From 12 → 5 New Things
What's left to do but up the ante? My plan for 2026.
I have a confession: I haven’t really been getting dressed lately. Not properly. Not as often as I should, given the place I’ve made for myself in all of this.
Like, of course I’m wearing clothes. But mostly the same ones on repeat. Lots of leggings and fuzzy sweaters. Not many outfits, little creativity.
This is what my calendar has looked like for the last few months:
I’m still tracking items. Obviously. Even in a full-blown style slump, you will have to pry the integrity of my wardrobe data from my cold, dead hands.
But the fact that — even with a very technically “complete” closet — I’ve felt totally uninspired to do anything with it has to mean something.
I have to recognize that it is perhaps me that’s been flat. The last six months at work have felt like a spin cycle: two steps forward, one step back. In my personal life, things are in a bit of a holding pattern. I know I’m in the waning days of one phase of life looking toward the next, but still (for reasons) very much stuck in this one.
Which is exactly the kind of moment when a closet can help, if I can kick myself into the right brainspace for it.
My last post was a look back at 2025: a recap of the year through the lens of my new additions.
This is the less tidy follow-up. A few observations about what feels off, what I think I’ve been missing, and how all of that plays into my (style) goals for 2026.
Here’s what I’ve diagnosed:
I’m (still) underplaying accessories
I’ve written before about how we tend to WAY over-invest in clothes versus accessories. I see it constantly, looking at thousands of real closets on Indyx. 300+ items of clothing (including 25 near-identical pairs of black work pants) and…nine pairs of shoes. Two bags. One lonely scarf.
Even when someone says “oh, that’s just because I haven’t gotten to digitizing my accessories yet,” that tells me something, too! For whatever reason, accessories are treated as super optional. Secondary. Not critical to the look. Nice-to-haves we’ll deal with later (or…never?).1
All the while, we know they’re doing the most work! As Asta / Aastha recently wrote:
A wardrobe full of perfect clothes without varied accessories will ultimately lead to style boredom. It’s functional, but it has no personality.
Her whole piece on this is incredible, by the way. Highly recommend.
Despite knowing all this, I am still undervaluing accessories. I know this from the way I LIT UP in this recent outfit with the little pink sock.
And it was a complete accident! I only got here because the sweater vest was making me feel a little square, so I wanted a heel on the bottom to give some elongation. But it was too cold for a sandal! The sock was purely a practicality add.
And even that sock’s very existence in my closet was technically a mistake. I had put red cashmere socks on my wishlist last year, but my (lovely) MIL misread the thumbnail and got me the very hot pink ones instead.
And yet it did everything. It brought a clear point of focus (“one”). It added a hit of playfulness to an otherwise very serious outfit. I loved the navy and hot pink together. And it kept me comfy! What could be better???
All this to say: physician, heal thyself. I know the prescription — I just need to take it. I want to focus much more attention on how I accessorize, and it only feels right that my 2026 spending reflect that, too.
I’ve optimized my color palette (a little too well)
Nearly anyone who looks at my closet reacts with some version of “wow, you’ve got a really consistent color story going here”. And I do! There’s part of me that’s quite proud of it.
About two years ago, I decided once and for all that navy was my go-to neutral (not black), and I haven’t looked back. White or cream is my other favorite neutral. I’ll mix in a very solid dose of grey and brown. My “pops” are almost exclusively shades of bright red or blue.
I didn’t really intend to do this. But conscious or subconscious, consolidating around a palette has been very helpful. It is intensely focusing: it’s very clear what does and doesn’t “go" when considering new pieces. It’s made it easy to mix-and-match basically anything in my closet. For anyone struggling with overwhelm or too many “this only goes with this” puzzles in their closet, I’d recommend thinking about focusing your color palette.
But at this point I find myself wondering…there’s gotta be more to life!? I don’t know. I’m bored of white-navy-grey outfits. I just feel that I might be ready for more tools.
This (^) was quite illuminating, and I want to look at bringing more Ring 3s into my closet. The muddy “ish” colors that (supposedly, as I woudn’t properly know yet!) soften and make things feel more chill (which, IS one of my words!).
