The rockstars!

The rockstars!
When I was in high school, I noticed some shirts fit better than others.
- circumference of the neck hole
- width of the shoulders
- length of the sleeves
- height of the torso
- cut and feel of the fabric
- print/design

I had ~30 shirts at the time.

Some shirts had none of the right features. Immediate trash.
Most were fine, but each had 1-2 things that felt off.

Three shirts had it ALL.
The width. The length. The cut. The fabric.
Everything I cared about.

I called them “the rockstars.”

Once I made the assessment, I couldn’t look at my closet the same way again.
I knew what my version of great looked and felt like… and most didn't meet the standard.

Over the years, I’ve realized this is where most “reasonable people” stop:
somewhere around “good enough,” but well below full rockstar saturation.

Years later, I heard the phrase, “7s sink ships.”
It connected immediately. When rating things 0-10, the 7s are often the most dangerous. They’re clearly not great, but tolerated anyway.

Not bad enough to replace or discard.
Not good enough to rave about.

So, that's what accumulates.

Tolerated mediocrity.

Now, imagine the opposite. A closet where every shirt checks all the right boxes. Where even in the dark, we're incapable of getting it wrong.

That's the power of standards and curation.

A teenager figured it out with shirts...
and quickly learned it applies to so much more than clothing.