Could the rational wardrobe of the fascist era work for you in 2010?
Whilst enjoying a spot of procrastination during my first day back in the office, I spotted the above striking image over on Fantastic Man. Our favourite online gentleman's style journal dished up a piece on the rational wardrobe of Fascist Italy after being inspired by the recently published hardback Fashion at the Time of Fascism. The rational fascist wardrobe includes only one sweater, no sportswear to speak of, and twenty two handkerchiefs. I find these options to be a little bleak for my tastes but I concede that too much choice might not be a good thing. Just imagine how simple the process of getting dressed each morning would be with such few choices to make. My preferred method of getting dressed does not even require the opening of a door or drawer because I have what I need on the back of my trusty chair...Of course, I do have a wardrobe and it is full of clothes but I just prefer to have my favourite pieces out on show...much to the bemusement and annoyance of Susie and no doubt Mussolini. Rationalising is the solution. Part detox, part re-start, the rational wardrobe – not the ideal, but one that functions – is efficient, modular and mistake-free. Choices should be tightly edited and renewed seasonally to keep it fresh. What would your contemporary version consist of?
The daily recommendation could not have come at a more pertinent time what with all this talk of resolutions for the New Year and the fact that I was reminded of my ever expanding wardrobe by a reader just yesterday. An anonymous commenter remarked "all this talk of clothes does make me wonder how much storage space you actually have?". Both of us at Style Salvage approve of a regular clear, every season or two and have in fact posted on a couple of our experiences (here and here). Ever since I first stumbled across the term via E. Tautz website I have been fascinated with the art of wardrobe building. This of course will not entail me taking hold of a hammer and a bag of nails but instead will require the thoughtful and measured collection of sartorial pieces. So the fascist ideal might not necessarily be for me but it has certainly provoked thought and I will return to this idea when the moment comes to purge my own wardrobe.
The daily recommendation could not have come at a more pertinent time what with all this talk of resolutions for the New Year and the fact that I was reminded of my ever expanding wardrobe by a reader just yesterday. An anonymous commenter remarked "all this talk of clothes does make me wonder how much storage space you actually have?". Both of us at Style Salvage approve of a regular clear, every season or two and have in fact posted on a couple of our experiences (here and here). Ever since I first stumbled across the term via E. Tautz website I have been fascinated with the art of wardrobe building. This of course will not entail me taking hold of a hammer and a bag of nails but instead will require the thoughtful and measured collection of sartorial pieces. So the fascist ideal might not necessarily be for me but it has certainly provoked thought and I will return to this idea when the moment comes to purge my own wardrobe.
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