I think both Kelly Williams and Anna Newton are at least a year ahead of me on this one? This post from Kelly really got me thinking back in May. Anna, a known neutral lover, has been notably experimenting in Ring 3 to great effect. Aastha is not new to this, but her color formula series is both inspiring and tactical in a way that makes me want to do it and believe that I can!!!
I’ve been a bit too shoppy
Ever taught a kid to ride a bike? I sure haven’t. But there’s exactly one thing I know about this topic, and that is you’re supposed to tell them to look where they want to go (the path), not where they don’t want to go (the ditch).
The problem with a “I’m only buying 12 new things this year” anti-shopping shopping challenge is that it is fundamentally a shopping challenge. Add on to this the fact that I’ve voluntarily taken it upon myself to do a monthly write-up about this shopping challenge, and well…I find myself quite focused on the ditch, so to speak.
I’m not giving up the shopping challenge. But I am resolving to keep a better eye on the path, aka refocusing some effort into the closet I have. Specifically, I want to try:
Physically rotating my closet seasonally. It’s easy to ignore doing this in San Francisco, as it’s nearly the same temperature year-round and so you can technically wear at least 80% of your closet year-round, too. That might sound great until you remember that maybe we’re all just very large toddlers who get bored of our toys if we always have perfect access to them. This also comes with a hefty dose of choice paralysis: when I am attempting to choose from my full wardrobe day in and day out, I end up choosing nothing at all. Let’s narrow some choices, and let a little distance make the heart grow fonder!2 I’ve just packed away my most spring and summer-y items, and things do already feel lighter.
Creating monthly (?) capsules, planning in advance an even trimmer set of items to choose from on a daily basis + maybe like 5-7 “go-to” outfits. I’ll do this on Indyx. I hope this will help focus some intentionality on 1. curating fresh, seasonal inspiration and 2. actually putting that inspiration to use right away so things don’t get so…uninspired.
But what about my ‘12 things’!? The hard rules.
I love numbers, and I lord knows I love a clean framework that tells me I’m doing something “right”. But I think most of what’s felt off circles around one major pitfall of the rules.
The point of the rules is to end up with a closet I love to wear. But somewhere along the way, the focus shifted a little too much from loving what I’m wearing to loving what I’m buying. Optimizing this month’s purchase without bothering to think too much about what was actually on my body that month.
The numbers moved beyond their role to became the point in and of themselves.
I’m definitely not throwing the constraints to the wind. I still think they’re useful. But I need to be thoughtful about how I design them this year, so they support how I want to get dressed rather than becoming the main character.
With ALL this being said…
My “rules” for 2026
I’ll only buy 5 new pieces of clothing in 2025 (gasp! i’ll explain)
Accessories don’t count (same as before)
Secondhand also does not count (same as before)
I know, I know. Big flaw in “12 things,” and suddenly I’m down to five?? Beyond a content creator’s compulsive need to keep upping the ante, let me explain why I think this is actually the right move for me.
The truth is that I already find twelve new things pretty easy, having hit that goal for two years running now. And in fact, maybe having that ever present mental budget of “one per month” is what kept me in perma-shopping mode.
It’s also true that the baseline of my closet is in pretty good shape.3 Could I poke holes? Sure. But the last couple of years of well-paced buying has given me a very solid foundation of considered pieces I’m pretty happy to ride with.
Maybe downshifting to five could push my “let’s optimize this” shopping brain completely to the side most months, giving more open space to focus on…happily styling my closet? Which reminder: is the point!
Why five, specifically? My original inspiration for ‘the rules’ came from this 2022 Vogue article by Emily Chan, which pointed to a report from Berlin’s Hot Or Cool Institute. The report put a firm stake in the ground that, in order to stay in line with the Paris Agreement global warming goals, we should all only be purchasing five new garments a year.
At the time, five felt too ambitious for my tastes. But Emily managed it for the year, as did others, including Tiffanie Darke as chronicled in Rule of Five.
