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What’s This About
This small-wardrobe method limits the main clothes you wear each season to about ten core garments, with shoes, coats, basics and accessories counted separately as extras.
This guide explains the idea and how a man can use it, such as:
Where the idea comes from: Jennifer L. Scott and Lessons from Madame Chic
What counts as a core garment and what counts as an extra
A men’s example for spring and summer, and how to change it for winter
How it differs from Project 333 and a general capsule wardrobe
Why owning few clothes is not the same as a minimalist look
and many more!
Treat ten as a starting point you can change, not a target you have to hit.
Key Points
01The method was popularised by Jennifer L. Scott, who has said it does not need to be taken literally.
02Only the core garments are counted; T-shirts, knitwear, coats, shoes, accessories and occasion wear sit outside the ten.
03The men’s split and example here are our suggestions, and your own week, laundry and climate may call for a different number.
04A small wardrobe can include colour and pattern; owning few clothes does not dictate how they look.
The ten-item wardrobe is a way of limiting the main clothes you wear in a season to about ten core garments, while shoes, outerwear, basics such as T-shirts, and accessories are counted separately as “extras”.
It is usually traced to the American writer Jennifer L. Scott, and it is a personal method rather than a rule; Scott herself has said it does not need to be taken literally.
This guide explains where the idea comes from, how the core and extras split works, how a man might adapt it, and when a different number makes more sense.
Where the ten-item wardrobe comes from
Jennifer L. Scott describes the ten-item wardrobe in Lessons from Madame Chic, a memoir of an exchange year in Paris.
Scott first self-published the book, and Publishers Weekly reported in April 2012 that she had sold it to Simon & Schuster, which published its edition in November 2012.
The publisher’s description names the ten-item wardrobe among the book’s lessons on dressing and mentions a capsule wardrobe built on ten useful core garments.
In an October 2013 interview, Scott said the book started as a series on her blog, The Daily Connoisseur, called “The Top 20 Things I Learned While Living in Paris”.
In the same interview she described the approach as ten core garments plus extras, said it is not restrictive, and said that twenty core garments are fine if that suits you.
She posted seasonal ten-item wardrobes on her blog between at least 2013 and 2021, and the garments she treats as core or extra vary from one season to the next.
Scott’s examples are written mainly for women’s wardrobes, built around dresses, skirts, blouses and trousers, so a men’s version needs some translation.
How it relates to other small-wardrobe methods
The broader term capsule wardrobe is usually credited to Susie Faux, who ran a London boutique called Wardrobe in the 1970s.
Project 333, a challenge Courtney Carver has run since 2010, counts 33 garments, accessories and shoes for three months and leaves out underwear, sleepwear, lounge wear and workout clothes.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
| Approach | What is counted | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Ten-item wardrobe (Jennifer L. Scott) | About ten core garments; extras such as T-shirts, knitwear, coats, shoes and accessories counted separately | One season |
| Project 333 (Courtney Carver) | 33 garments, accessories and shoes together, with some exclusions | Three months |
| Capsule wardrobe (general) | No fixed number; garments chosen so most tops go with most bottoms | Any |
Our guide to building a capsule wardrobe for men, step by step explains the general method, and the ten-item wardrobe is one very tight version of the same idea.
How the core and extras split works
Core garments are the ones you build outfits around and notice when you get dressed: in Scott’s examples, mainly trousers, jeans, skirts, dresses and blouses.
Extras make those core garments wearable in real weather and on real occasions, and typically include:
T-shirts and other plain layering tops
Cardigans and other knitwear
Coats and jackets
Clothes for special occasions
Shoes
Belts, scarves, hats, sunglasses and jewellery
Underwear, socks and sleepwear
The count resets each season, so a summer ten and a winter ten can be quite different.
Because the extras are not capped, the method limits the clothes you choose between each morning rather than everything you own.
Adapting the ten-item wardrobe for men
The split below is our suggestion for a men’s version, not Scott’s own list.
Count as core the trousers, jeans, shorts and main shirts that define each outfit.
Treat T-shirts, knitwear, jackets, coats, tailoring for occasions, shoes and accessories as extras.
If knitwear is what you actually wear as your main top in winter, count your jumpers as core instead; the point is to be consistent, not to follow one exact split.
