Toward the end of the Uncluttered Course, I challenge each participant to try an abbreviated version of Project 333.
Project 333, the fashion challenge started by Courtney Carver, invites people to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months— underwear and workout clothes don’t count, but everything else does: jewelry, shoes, outerwear, tops, bottoms, etc. You can find more details on the Project 333 website or read here how it changed my life years ago.
I encourage people to try the experiment because, as Maya Angelou once said, “We need much less than we think we need.” The project helps people realize that truth. Besides, 33 articles of clothing in a closet is more than most people think.
Pamela Mullins is a teacher and piano instructor in North Carolina. Recently, she accepted the Project 333 Fashion Challenge and emailed me a list of her 33 items.
Her son, Eric, is a principal software architect with a mind for mathematics. Pamela decided to include him in the challenge by sending over her list of 33 items and a specific breakdown mentioning which items could be worn together. Based on that information, Eric created a mathematical model to determine how many unique outfits she could wear with the 33 articles of minimalist clothing.
His conclusion? 25,176 unique combinations.
That is 25,176 different outfits from only 33 articles of clothing. To put that into perspective, Pamela could wear a different outfit every day for the next 69 years without ever repeating the exact same combination of clothes.
I found the number almost too unbelievable to be true. So I asked Eric to share how he reached that conclusion. The math looks like this:
First, here is Pamela’s list of 33 items for Project 333:
1. Jean Jacket
2. Black Boyfriend Jacket
3. Long Black Pants
4. Black Capris
5. Jean Pants
6. Dress
7. Black Skirt
8. Pink Print Skirt
9. Denim Shirt
10. Checked Shirt
11. Elephant Shirt
12. White Shirt
13. Cream/Black Print T-shirt
14. Black 3/4 Sleeve Slight V T-Shirt
15. Paisley Blouse
16. Polka Dot Blouse
17. Blue Sweater
18. Black Scarf
19. Floral Scarf in blues, reds, etc.
20. Black and White Scarf
21. Long Necklace
22. Bicycle Necklace
23. Flower Necklace
24. Fake Diamond Earrings (but you would never know the difference)
25. Silver drop Earrings
26. Red music note Earrings
27. Silver Bracelet
28. Silver Bracelet
29. Black Wedges
30. Black Sandals
31. Black Flip-flops
32. Black Close Toe Shoes
33. Purse
Second, Pamela included detailed information about each piece. Here are a few of the examples she provided:
- Four pairs of black shoes, various styles, go with all outfits.
- One dress (#6) can be worn alone, or with the black jacket (#2), and with all jewelry combinations.
- Two black pants (#3 & #4), one black skirt (#7), and one jean pants (#5) can be worn with every piece.
- Jean shirt (#9) can layer with black camisole or t-shirts.
- Jean jacket (#1) cannot be worn with sweater (#17) or dress (#6).
Third, with the information for each item of clothing, Eric built models “for each terminal condition and added them together, approaching the most restrictive terminal models first, broadening the baseline for subsequent models.”
In other words, he took every article of clothing, multiplied out the number of outfit configurations for each, and added them together :
*Never changes: 1 purse, 2 silver bracelets – only one configuration.
*Can go with every configuration: 4 shoes – top level (baseline).
Model Dress: 4 (baseline) x 2 (black jacket or no jacket) x 3 (earrings or none) x 3 (necklaces or none) = 72
Model Pink Floral Skirt: 4 (baseline) x 3 (jacket + sweater + none) x 1 (camisole) x 3 (earrings + none) x 4 (necklace + none) = 144
*Can go with every other configuration: 4 bottoms x 4 shoes x 4 (2 jackets, sweater, none) = 64 new baseline
Model Jean Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 5 (shirt + t-shirts + camisole) x 4 (earrings or none) x 4 (necklaces or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 15,360
Model White Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 3 (2 necklaces or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 2,304
Model Elephant Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) = 512
Model Black Checked Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) = 512
Model Blouses: 64 (baseline) x 2 (blouses) x 4 (earrings or none) x 4 (necklaces or none) = 2,048
Model Black Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 4 (earrings or none) x 3 (scarves or none)= 768
Model Cream Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 3 (2 earrings or none) x 2 (1 necklace or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 1,152
Model Striped Knit Shirt: 64 (baseline) x 3 (2 earrings or none) x 4 (3 necklace or none) x 3 (scarves or none) = 2,304
72 + 144 + 15,360 + 2,304 + 512 + 512 + 2,048 + 768 + 1,152 + 2,304 = 25,176 Outfit Combinations.
It should be noted that some of the configurations contain very minor changes (with earrings or without earrings, for example). But still, a different outfit combination every day for the next 69 years is pretty unbelievable—and accomplished with only 33 different articles of clothing.