So given this lore, if I was going to drop down from twelve to something, then five was the obvious move.
I want to pretty clearly note that I am once again intentionally deviating from the original Hot or Cool guidelines, which include pretty much any and all fashion items (even secondhand!) in those five. I am leaving myself major carveouts for new accessories and all secondhand, because I feel they are in line with my personal aims.
As explained above, I want to really force myself into taking accessories seriously.
And, IMO, a solid sprinkling of secondhand is the magic ingredient to giving your closet real personality. To making your personal style, personal. And while there are certainly thrift-haulers out there, this isn’t me. I’m just not worried about going way overboard here.
What this hopefully looks like day-to-day…
I’m not browsing new shopping sites (Net-a-Porter, COS, Shopbop, Tibi, etc.) very much at all
I am browsing outfit and color combo inspiration: directly on Indyx as well as probably a lot here on Substack and saving into Pinterest. I like Alberta Rose’s intention to curate a fresh board for every season4
I’m building monthly capsules on Indyx, including 5-7 “go-to” outfits that I actually wear
I’m physically rotating my closet (this is probably just a 2x a year thing)
And, any excess shoppy energy should really pour right into TRR and eBay
I’ll still plan to do my monthly recaps, but the format may shift…we’ll have to see!5
I reserve the right to deeply regret this!! I really did waffle on whether I should go down to five, and it’s completely possible that it’ll all fall apart by May.
But why not be a little brave? I’m excited to see what happens.
Are you setting any kind of closet goals for 2026? I’d love to hear about it down below.
By the way: not having digitized your accessories is, without question, the #1 peeve for stylists on Indyx. I don’t understand why you would pay money for someone to give you advice based on a very incomplete picture, but it happens. If you book styling services with one bag and two pairs of shoes in your digital closet, you are almost guaranteed to be disappointed! Not because the stylist isn’t good, but because they’re working with one hand tied behind their back. And if you then leave your trying-their-best stylist a two-star review with something like, “The outfits were mostly just a top and a bottom. I could’ve done this myself’? STRAIGHT TO JAIL.
I am keen to do this with fragrances, too!
Not to get TOO sidetracked, but it does grind my gears when people who maybe deep down know that some kind of low-buy might be good for them use this as a reason to justify why they shouldn’t try it.
“Oh, it’s easy for you because your closet is already good! Mine sucks. My body changed. I got a new job. I moved. I got my colors done and learned what used to be all my favorites totally wash me out. So I need to keep buying at full speed”
But that’s the thing. I didn’t start with the rules once I already loved my closet. I used the rules as the way to get to a closet I loved.
If there is truly nothing in your closet you feel good wearing in the situation you now find yourself, then yes. Forcing yourself to rotate the same wince-inducing pieces while banning shopping would probably be painful and counterproductive. But if you have even a small set of clothes you genuinely like wearing, it’s worth asking whether you actually need all those new things…or whether you’re itching because the old ones aren’t new anymore.
It’s hard to make good decisions when you’re going a million miles an hour. That’s true in any situation! So playing competitive whack-a-mole with your “wardrobe gaps” will always leave you exhausted, swinging at way more…moles…than you’ll ever catch (does that metaphor work at all???).
The point is: if you can at all afford to stretch things out to slow yourself down—wear the dress you already have to the wedding, re-style the formal blazer for your new, more casual job—while you turn your closet over at a more measured pace, I believe you’ll end up with FAR fewer regrets to deal with. That’s my recommendation.
But also: the definition of “stretch things out” is flexible! I don’t think any one number is perfectly right for everyone. It starts with understanding where you’re at now and intentionally downshifting from that.
I do also like (as Tiffanie suggested) how my ‘5 new things’ could pace out seasonally to mostly align with this. Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, Holidays.
Please tell me if there are things you definitely want to stay or new elements you want to see!
Devon, I’d love to see some analysis along the lines of “How am I doing incorporating accessories into my outfits” or “top 5 things worn this month and why.” I think these types of metrics would support your goals and provide insight while not being about shopping.
Footnote 3 should be a standalone article 😂