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Anyone Else Counting?

deb

Veteran

I was very good this year about keeping track of my clothing
purchases, both count and dollar amount. I was not really surprised by the categories
with higher totals. The total number seems high but I need to remember it is for the
whole year. Also, I have nothing to
compare it to because this is my first year of tracking. My foot injury in 2013
caused a revamp of my shoe wardrobe. No longer can I wear sandals, d’orsy flats,
and sling backs because I need a heel/arch insert. I seem to go through tops because of my
climate and I wash after every wear. Surprisingly, my silk tops held up the
best, even when put in the washer and dryer. The flannels also get better with
washing. The surprising category is
bags. I always buy a new bag each year but this year, I could not find one that
I loved.

I also notated which items I passed on. Only two found new
homes. So here are my totals for 2014.

Bags - 0

Coats - 1

Dresses - 1

Hats - 3

Jackets - 2

Jeans - 7

Pants - 7

Shoes - 16

Skirts - 2

Sweaters - 13

Tops - 27

Undies - 3 (bras)

Total - 82

Have you counted your items?

Shopping

35 replies

Latest reply was from thimblelina

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Oh gosh, if I posted my numbers I'd have to hide in shame afterwards because everyone would think I'm a shopping addict. :/

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Gulp.

Do I have to?

In all seriousness, I did keep a count but forgot to add in this season's purchases....I will have to do that. I bought a lot this year, for sure -- way more than I ever have in my entire life.

deb

Veteran

Laura, this is why I wanted to see what I did because I had no clue. I started the last part of 2013 and was quite surprised. I think this may help me with budgeting although I really do not think about that.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I'm not counting. But I think my buying peaked in 2013, and I'm now tapering off. I'm in a happy closet place and am selling some old items. I have empty hangers I'm not going to fill. There are a couple of things I'd like to replace (some high heels are going), but no rush. I think I said this in another thread recently, but I'm feeling more content with honing my style through the items I have now, rather than seeking new things.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Your analysis is interesting. After perusing, I have come to the following conclusion: You need a new bag!

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

If I make the last two purchases I'm contemplating I will have bought 36 items in 2014. A lot for me... but, new job with new shoe requirements, etc.

Bags: 2... I bought one of those big bowling bag style purses in persimmon orange waxed leather to bolster my spirits during my grueling interview process in early 2014 & then discovered it was highly impractical for subbing! So my second bag is a narrow cognac leather backpack. It's okay; I like them both. I only own three.
Coats: 2... Two vintage trench coats I thrifted. I love them! One was made in France & the other in Switzerland. The tailoring is lovely.
Dresses: 0... Fail! Need to dress shop in '15.
Hats: 0 ... but I did get 3 new scarves.
Jackets: 1... Basic black pleather moto, love.
Jeans: 2... Hudson Collin in two washes. Practical for the classroom.
Pants: 0... Jeans are my pants I guess.
Shoes: 6... Three summery closed toe flats and three boots.
Skirts: 5... One from the thrift store didn't work out; like the four I kept.
Sweaters: 5... Rediscovering sweaters post menopause has been great!
Tops: 14... Seven short sleeve tees, five long sleeve, two button up shirts.
Undies: i don't count these...

So, 36 items. I'm happy to have a bigger wardrobe but yuck! too much shopping if you ask me. There were no long stretches where I could coast without thinking about clothing myself. I'm too much of a slacker to keep this up. Looking forward to buying less in 2015...

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Okay. I did it.

64 items. That doesn't include gear or undies, which I also bought. Or my snow boots. But it does include footwear, coats, bags, dresses, skirts, tops, knits, toppers, pants, shorts.

If I also subtract the 24 items that I retired or passed along, then we are down to 40, which still sounds pretty large.

I have about 130 to 140 items total across all my 4 seasons. So, effectively, I replaced almost a half of my wardrobe this year!

Thistle

Veteran

Wow, Suz! That is quite the haul!

I didn't count, but I know it was small. I just didn't want to over invest in a maternity wardrobe I would be donating at the end of the year.

I have 8 months of the family clothing budget in savings right now, and that was after replacing all of DD1s clothes and shoes this fall after a growth spurt.

PalmFronds

I'll be counting for 2015:-) thank all of you for leading the way to this brave new world !

Alassë

Veteran

Total: 59. Subtracting gear/undies (14) and accessories (12), that leaves 33 (2 shoes, 4 cardigans, 4 dresses, 6 trousers/shorts, 8 skirts, 9 tops). Not so bad, but still too much.

DonnaF

Veteran

Just counted. 47, including the sweater that hasn't arrived. Includes 7 pairs of footwear and 4 belts. Does not include underwear. Includes 1 pair of sandals that I may have to pass on due to pain, 2 Ts already passed on to DD as too big, and my gift belt.

Anonymous

Thanks for starting this conversation; I wish I had been counting this year as it may have slowed me down a bit....

I will be counting in 2015, though my goal already is to acquire very little as we're finishing up building a new home (hello, new budget!). Which I think is also why I shopped so much the past couple of years, believing I won't be able to once the new mortgage payment starts up. Somewhat logical, but ultimately not as necessary as I initially convinced myself it was.

carter

Veteran

Fortunately, I didn't count this year! I will definitely be counting for 2015 though. I will say that I gave away way more than I added in 2014, so I get brownie points for that, right?

deb

Veteran

Carter, yes brownie points!

Alassë

Veteran

I agree.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Oh good, I can make you all feel virtuous with my excess:
104 items. Yep. And that's probably a bit low given that I wasn't tracking item data, just costs per store from which I extrapolated, for the first part of the year.
Tops: 23
Sweaters: 12
Jackets/blazers: 11
jeans: 9
pants: 5
shorts: 6
skirts: 6
dresses: 4
belts: 7
bags: 3
shoes: 18 (!!)