An example spring and summer ten
This example is for an imagined reader in a mild city climate who works in a business casual office two days a week; your own week will give a different list.
1.Navy cotton chinos
2.Stone cotton chinos
3.Dark indigo jeans
4.Mid-grey lightweight wool trousers
5.Navy tailored shorts
6.White Oxford button-down shirt
7.Light blue Oxford button-down shirt
8.Blue and white striped linen-cotton shirt
9.Navy knitted polo shirt
10.Olive short-sleeved camp-collar shirt
Extras for that season might be three plain T-shirts, a fine merino crew neck, a navy unstructured blazer, a light rain jacket, white leather trainers, brown suede loafers, a brown leather belt and sunglasses.
Almost every shirt goes with every pair of trousers here because the colours are navy, grey, stone, white, light blue and olive, which combine easily.
Changing it for autumn and winter
For colder months, swap the shorts, linen-cotton shirt and camp-collar shirt for heavier choices such as corduroy trousers, a brushed cotton or flannel shirt and a heavier Oxford shirt.
Extras then shift to a warm coat, one or two heavier jumpers, leather boots, a scarf and gloves.
Storing the out-of-season clothes, rather than getting rid of them, keeps the current ten easy to see.
What it does well, and where it falls short
What it does well
Fewer choices each morning, which many people find makes getting dressed quicker.
A clear view of what you own, so gaps are easier to spot.
A reason to buy only when a core garment wears out or a real gap appears.
More wear from the clothes you like most.
Where it falls short
Ten is an arbitrary number: laundry habits, climate and dress codes may call for more, and that is not a failure.
Wearing ten garments often means they wear out faster, so durability and care matter more.
Owning fewer clothes does not automatically save money or mean higher quality; it depends on what you buy and how you look after it.
A strict count can push out clothes you need only occasionally, such as a suit for weddings or outdoor kit.
Our step-by-step capsule guide explains how to work out the number your own week needs, from how often you wash to which dress codes you meet.
A small wardrobe is not the same as a minimalist look
The ten-item wardrobe is about how many clothes you choose between, not how they look.
Your ten core garments can include patterns, colour or bold shapes, and a visually minimal outfit does not prove that its wearer owns few clothes, as our guide to fashion styles explains.
If you like a restrained, neutral look, the Old Money capsule wardrobe shows one register applied category by category, but it is one option rather than the only way to run a small wardrobe.
How to try it for one season
1.Write down what your week actually involves: work, weekends, exercise, weather and any dress codes.
2.Pick about ten core garments from clothes you already own that fit and go with each other.
3.Choose the extras that make those ten work for your weather and occasions.
4.Store the rest of your clothes out of sight for the season rather than discarding them.
5.Note what you miss and what you never wear, then adjust the list at the end of the season.
If after a season ten feels too tight, try fifteen or twenty; the aim is a wardrobe you use, not a number.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Does the ten-item wardrobe mean I can only own ten garments?
No.
It limits the core garments you wear in one season to about ten, and extras such as T-shirts, knitwear, coats, shoes, accessories and occasion wear are counted separately.
Q. Is the ten-item wardrobe a rule?
No.
It is a personal method popularised by Jennifer L. Scott, who has said it does not need to be taken literally and that a larger core is fine if it suits you.
Q. How are shoes and coats treated?
They are usually extras, chosen to suit the season and your occasions, and they are not counted in the ten.
Q. Is it the same as a capsule wardrobe?
It is one very tight version of a capsule wardrobe.
Other approaches count shoes and outerwear in the total, use a different number, or set no number at all.
Q. Does a ten-item wardrobe have to be black, white and grey?
No.
Neutral colours make combining easier, but you can choose any colours that work together.
Sources
Simon & Schuster, Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott, hardcover edition, November 2012.
Simon & Schuster (US), publisher’s description of Lessons from Madame Chic, which mentions a capsule wardrobe built on ten core garments.
Publishers Weekly, Deals: week of April 9, 2012, on the sale of the self-published book to Simon & Schuster.
Feather Factor, interview with Jennifer L. Scott, 10 October 2013.
Jennifer L. Scott, My Ten-Item Wardrobe Spring 2013, author blog, April 2013.
Courtney Carver, Project 333 challenge rules, Be More with Less.