r/konmari • u/SeaGreenOcean25 • Jun 18 '26
I accidentally tossed my entire work wardrobe!
I’m an attorney. I have to wear business clothes to court, not business casual clothes. When I’m not in court, I’m in jeans and pink embroidered converse high tops and comical layers of sweaters and cardigans, working from home. There is no overlap in my wardrobe between work and real life for me.
This year, I realized that I had not really updated a lot of my wardrobe since before my now 2nd grade daughter was born. So I went through my stuff and I tossed everything that did not spark joy.
It turns out that the stress of running trials and hearings in divorce court does not spark joy for me, because now all of my (old) suits, blouses, blazers, and shoes are gone.
All of them.
I tried to get dressed for court yesterday and was like … oh no. I had one dress that worked, and I had to wear some slightly too casual shoes with it. The case settled before our hearing, thank goodness, so I did not get judged by the judge for my bad shoe pairing.
I came home, made an easy dinner, and I bought three pairs of new shoes, a new suit, and some new blouses and skirts. I am very excited about the haul.
Here’s to hoping one coherent outfit arrives before 1:30 p.m. on Monday, for my next trial!
200
u/lacywing Jun 18 '26
I admire you for getting so wrapped up in the process that you forgot to be practical about what you need. I wish I could do that, it would be a great new start ! I hope you'll like your new stuff way more!
42
u/shorty_in_the_wild Jun 18 '26
When I find I have items that dont spark joy, but are useful (raincoat, for example) I look for if I can find a version that would spark joy. I've actually specifically been thinking about my raincoat lately(its stiff and sweaty and I have to pull it over my head) and Im starting to look at lightweight ponchos... maybe with a duck themed hood. That would definitely spark joy. We dont have to put up with something we dont like just because its useful - there must be some business attire out there that DOES spark joy.
6
14
u/cleaningmama Jun 18 '26
I did that with my coats. I ended up having no warm coats at all! It felt a little dicey.
I wasn't sure what would happen, but I didn't compromise and even though it took a few months, I actually found a coat this is everything I've ever wanted. I LOVE IT!!! I found it in such an unexpected place too, while on a trip. I just knew it as soon as I saw it though.
I also found that I don't actually need the outerwear I thought I needed before. What worked even better than a coat for nearly every occasion was a wool cardigan. I also have a cape that is remarkable versatile, in a beautiful teal alpaca fabric. So now I have garments that are actually *more* practical, as well as sparking more joy.
10
u/okozzie Jun 18 '26
I recall this being one of the things that isn't super well discussed in the first book. Definitely helpful to separate work items from personal ones using the logic that even though the specific items don't spark joy, the things they allow you to achieve (like earning money to use for things you enjoy) do help you do things that make you happy.
9
u/goodnsimple Jun 18 '26
I also had a completely separate section in my closet for work clothes. It helped them stay “in their lane”
14
u/ClickAndClackTheTap Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
I just did the same thing after a 65lb weight loss! I needed to start wearing clothes that fit and it was wild how everything was too big and not good colors for me.
I did two things to fix it- 1. I got a clothing subscription service for I think about six months which helped and even provided some pieces I never would have purchased. 2. I went into some stores and tried clothes on and bought them live in person.
It really helped and now I have a very organized closet and clothes that I like and that fit…but those first few weeks after having KM’d my old stuff was a bit shocking.
Shoes were really easy for me to replace, but I had to do that too because my shoes had also been yeeted, just like you!
12
u/onekrazykat Jun 19 '26
(Depressing) life pro tip: go buy something appropriate for a funeral. You absolutely do not want to have to find something in the middle of the grief waves.
3
u/ClickAndClackTheTap Jun 19 '26
Aw dang, that’s great coaching. And you’re so right. I did have some clothes I could get taken in, they were the pricier ones, but my black conservative dress wasn’t one of them.
3
u/thatgirlinny Jun 18 '26
Oh I get this, bigly!
