Lessons from Middlebury Minimalism
Cam Riley’s (Class of 2024) laundry routine is shorter than yours: wash, dry, put in drawers. No sorting required. This is because of the makeup of his wardrobe: simple and efficient.
All of his socks are exactly the same: black Nike crew socks. No need to sort and fold them after washing. In the morning he just grabs two loose socks from the drawer and puts them on. He has three pairs of gray sweatpants and one pair of khakis. On a normal day he puts on whichever pair of sweatpants is nearest to the top of the drawer. The khakis are reserved for special occasions.
For his top half, Cam has 8 different t-shirts. They range from eggshell white to cream colored. During his interview for this article, Cam made sure to emphasize that they are not all plain, they do “have cool stuff that I like” on them. Surprisingly, Cam is particular about the brands of t-shirts he wears. Patagonia, REI, and No Bad Days are three of his favorites. During the colder months, Cam dabbles in layering and throws on a hoodie. His current go-to is a gray Texas Tech college hoodie he got during a recent trip to Texas. When new pieces enter into Cam’s wardrobe it becomes immediately noticeable. He quickly implements the new addition into his regular rotation. His reasoning? “I bought it, I need to get use out of it.” During especially cold months, Cam layers a jacket over top of his hoodie. Cam’s go-to jacket is probably his trendiest piece: a tan Carhartt relaxed fit, sherpa fleece-lined utility jacket. So far he’s got on black socks, gray sweatpants, a cream colored REI t-shirt, a gray texas tech hoodie, and a tan Carharrt jacket.
Now for the footwear.
Cam’s shoe collection is the most impressive aspect of his minimalist wardrobe. He has four pairs of shoes. One pair of black Nike sneakers, one pair of previously white (now beat-up) Nike sneakers, a pair of flip flops, and a pair of brown dress shoes. On a normal day he wears his beat-up white Nikes. On nights out when Cam really wants to put his best foot forward, he wears his black Nikes. On days when the weather is above 60 degrees, he wears his flip flops. These are good days. And on fancy occasions, he begrudgingly wears his brown dress shoes.
Overall, Cam’s wardrobe is dominated by comfort and efficiency. He never faces the issue of trying on 7 different outfits in the morning. All options lead to similar outcomes. Cam doesn’t have to worry about having a bad outfit day, since everyday is the same. This saves him lots of time, effort, and money.
I thought it would be interesting to make Cam wear clothes from my wardrobe. So, I paid him 10 bucks to pick his outfit for the day from my selection. He had to wear baggy brown corduroys, a gray shirt-jacket, white fleece, and Doc Martens. He wore the outfit all day and then I asked him about his experience. He said by far the most significant difference was the Doc Martens. They were very uncomfortable compared to his usual white Nikes. Other than that, Cam didn’t mind wearing my clothes. He said he felt goofy in the baggy pants, but that overall it was not an awful experience.
The next day Cam was back to his roots: white Nikes, gray sweatpants and sweatshirt, white t-shirt.
Fashion means different things to everyone. For some people, it is their number one form of expression. Getting dressed in the morning is the highlight of the day, and the outfit of the day has a major impact on the mood of the day. For others, like Cam, clothing is all about simplicity and comfort. Their outfits do not change much at all. Even though fashion has different meanings for everybody, it holds an equal level of importance. In the eternal wisdom of Deion Sanders, “if you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good.” How you think you look has a huge impact on your level of confidence. Confidence is a valuable currency to finding success in whatever it is you do. This means that it's important to wear what you like and what you think looks good on you, whether that is gray sweatpants, sweatshirt, and white nikes, or baggy corduroys and a gray shirt-jacket. Cam could probably branch out a bit more in terms of what he wears, maybe throw in a pair of jeans or something. And I, and probably every other person in Clover, spend too much time, effort, and money on what we wear. Balance should be our main goal with fashion. It is harmful to not put any thought into how you look, and it is just as harmful to put too much thought into it. All that should matter is that what you wear makes you happy.