3 band tshirts and one Dethklok and one Repo t-shirt, none of my shirts have anything on it. I just have plain tshirts like I'm a communist or something. Need to go shop for something like (and yes, I'm a hypocrite cause these are all fast fashion pieces!!):
