Why You Should Stop Buying Clothing

When guys reach out to me for help, they’ll sometimes start by saying things like, "I keep shopping but I just don’t have anything I like - I need more clothing."

Here is what most men get wrong about style - they think simply adding more clothing will solve their issue.

Addition is easy.

Whenever we face a problem, our typical response as men is to add. This has been studied extensively in psychology. It’s know as the "addition bias".

The University of Virginia found that when people were asked to improve designs (like a Lego bridge), they overwhelmingly chose to add bricks rather than remove them, even when subtraction was clearly the best route.

This is because we equate adding to "doing something". It makes us feel like we’re advancing in a positive direction, if that’s not the case.

More often than not, the best solution isn’t adding more, it’s subtraction until only what is essential remains.

If you’ve always tried to solve your wardrobe woes with adding more clothing, how well has that worked for you so far?

If you’re like most of our personal styling clients, you’ve wasted countless hours and dollars in the past trying to add in things that bring you little to no improvement. Instead, you wind up with an overstuff closet of nothing that works.

Subtraction comes before addition

In almost every case I’ve seen with our 1250+ personal styling clients, subtraction comes before addition. We have to pull the weeds before we plant the garden. Only then do you have a clean slate to build upon and you can clearly see the gaps.

The problem with subtraction is that it’s not intuitive. It triggers feelings of loss and reminds you that you wasted time and money on things that didn’t work. But if you aren't wearing the clothing, it’s like it never existed anyway.

The goal is to work down to the very core of your wardrobe until what’s left are the items that look good on you that you love.

It feels hard to do. Some of those items you’ve had with you for a long time. The best advice I can give you is to be ruthless with it. I never think about what I spent on an item - that money is gone anyway.

All I think about is what the clothing is doing for me in the present moment. And if it doesn’t work for some reason (fit, color, style, etc), it’s gone. Spare your emotions, it’s all just fabric anyway.

Before you start adding, think about subtracting out of your wardrobe. This is the first step in our process when we work with a client both with our online package and our in-person package.

Anything you have't worn in a year. Those pants you think you might fit or not fit into again. The 20th shirt you can "just wear for yard work". The shoes that you convince yourself aren't that beat up. All of it should go. Give yourself some breathing room. Create space to build up to something wonderful.

One you’ve subtracted, you will significantly reduce your decision fatigue when putting together outfits. You’re only playing around with the winners that work well.

And then and only then, once we’ve pulled the weeds, we can then start to plant the garden, filling your wardrobe with great stuff you’ll love.

Hope this helps.

Patrick