Fashion Designer Unloads Everything

By C. Young

Tuesday October 23, 2001 08:47 AM EDT

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Norma Kamali was swamped with stuff. "It sounds crazy, but I had more than 20,000 items of clothing -- samples of every collection I'd designed since 1968," the 54-year-old fashion mogul told More magazine. "17,000 hats . . . and hundreds of accessories." Instead of further accessorizing, she decided to simplify, simplify, simplify. "I auctioned off most of the furniture and paintings, then I gave the rest of the furnishings, silver and crystal to friends, co-co-workers and churches. In one fell swoop I sold my house, donated everything else, ended a relationship and emerged newly single, with my five dachshunds in tow-feeling totally free." Furnishing her photo studio with a mattress, a stone table and two large beanbag chairs, she moved in and continued to simplify, simplify, simplify. "I give away music I don't listen to, new books I've read get passed on to friends, and there's no paperwork. I've reduced my clutter almost entirely into my Palm. The simplicity is wonderful."