Could You Survive a Year With Only 8 Pieces of Clothes

An experiment in fashion

Mar 25, 2025

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Imagine this:

You open your closet, and instead of being greeted by an avalanche of forgotten sweaters, impulse-buy jackets, and shirts you swear you’ll wear “someday,” you see just eight garments.

That’s it.

Eight pieces of clothing to mix, match, and make do with for an entire year.

Sounds extreme, right?

Well, that’s exactly what 50 Stockholm-based fashion enthusiasts signed up for in March 2024.

The challenge?

To wear only eight garments for a whole year—tracking wear, washes, and overall garment condition along the way.

It’s a minimalist’s dream, a fashionista’s nightmare, and a scientist’s dream come true.

A Year in (Very Few) Clothes

This experiment is brought to you and me by the Swedish brand Asket which focuses on high-quality, ethically made, basics for men and women.

I know the brand. I love their clothes.

The goal was twofold

First, to test the longevity of Asket garments under real-life conditions—worn, washed, and lived in every day.

Second, to see how dramatically reducing your wardrobe affects daily life.

To keep track, participants logged their outfits each day via a simple text-message-based app.

Every evening, they’d record what they wore, whether it was washed, and rate its condition on a scale from “mint” (5) to “trash” (1).

At the end of the year, Asket would collect the garments for a deep dive into how they held up.

The lineup

What did the 50 participants wear?

A carefully curated set of eight essentials: two T-shirts, an Oxford shirt, a merino sweater, a cashmere sweater, a sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of chinos.

That’s it.

So, how did people cope? Turns out, surprisingly well.

Are People Coping With Only 8 Garments?

In short: Yes.

It turns out that having fewer clothing choices isn’t as restrictive as you might think.

Surprise.

In fact, most participants wore at least one of the garments 87% of the time, and on average, they cycled through 1.9 of their eight pieces daily.

So, the 80/20 rule does make sense.

What’s really fascinating is how differently people used their limited wardrobes. Some wore their jeans hundreds of times, while their Oxford shirt barely saw the light of day.

This raises an interesting question: If even a hyper-minimalist wardrobe ends up with underused pieces, what does that say about our usual, overstuffed closets?

It seems we don’t need as much variety as we think. Obviously.

Many testers reported that they enjoyed the simplicity. Fewer choices meant less decision fatigue. No more staring at the closet wondering what to wear. Just grab, dress, and go.

Of course, there were challenges

Waiting for laundry day was a logistical headache, and the right color and fit became crucial when your whole wardrobe is just eight pieces.

But overall, the participants adapted surprisingly well.

How Long Do the Garments Actually Last?

After 300 days of constant wear and washing, did the garments fall apart?

Not even close.

On average, each garment had been worn 62 times and washed 12 times, yet the overall condition rating was still a solid 4/5. In other words, these clothes were nowhere near retirement.

Some standout stats

T-shirts worn 135 times still had a condition rating of 4/5.
Jeans worn over 300 times were also still at 4/5.
The only garments that truly became “unwearable” (rated 1/5) were due to accidents like stains or tears, not regular wear.

To put that in perspective: If you wear a T-shirt once a week under normal conditions, that’s nearly three years of wear—and it’s still holding up.

The jeans? They’re looking at a potential six-year lifespan, easy. And not six years sitting at the end of the closet. 6 years in (heavy) use.

Financially speaking, this makes a strong case for investing in quality over quantity. The cost per wear for some items had dropped to as low as about $0.49 USD.

Compare that to a fast-fashion T-shirt that stretches, fades, and gets tossed after a handful of washes, and the long-term value is obvious.

What’s the Takeaway?

If there’s one big obvious takeaway from this experiment, it’s that we own way more clothes than we need. All of us. Even more minimal-minded buyers like me.

With just eight garments, some items still went mostly unworn.

That should make all of us rethink the overstuffed drawers and closets we currently struggle to keep organized.

It also confirms that quality garments can last for years—even under stress.

The idea that clothes should only last a season is a myth. Good clothing, when properly cared for, can handle daily life far better than we give it credit for.

Now, trends are a big issue with this. Some pieces are great, but not cool anymore. That should impact the buying decision beforehand. Less trendy pieces, more “timeless” clothes.

And finally, simplicity has its perks. Many participants found that having fewer choices made getting dressed easier, not harder.

Less clutter, fewer decisions, and more appreciation for each piece you own.

Now, does this mean you should only have 8 pieces? Of course not. But 800 might be too much. There’s a healthy middle ground, taking into account what you wear 80% of the time.

The Bottom Line

So far, it’s clear: You don’t need a massive wardrobe to dress comfy every day.

Not even to look good or well-dressed for most occasions. Sure, the next wedding invitation or fancy office party isn’t calculated into this 8-piece rotation. But most things we do on the daily are.

A carefully chosen set of high-quality pieces can last longer, cost less in the long run, and simplify your daily life.

Next time, I am standing in front of my closet thinking, “I have nothing to wear,” I’ll take a second look. I bet I do. I can rack up 8 pieces I love to wear.