DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 7

Hi,

I originally wasn’t going to post a check-in at week 7, but then I realized I had quite a few observations and some free time to capture them so here it is. Current wardrobe totals are near the end. I tried to underline some subtopics in case you have a specific one in mind.

To read more about the challenge, including the rules, click here.

For a recap of week 6, click here.

Reflections for Week 7

Wardrobe size does not affect wardrobe favorites

I’ve spent the past week rotating through the clothes in the working closet with only one addition (a scarf). Compared to the size of my entire wardrobe (the bulk of it is sitting in the boutique), my current selection contains only a small handful of items, yet I am still not wearing everything equally. When I have a wardrobe favorite, apparently I am going to keep selecting it, regardless of the size of my wardrobe.

Wardrobe favorites can change often

Pieces that were favorites at the beginning of this challenge I still enjoy to wear (tan poncho), but a few new items have emerged as recent favorites (grey metallic jeans), probably because the season is shifting. I still enjoy sporting my tan poncho, but it reminds me of fall and worked best with gloves and a scarf without a coat over it, while the grey metallic jeans remind me of holiday time and coordinate well with my black and yellow winter coats. I notice I am reaching for the grey metallic jeans quite often right now and I anticipate after New Year’s I’ll probably shift to another favorite item.

Impulse purchases make up the bulk of my least favorite items

A couple of pieces are not being worn very often. And all of them were impulse purchases. And many of the pieces still sitting in the “boutique” were also impulse purchases. Most of the items I am not reaching for, were purchased without a plan. Either I feel they do not coordinate with anything in the working closet (hence why they are still in the boutique) or I feel my style preferences right now compared to at the time of the purchase has already shifted.

The black sweatercoat is a great example. I’ve only worn the sweatercoat 3 times since it’s been sitting in the working closet. Previously I owned a navy sweatercoat that was an Angie pick from BR a few years back that I really enjoyed. So one day when I saw a black sweatercoat I defaulted to “well I like a sweatercoat and black is a basic that goes with everything so I’ll purchase
it.”

After I purchased it, the weather shifted and it sat waiting until the season rolled around again. And now that it is in the working closet I find I’m not that interested in wearing a sweatercoat right now and it’s not the first piece I reach for. I keep pulling it out, only to put it back and grab something else to wear. At the time I purchased it I really enjoyed sweatercoats, but I didn’t wear it right away (for whatever reason, I have a bad habit of “saving” clothes for I don’t really know what) and now it appears to have fallen out of favor for this season.

Purge or save out of favor items?

A little caveat first. I don’t own many items that are over 3 years old, my wardrobe is mostly new pieces. And I did a lot of purchasing and purging my first few years with YLF, so I am not interested in doing so again, just yet. However, there are a lot of clothes sitting in the “boutique” going unworn. And unworn clothing is wasted money. The clothes were purchased to be worn! But I also don’t want to purge too fast and regret it later. So for now I’m not
going to purge anything in the “boutique.” It’s essentially a giant holding zone.

However, I don’t want to have the boutique forever, so I’ve given it a time limit. I’d like to complete a full year of the challenge so I can move through all 4 seasons (or 6 mini seasons or whatever the crazy weather that we have is called) before I do any massive purges of the boutique itself. It’s only been two months so far, and I have plenty of cold weather to come in the next few months, so there is no reason to purge items in there just yet. However, new purchases require careful consideration because I do not want to keep growing the size of the boutique, I’d actually like to shrink it’s size over time.

At some point I’ll have to decide how long the boutique should be in business, but I haven’t decided on that yet. After all, I may be “off” liking the black sweatercoat this season, but I may like it again next year. And some items in the working closet I am really enjoying this year, I may be tired of by next year. That doesn’t mean I may be ready to pass them on just yet. One thing I still need to figure out is how much clothing I want to keep because I really like it, but I want to take a break from it for a season vs how much clothing I truly don’t like and am ok with parting with.

Overhauling a wardrobe

If my almost two month numbers are accurate, I have enough clothing in the boutique to overhaul my working closet for next year, with no new purchases. And I have about another half that would carry over into the following year. So technically I should not be doing any major wardrobe overhauls for the next 2 years or so. During this time frame if I am itching for a major change, I either need to start swapping out items from the boutique, or start purging the boutique aggressively to make room for the new items. If I keep reaching then returning items to the boutique that is a sure sign I’m not really interested in the item and I think I’ll have a much easier time purging them. Of course I don’t expect to not shop for the next two years. So I anticipate the boutique purging going quickly once I start itching for a style change again. However, I think I’ll have a much better idea of how much clothing I like to wear at one time in a given season, which makes doing an overhaul and evaluating an impulse purchase a lot easier to do in the future.

And considering the small size of my working closet, it doesn’t look like it would take many items to overhaul my wardrobe if I was really bored with it. This is great, because now I realize I don’t need to invest nearly as much time or money as I thought I would whenever I want a style refresh. My actual working wardrobe isn’t that large!

Organizing the closet by outfits works for me

Back in week 3, I mentioned that closet organization works best when it is set up to follow one’s personal dressing preferences. For myself, that means having a collection of grab and go outfit combinations. For the past week, I’ve had my closet arranged by outfit combinations and getting dressed in the morning has been nice and easy. I’ll still try to remix into a new combination once in a while, but I don’t prefer to do this daily so having pre-set outfits is working well. It also allows me to see where my wardrobe is unbalanced (one bottom has 6 toppers yet another has only two). If I wanted to shop for something new, it would probably make more sense to find a top for the bottom with less toppers.

