Lauren Russler

For me, getting ready after waking up is a process almost as intricate as the morning routine of the protagonist in “American Psycho.” I can almost hear how the voiceover would sound.

“My name is Olga Isailović. I’m 19 years old … health and exercise … blah blah blah.”

Then, in honor of the infamous clip from the cult classic, the view cuts to me doing a bunch of floor mat exercises, showering and vainly gazing in my reflection until the screen fades to black. Yet, to render this version with my own seal of authenticity, perhaps I would carry on with the rest of my routine in an extended cut. My B-12, D and C vitamins, as well as my folate and fish oil supplements would be taken orally after my skincare routine. Then, my sixth capsule would instead be a topical wardrobe treatment of a simple, quick outfit to replace my robe before heading out the door.

In this reboot, I incidentally made an allusion to another film. While I’m not exactly living in  “The Matrix” either, there’s this same choice to select the correct figurative pill and either succumb to culture surrounding internet shopping or rediscover a tried and true method of collection. The former is an ever-changing bundle of clutter, but the latter a timeless closet.

I actually haven’t seen either of these movies, nor do I consider myself a film bro by any means, but they are perfect devices to introduce the public to the allure and efficiency of the capsule wardrobe. Truthfully, I have only seen Christian Bale’s stoic character get ready since watching Margot Robbie’s “Psychotically Perfect” recreation of the get-ready-with-me clip for the YouTube channel of Vogue Magazine.

Short form videos are an appropriate segue to more precisely explain what a capsule wardrobe entails: compared to fad self-help organization books or methods of minimalism intended for the organization of household.

I first learned about the concept of a capsule wardrobe in middle school from the original college YouTube style guru, a University of California Los Angeles film studies student-turned-fashion influencer, Ashley Rous, known as “bestdressed,” in a video titled “I Tried a Capsule Wardrobe For 30 Days.”

Before defining this time-saver and decision fatigue prevention method, I believe that it is important to acknowledge that it is, objectively, a financial privilege to have too much of something instead of being faced with an insecurity, especially of a human need like clothing.

Although it might seem counterintuitive to be inhibited by drawers full of accessories for every occasion and a walk-in closet full of various deadstock designer pieces, you will get overwhelmed every morning by having too many options and later resort to your default uniform while the rest of your collection collects dust. A maximalist wardrobe is not a closet, it’s an estate sale for the creativity and resourcefulness you would have garnered in having fewer options.

Rous did a month-long trial of her reduced closet to evaluate if the decision was appropriate for her lifestyle, as opposed to forms of minimalism that take the world by storm such as the Marie Kondo method. The tendency of consumers faced with the let down of purging most of their belongings to cope through shopping sprees is the epitome of instant gratification. Permanent reduction is a gradual process.

The defining characteristics of the capsule wardrobe are both a low quantity of items and the interchangeability of all of the clothing and accessories.

Imagine assigning all of your pieces to different wheels based on the types of articles of clothing they are, with each individual article taking up a piece on each wheel. The goal is to have every component, color palette, silhouette and material be a means of unity, so that if you were to spin the wheel for your tops, bottoms, shoes and accessories you could face the world wearing any combination of pieces but still look chic.

My Ashley-inspired capsule wardrobe is as follows: three shirts, three jeans, five dresses, five tops and three shoes. Most of the pieces are either in neutral colors—black, white and gray—or one of five jewel tone colors I know I look good in: red, navy blue, green and pink. All of my graphic tees have some type of sentimental value and were purchased over the course of several years. Most importantly, I experimented with the idea of the pieces I wanted to cut from my wardrobe by just keeping them under my bed until I was sure of my decision to list them on a resell site or lend them to a friend.

Nowadays, I like to tell myself that I’m keeping the legacy of bestdressed alive with my decision to implement this reduction, since she unfortunately stopped uploading videos to her channel almost five years ago. I suppose her inspiration to dress myself so simply is the appropriate complement to the relatable aspect of Patrick Bateman’s extra wake up ritual.