I'm off to change my username to Imelda Marcos...

kkards

Veteran

i didn't count this year, but i have promised myself that i would for 2015.

Tina

Veteran

I track quite meticulously because it helps slow me down: read purchase = paperwork:-/
This was a good year for me, by that I mean I was more careful and it resulted in less mistakes.
Belts 1
Scarves 3
Purses 1
Tees 5
Tops 1
Blazers (sleeveless) 1
Blouses and button fronts 7
Sweaters 6
Cardis 2
Skirts 2
Dresses 1
Pants 2
Jeans 5
Shorts 2
Gear 3
Shoes and boots 3
Total items: 45
Also:
Bras 3
PJ's 2
Camis 6
Grand total: 56

Not included are 3 items that I bought in 2014 that were failures. I am learning though! This site has been an invaluable source for me. Threads like these keep me accountable. Thank you Deb!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Hi gals! How funny I should pick this morning to 'peek in' on you all. And find a number post. My fave!
Of course I have been counting
https://moderatewardrobe.wordp.....-i-bought/
I didn't do too badly, with 47 items. I hope to be around 30 next year.
So fun to see everyone's numbers.

SW

For me, grand total = 78 items. Here's the breakdown:
Accessories: 9
Basics (t shirts, tanks, leggings, etc.) : 14
Dresses: 5
Jeans: 3
Outerwear: 3
Pants: 4
Shoes: 6
Skirts: 3
Sweaters: 11
Tops: 12
Shorts: 4
Bras: 2
Loungewear: 2

Looking at these numbers, I wish I had bought less sweaters and tops. I tend to buy these a lot because it's easier to fit and usually more "fun" than buying pants or bottoms, but it also makes it way too easy to buy stuff I don't need or want.

This year I wanted to keep much better track of my clothing purchases to find patterns of what works and what doesn't, and so I also gave ratings to each of my purchases. About 30 of these items received a 6 or less on a 1-10 rating scale, which means I probably should not have purchased. Most of these were fast fashion or sale purchases... surprise surprise.

I'm hoping to make less of these purchasing mistakes next year and get my numbers down below 50 pieces.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

(Hi Mo!)

Further thoughts, now that I've processed through the shame spiral a bit. I would guess that I actually bought well more than 100+ items in 2013, since that was the year I lost 25 pounds and had to replace a lot of things, plus our household budget became a lot less tight and I rather took advantage of it. So in 2014, what with working to stick to a clothing budget, I was actually making some good progress toward my goals of restraint and not buying just to buy.

The proportions of items surprise me a bit because I would have expected to have bought more jeans, but I guess most of mine are older but still in good shape. Tops don't surprise me since a lot of those don't last over a year. The number of shoes did take me aback - I knew it was well above 10 but I didn't expect close to 20. A lot of my old shoes were on their last legs and so it just made sense to prioritize getting new ones. I'm going to try to be better about thinking of needed replacements before go-to items get to their last legs, in order to spread out the cost more evenly.

I did have a few things that didn't work out immediately - two pairs of shoes were only worn a couple of times before I sold them to Twice - and several thrifted items got re-donated rather quickly. I also got rid of a lot of older things before we moved this summer, so I have no doubt that I got rid of more than I bought.

For 2015 I'm aiming for 20 items or less per quarter, for a total of 80 for the year - about a quarter less than this year. And that's also about a third of my total wardrobe size, as per my ideal wardrobe numbers. I think expecting to replace most of your wardrobe in a three year span seems pretty reasonable, with the caveat of course that some things will last longer (jeans, boots, coats) and some will last only a year or so (summer tops, cheap shoes, etc.).

Elizabeth P

Veteran

I haven't been counting, but could proably figure it out with a bit of time. I might do that, but I think the result would horrify me.

But you have given me an idea to add the year as a tag to my clothes in Stylebook, so I can search on it and easily get this info going forward!

carter

Veteran

This is so helpful to me. For some reason, I was sure that something under 30 was "normal".

Love you, Laura! Unfortunately, you didn't make me feel virtuous, but I do feel a whole lot better:-)

deb

Veteran

Well, it looks like Laura and I are winners (or losers?) so far. You all did not know this was a competitive sport, did you?

Gigi

Veteran

Hmmm, looks like I bought 54 pieces in 2014. That's a lot more than I thought. They seem to be equally spread out over various categories. The good thing is that I didn't make very many I-wish-I-hadn't-bought-this purchases. I'm on a shopping hiatus now because I already spent all my money, so no more buying for me for a while!

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

This really shouldn't be competitive, or anti competitive, or whatever if what you bought pleases you!

Robin

I track all purchases because I shop online all the time and want to make sure I'm getting refunds on returns. Here are the items I kept (still debating one of the jackets):

Bags: 0
Coats: 1
Dresses: 1
Hats: 0
Jackets: 2
Jeans: 1
Pants: 2
Shoes: 3
Skirts: 0
Sweaters: 5
Tops: 9
Bras & tights: 6
Bathing suit: 2
Scarfs: 3

Grand total: 35

deb

Veteran

Thumblelina, I was joking. I need to notate that when I joke. Thanks for the reminder.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Actually, that point about not buying too many "wish I hadn't" things is really important -- Gigi, you are onto something.

When I look at my number I am faintly appalled, but when I think about how much wear (and love) almost all of those items have received, and how well most of them worked for me, and how few duds there have been, I feel pretty darned good.

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