The simple life looks a lot different today than the one Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie led a decade ago. Yes, it still involves overalls, but that’s about where the comparisons end. In 2017, getting back to the basics means making sure your life sparks joy à la Marie Kondo—and getting rid of anything that definitely doesn’t (or at the very least, opting for a super-versatile capsule wardrobe).
Just ask Meg He and Nina Faulhaber, two cool-girl devotees to the minimalist mindset. The duo credit a lot of their success with Aday, the athleisure line they co-founded (yes, the one with a 2,000-person waitlist for a pair of leggings), to their tightly edited, pared-down approach to fashion.
In 2017, getting back to the basics means making sure your life sparks joy à la Marie Kondo.
“[It’s] always been something we’ve wanted to achieve for ourselves,” Faulhaber says. “We became really interested in the idea that a simplified wardrobe can enhance quality of life.”
Now, He and Faulhaber are taking their aesthetic on the road with their Simplicity Tour, a traveling concept store-community space hybrid, complete with group workouts and “Simplifier Sessions” for cribbing tricks for paring down various aspects of life. It kicked off in New York City on June 27 and is making stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland (OR), Chicago, London, and Stockholm. “The tour is about bringing together interesting people that have great ideas on living a simpler life,” He says.
But you don’t need to meet up with the designers to inject a little bit of minimalism into your super-hectic, super-chic world.
Scroll down to see how to live the simple life like a fashion it-girl in every realm of your life.
How to be a closet minimalist
Choose your hues carefully. “I have a very strict rule about colors,” says Faulhaber. “When I go shopping, sometimes I’ll want to buy a very colorful item, and then I’ll only wear it once or twice. So I only buy basic colors—white, gray, navy, and black—except for an exceptionally special piece, like a really, really colorful skirt or dress.”
How to be a packing minimalist
“For all of my travels, I use the exact same suitcase, and the exact same corners of suitcase for specific items,” explains Faulhaber. “If I have trips planned close together, 60 percent of what I pack is the same base—Aday pieces and white sneakers—and then I switch out the remaining 40 percent from trip to trip. It’s a systematic approach that helps me create headspace.”
How to be a workout minimalist
Rethink your schedule so that you’re hyper-focused on just one or two types of sweat sessions, rather than many all at once. It’s what Faulhaber’s done for nearly two years: “I’ve worked out four times a week, doing two different workouts at any given time, for two-month spans.” For example, right now she’s alternating between SoulCycle and The Class (and before that, she says, it was yoga and running). “It’s enough choice to be interesting,” Faulhaber adds.
How to be a kitchen minimalist
“This might just be a New York thing, but never buy any food you’re not going to cook that day,” advises He. “As long as you have a few things stocked—I keep three different soy sauces, really good olive oil, sesame oil, things like that—I find it best to only buy what I’ll make right away.” Load up on the kitchen essentials, and then leave the rest.
While you’re working on your wardrobe basics, here’s why a flattering black bathing suit and pair of beige sneakers should definitely make the cut.
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