Blog · November 3, 2026 · 12 min read

Project 333 Rules and Wardrobe List

Project 333 is a minimalist fashion challenge created by Courtney Carver in 2010: you dress with 33 items or less for 3 months. The 33 include clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes. Underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, workout clothes you only wear to work out, and a wedding ring or other sentimental piece of jewelry you never take off do not count. You box up everything else, seal the box with tape and put it out of sight until the three months are over.

Below are the rules as Carver states them, what counts and what does not, a sample 33-item list, tips for the first week and how to review the season at the end.

The short version: (1) pick 33 items from what you already own, counting clothes, shoes, accessories, jewelry and outerwear, (2) box up the rest, tape it shut and put it out of sight, (3) wear only your 33 for three months and skip the shopping, (4) swap anything that does not fit or is falling apart, (5) at the end, check in: what you wore, what you missed, what goes in the next 33.

The official Project 333 rules

Carver keeps the rules on her Project 333 challenge page at Be More with Less. In her words, it is "the minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months." The rules have five parts:

• When: "Every three months." You can start any time; her page adds that "it's never too late to start so join in anytime!"
• What: "33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes."
• What not: a "wedding ring or another sentimental piece of jewelry that you never take off, underwear, sleep wear, in-home lounge wear, and workout clothing (but your workout clothes have to workout)."
• How: "Choose your 33 items, box up the remainder of your fashion statement, seal it with tape and put it out of sight."
• What else: build "a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months," and remember that "this is not a project in suffering. If your clothes don't fit or are in poor condition, replace them."

That is the whole challenge. Everything else on her site is advice on how to do it well, not extra rules. She also wrote a book, Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More, if you want the full guide.

What counts toward the 33 (and what does not)

A few things people ask about:

• Workout clothes only get a pass if you work out in them. Carver's original 2010 post put it plainly: "you can only wear your workout clothing to workout." Leggings you wear to brunch are part of your 33.
• A pair is one item. In Carver's own first list, "Black Flats" and "Gloves" each take one line out of the 33.
• Accessories are in. That same first list included a purse, sunglasses, a hat, gloves, a bracelet, a necklace, a scarf and a pashmina, next to four pairs of shoes.
• Anything the rules do not name is up to you. Socks, a raincoat by the door, a uniform for work: decide once and write it down. Carver's page says that "if you need to create a version of Project 333 that works better for you, do it."

Box up the rest (do not throw it away)

The box is the part that makes Project 333 different from a closet clean-out. You are not deciding what to get rid of. You are only deciding what you will wear for three months, and putting the rest out of sight.

Carver's advice for beginners, from her capsule wardrobe tips: "don't give everything away, just get it out of sight for a while and see how you feel dressing with less." In practice:

1. Pack everything that is not in your 33 into boxes, bags or a suitcase.
2. Seal it with tape. The rule says to, and it makes opening the box a decision instead of a habit.
3. Write the date on it, plus the date three months later.
4. Put it out of sight: a high shelf, under the bed, a storage closet.

A sample 33-item Project 333 list

Here is a sample list for a three-month stretch from November to January, for a normal week of office days, weekends and the odd evening out. It is a sample to adapt, not a shopping list. Carver writes that she "never recommend[s] buying a bunch of new items to start a capsule wardrobe," so swap every line for the closest thing you already own.

Tops (9)

• White crew-neck tee
• Black tee
• Striped long-sleeve tee
• Blue oxford shirt
• Cream blouse
• Green knit cardigan
• Rust wool sweater
• Gray crew-neck sweater
• Black turtleneck

Bottoms (5)

• Dark straight-leg jeans
• Black slim jeans
• Gray wool trousers
• Olive chinos
• Black midi skirt

Dresses (2)

• Knit sweater dress
• Navy wrap dress

Outerwear (4)

• Gray wool coat
• Black leather jacket
• Denim jacket
• Navy blazer

Shoes (4)

• White sneakers
• Black ankle boots
• Tan suede boots
• Black loafers

Bags and accessories (6)

• Brown leather bag
• Small black crossbody bag
• Wool scarf
• Leather belt
• Gloves
• Knit hat

Jewelry (3)

• Watch
• Small hoop earrings
• Simple pendant necklace

Not on the list, because they do not count: underwear, socks if you decide they go with underwear, pajamas, the sweatpants you wear at home, gym clothes, and your wedding ring.

Notice how the list works. Every top goes with at least two of the bottoms. The coat, the leather jacket and the blazer each change how dressy an outfit feels. Two pairs of boots cover rain and cold, the sneakers cover weekends, and the loafers cover the office. If you live somewhere warm, trade the coat, gloves, hat and turtleneck for a light jacket, sandals and two more tops.

How to pick your own 33

Carver's quick start for first timers is to take inventory of what you own, then build from your "I Love" pile of clothes and "make a list on paper." Start with the pieces you already wear all the time, because they are the ones you will actually reach for. Our guide on how to build a capsule wardrobe from the clothes you already own goes through that step by step, including what to do with pieces you rarely wear.