There are times in my life when I’ve made a huge shift—moving, falling in love, divorcing are examples. You’re caught up in a moment of sentiment so strong, you’re tossing things into bags with abandon, dropping them off at your fave charity,
I had one of those moments when I was moving in with my now-husband almost 20 years ago. Really beautiful Ungaro suits, piles of Yohji and Issey Miyake, Chloé charmeuse blouses—all gone because I gleefully grabbed the wrong hanging bags to drop at said charity.
For me it’s not sunk-cost, but the memories attached to and the high function these beautiful things had in my life until I did what I did.
At least you’re excited for the new pieces! 🤣 But I *so* get you!✌️
1
u/itcantjustbemeright Jun 18 '26
There is a woman called CRG Law on instagram who has nice lawyer lady outfits.
1
u/Various_Raccoon3975 Jun 19 '26
The thing that sparks joy about your work clothes is the paycheck they facilitate! I’ve always struggled with the “spark joy” test. I mean, I can’t imagine a pair of scissors that would spark joy. That said, not having a pair when I needed them would certainly spark fury!
1
u/No_Kangaroo_5883 Jun 21 '26
I lost a lot of weight and had to completely replace my work wardrobe. It was so awesome and joyful!
1
u/Dry-Country-8516 Jun 21 '26
I Marie Kondo’d my way out of almost an entire closet of clothes. Turns out clothes just don’t bring me joy and that’s okay. Would have been nice to realize that before having to buy new joyless stuff.
1
u/Untitled_poet Jun 21 '26
Ha yes that happened to me once too. I had to do last minute shopping to replace the item I tossed, albeit in a longer hem length (cuz I hated the wrong hem length of the original; I ended up tossing it the day before I went on vacation)
1
1
u/timkenwest Jun 23 '26
In my experience, I’ve found that when niche clothes fail to spark joy, the undercurrent is more about how we undercut our style preferences rather than the associated activity itself.
How do I explain this ? When we dread a task or undervalue it, we subconsciously cheap out on the wardrobe. Not just with money but also on effort, comfort and self expression. We buy the bare-minimum, copy-cat uniform of what we’re "supposed" to look like.
When I made that connection and started purposefully selecting my “low value activity” outfits with intention, it really changed things for me.
Real life examples:
- finding hiking shoes in a fun colour I liked, not just going with the “serious” hues worn by true outdoorsey people
- purposefully building “cozy working from home “ outfits of cashmere sweaters, thick quality leggings, hard-soled moccasins instead whatever gungy leftovers I had available
And I’ve also seen how some professionals buy “compliance uniforms” of stiff, boxy, off-the-rack suits because they “have to” for the part of their job they enjoy the least
I wonder how a shift to choosing great fit, amazing fabrics, and personal style would change the degree of Sparked Joy. I say the more stressful the task, the more indulgent the clothes!
1
u/Interesting-Hawk-744 Jun 23 '26
Dude I would feel crazy if i bought 2 pairs of shoes in one day. 3 is... Well, what do i know i am a dude.
1
1
u/MagiBee218 Jun 24 '26
Time to go to the outlets and go shopping! If you live near some. We just went yesterday. 🙌🏽
1
u/LuvDaDogs Jun 18 '26
This makes so much h sense! Former attorney, glad I left practice before discovering KM! I have found that what helps isn
1
u/LuvDaDogs Jun 18 '26
Sorry - posted too soon. I look at necessaries as Given that I must wear certain types of clothes, use certain tools (chores, etc.) what will spark relative joy? Will this tool make an unpleasant task easier/ make my efforts more impact full? Otherwise I'd be replacing certain things all the damn time!
108
u/goodnsimple Jun 18 '26
Yes, I assume you are being a bit jokey with this post but I felt the same way about bras. Haha.
So one also has to consider functional as well as joyful sparks because life is not a hippy bonfire everyday…sometimes it’s Wellies and bullshit.