There is a reason Project 333 is such a popular experiment in owning less. Most people who try it discover there are numerous benefits to owning fewer articles of clothing and creating a capsule wardrobe. And many people discover 33 is more than enough—including Pamela who recently wrote this about her experience, “I actually love the simplicity and feel I have more than enough to wear.”
Amy@MoreTimeThanMoney says
33 items doesn’t sound like much, but if you pick well, it gives you so many options. Makes taking the leap seem much less scary.
Betty says
This is such an interesting article, but no one has commented about those weeks and weeks of -20, -30 and beyond … you need more than one sweater and one turtleneck, believe me, and more than one coat. (I refuse to destroy my beautiful wool coat doing chores such as shoveling snow and ice, etc. etc.) I would have to add snow shoes/boots as well as gloves and hats to the list, so it will have to be about 50 pieces for horrible winter areas.
mary says
I found something that works wonderfully for me with limited storage space. It will work to identify gaps in your wardrobe, to purge or just to store them. I bought 4 hanging racks off amazon for about $12 each. They roll which is nice. I put outdoor wear on one, nightwear and clothes to wear again on the next. I pulled out all my neutrals, which are usually navy, white and tan, and lastly put my rainbow clothes on one. “They” say even if we have tons of clothes we usually do not have enough basics in neutral colors. If you have overflowing closets, I would get a fifth rack, for clothes to decide upon….get them out of stuffed closets (I have read lately to only have clothes you can see) and make some decisions and move them to neutrals or rainbows or get them gone…keep your favorites…
What works for me is neutral pants, usually tan or navy, mostly white blouses, sometimes navy or an occasional color, and more colorful sweaters on top…
Lands end pants last me forever, as do their polos. For fleece I prefer LL Bean.
If you have enough neutrals that you could wear only them, you have enough (make sure you have outfits for summer and winter funerals and weddings)…then just decorate yourself like a cake if you want with your rainbows.
Radhe says
I have gone through the article for the first time, it’s nice to see. Everyone has their own priority when it comes to clothing. Such a differentiating article, definitely a new experience.
Colette says
I have been reading about the 333project on several websites, not yet tried it for myself (though I have been paring down with no regrets). The heat of the discussion on neutrals versus colourful and variety and choice limitations of minimalist wardrobes leaves me wondering why we still attach so much importance on clothing and approvement of our choices. Having a minimalist wardrobe or not doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference… ?
Pauline says
I appreciate the philosophy of the 33 pieces, but I have a practical question. If you constantly wear the same tops and bottoms, don’t they get worn out a lot quicker? (even though I buy better quality clothes, you still put them in the washing machine with a higher frequency, therefore damaging the pieces)
Bob says
Pauline, you are correct. And when something does get worn out, you can throw it away and replace it. It doesn’t make one dollar of difference though, you just aren’t buying all your clothes up front and having to store them. You’re still getting the exact same amount of wear out of every piece, unless you mean to say you weren’t washing them before. It doesn’t save you money per se, but it paces that spending over the course of your life and gives you less clutter to deal with.
Kathy says
What formula for the 33 pieces? How many tops, bottoms etc. Also pictures of the pieces would be great
Kathy says
Also, what ‘formula’ for the 33 pieces? How many tops, bottoms etc should make up the 33 pieces?
Sandy says
I completely agree with the thought that we actually need less than what we have. A nice article to show how to use things differently
Mama Squirrel says
I have been following Project 333 for over two years now. Sometimes I get it down to 33 pieces a season, sometimes not, but I try not to sweat it. I don’t like black (because it doesn’t like me), but I do like grey, and I add other colours like pink and purple. (Link to my summer capsule page is in my address line.)
Pat says
I have gained tremendous inspiration from your story and from the comments. Here is something that has worked for me in my effort to cultivate a minimal, hassle-free wardrobe. I live in a 4-season yet unpredictable climate on the east coast. I recently decided to wear only my most loved sleeveless and 3/4-sleeve blouses. I have only one long-sleeved, turtle-neck top for the most bitterly-cold days. In the summer I can wear the sleeveless blouses and add a sweater if necessary. Sleeveless blouses can also be worn as shells under jackets the rest of the year. The 3/4-sleeve tops can be worn in spring, fall, and winter and as transitional pieces. I always have thought short-sleeved tees make me look frumpy, so I have only 3 of those for working out. I also have only black or metallic-toned shoes and sandals, which go with everything. The money I have saved on clothes now goes toward a personal trainer so I look better in those sleeveless tops!
Pat says
LOL..”I recently decided to wear only my most loved sleeveless and 3/4-sleeve blouses.” I do wear pants and skirts with the blouses.