Keeping track of your 33 in Looksy

Looksy has no built-in Project 333 mode or collection, so here is the simplest way to mark your 33 that we found in the app:

• Heart each of your 33 items. Every item in the Closet has a heart button. Tap Favorites in the row of category chips and the Closet shows only your hearted items, with the count on the chip, for example "Favorites (33)". That count is a quick check that you have not crept up to 35.
• If you already use favorites for something else, type "333" into each item's notes instead. The Closet search looks through item notes, so searching "333" shows your challenge pieces.
• Tags are less handy for this. You can add a "333" tag to an item, but the Closet search does not look at tags. Only the item search you see when building a look does.

A few things to know before you set it up:

• If you are new to Looksy, add only your 33. The free version holds up to 50 items, so your challenge closet fits with room to spare, and every screen in the app then shows only what you are wearing this season. Our guide on how to make a digital closet covers photographing them in an afternoon.
• The What to Wear? shuffle uses your whole closet. It filters by occasion and season, but not by favorites, so if your boxed-up clothes are in Looksy too, they can come up in a shuffle.
• Build looks from your 33. When you add items to a look, the item picker has the same Favorites chip, so you can pick only from your challenge pieces.
• Do not archive the clothes in your box. Archiving hides an item, but there is no screen to bring an archived item back. Leave boxed-up pieces as they are, or leave them out of the app. Marking them donated or sold does not hide them either: those items stay in your closet and still count toward the 50-item limit.

Your first week

The first week is where most of the doubt shows up. Some things that help:

1. Plan a handful of outfits before Monday. Carver suggests identifying your five favorite outfits and choosing from those before you even open the closet. Save them as looks or snap a photo of each. In Looksy you can put a look on the Calendar for a given day; the free plan schedules up to 3 days ahead. Our guide on how to plan outfits for the week has a 15-minute Sunday routine.
2. Repeat outfits on purpose. Carver's experience: "People will not notice that you are dressing with the same 33 items for 3 months." Wear the jeans three times this week.
3. Swap what is not working. In her getting started post she writes: "If you get started with Project 333 and the pair of boots you included aren't working, swap them out." Take one thing out of the box and put one thing in. Your count stays at 33.
4. Adjust for the weather. The same post says that if you get surprised by cold or warm weather and need to add or remove something, do it.
5. Skip the shopping. Her getting started steps say to "ignore all sales and shopping" during the three months. Unsubscribing from a few store emails on day one makes this easier.
6. Mark what you wear. It takes a few seconds a day and gives you real numbers for the review. In Looksy, tap Mark as Worn on a look (every piece in it gets a wear) or on a single item.

One thing to know about wear counts in Looksy: each item keeps one running total since you added it, and there is no reset. If your 33 already have wears from before the challenge, take a screenshot of your Favorites on day one so you can compare at the end.

How to review at the end of 3 months

Carver's last getting started step is simple: "At the end of 3 months, check in. How did it go? What's next?" For a second round, her challenge page suggests you donate items from your current 33 that you have not worn, build the next 33 starting from what you already have, and box up whatever is not coming with you, marking the box "so you can consider the same items for next year."

Go through your 33 with these questions:

In Looksy, tap Favorites, then sort the Closet by Least Worn. Your challenge pieces with the fewest wears come to the top, each with its count. Compare with your day-one screenshot if you had wears before you started.

Then open the box. Anything you did not miss in three months is worth a hard look; our guide on how to declutter your closet covers what to do with the clothes that leave, from donating to recycling. If you would rather find new outfits in pieces you rarely wore, try the method in shop your closet before your next 33.

Finally, write your next list. Carver asks those starting a new round: "What will you change from the first attempt?"

Looksy is free for up to 50 items and 20 looks, which fits a 33-item challenge closet and the outfits you build from it.

Looksy: digital closet and outfit planner

Snap your clothes into a digital closet, put together looks, plan what to wear on a calendar, and see what you actually wear. Free for up to 50 items.

Common questions

What are the rules of Project 333?

Choose 33 items, including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes, and wear only those for three months. Underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, workout clothes you only wear to work out, and a wedding ring or sentimental jewelry you never take off do not count. Box up everything else, seal it with tape and put it out of sight.

Do shoes count in Project 333?

Yes. Shoes are part of the 33, and so are bags, scarves, hats, jewelry and outerwear. In Carver's own first list, each pair of shoes took one of the 33 spots.

Can I swap items during Project 333?

Yes. Carver says it is "not a project in suffering": if something does not fit or is in poor condition, replace it, and if a piece is not working, swap it out. Keep your total at 33.

Can I go shopping during Project 333?

Carver's getting started steps say to ignore sales and shopping during the three months. Replacing something that wore out or no longer fits is fine.

What happens after the three months?

You check in on how it went and build your next 33. Carver suggests donating the pieces from your 33 that you did not wear, starting the next list from what you already own, and boxing up what is not coming with you for the next three months.

Does it have to be exactly 33 items?

The challenge is "33 items or less." Carver also writes that 33 "isn't the right number for everyone" and that if you need to create a version that works better for you, you should. Pick a number, write it down and stick to it for the three months.