I’m attracted to the same styles, often

I always enjoy trying on a new color or a new style, but in general I really do like the same items again and again and again. I’ve noticed items I see in the stores that I like, I already own something similar to them in the boutique. I really liked a basket weave cardigan (from BR but I don’t see it online anymore), but I already own one with the same basket weave thread, just with short sleeves from AT a few years back. I really liked these lace up boots in Nordstrom, but I already own a similar style from Rockport, in black (just remove the top buckle and this year's style is the same as mine which are from last year). When I see these items in the store and want to purchase them, I remember that I already have something similar at home, and I’m not even wearing it right now (the basket weave cardigan is still in the boutique)!

I’m not bored with my current wardrobe size

One of the most important questions after almost two months of doing this challenge is, am I bored with my smaller wardrobe? After all I have at least double, it not more, items in the “boutique” that fit the current weather/season and I am not wearing them. A few of these pieces I am looking forward to sporting next year as a refresh for my cool/cold weather wardrobe. But so far, I’m not bored with my choices as far as the numbers go. I actually feel I have one too many bottoms (I still seem to sport 5 a week even though I have 6 to pick from right now) and I have plenty of toppers to pick from.

I’m a little bored with my current wardrobe colors

The bulk of my working closet is very dark, a lot of dark shades for toppers and layering tops and all the bottoms are dark too. I’m still waiting for the BR cream jeans to arrive (I ordered them Dec 9, not sure why they are taking so long, grumble grumble) which I am hoping will freshen up my outfits. And when I look at items in the boutique again I see a lot of dark colors both for toppers and bottoms. This is something I need to keep in mind when I itch to shop at a store, look at the lighter colors for a change because I have plenty of dark one’s to pick from at home.

If I had not taken a break from shopping and taken a step back to see what I really own and wear, I am not certain I would have ever even realized that I own an abundance of dark items and am growing bored with them. And this could be one reason why I’ll start to browse a store or online, looking to freshen things up. Usually when I look at new items, the first thing I do is look at darker colors thinking “well I have a bunch and they go with everything” and while this is true, now I also realize “I have a lot of dark colors and don’t need any more dark colored items.”

At the end of week 7, I had 52 items:

6 bottoms (no change)

2 hoodies (no change)

11 toppers (this includes: pullover sweaters, blazers and cardigans; no
change)

10 knits (no change)

3 gear items (no change)

1 shirt (for layering; no change)

3 LS T’s (for layering; no change)

4 tanks (for layering; no change)

5 thermal layers (no change)

5 scarves (added on scarf)

2 workout outfits (top and bottom; no change)

No closet photos this week, I’ll try to post outfits soon.

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Edit to add: Here are the outfits.

10 years ago

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

I am, yet again, fascinated and inspired by your thought processes and experience! Thank you for taking the time to share all of this with us - I can't wait to read more

This is so great. I also had a darkness epiphany when trying to cobble together my FL winter capsule to take from Tahoe.
I still like to remix, even if it's as simple as a different belt or necklace, for the sense of newness it provides me, but I also realize I can get by with a LOT less than I have. And not just get by, be happy with it! It's a good feeling.

Alassë

I was excited to see another of you posts!

shedev

Great analysis, Lisa. I also find that things I like in the stores are a lot like things in my closet. Realizing that made me buy less near duplicates.

Runcarla

You are working so hard at this, Lisa. Each time I found myself noting a suggestion, you answered in the next paragraphs. This is huge stuff you are processing.

The idea/concept and the discipline required to source only from your 'boutique' for the time it takes to get through 4 seasons deserves recognition, and possibly a reward. Knowing that financial types suggest 5-7.5 % of income be for clothing, you should figure there is some value to your exercise besides what you learn!?! Right?

Maybe top quality replacements of your tried and true faves?

Lisa

La Belle Demimondaine-Thanks! I am happy to hear the recaps are helpful.

Mo-I agree. I think it is very easy to build up a dark winter wardrobe because that's what's in bulk in the stores. I have a yellow wool coat and it always stands out in a coat check among the sea of black coats.

Alasse-Thanks!

Shedev-Thanks! I am happy to hear I am not the only duplicate shopper.

Runcaria-A great point. By taking a break from shopping, I can cut back on my excessive spending for clothes. I'll also be able to sit down and plan a proper budget. A good resolution for the New Year!

Suz

Lisa, I read this once, but need to return to it again because it's making me think!

One thing that resonated with me for sure was the whole "darkness in winter" issue. I have been making a conscious aim to get more light into my winter wardrobe this year and am making slow progress. It really helps me feel that I am changing things up to include a few lighter coloured items.

Like you, I find I'm often attracted to the same styles. But I'm lucky in that I tend to remember what is already in the closet, so I rarely purchase something "just like" something I already own, unless I'm explicitly replacing/ upgrading that item. (This is probably because I started from a very small wardrobe).

I love your thought process here: How long will the boutique be in business? I laughed out loud at that. But of course the underlying issue is serious for you and you are gaining such great insights through this experiment.

All such great insights! I am so impressed and applaud all you've done. I agree that you should wait a year before you start purging. I've noticed this fall/winter that i'm starting to wear items that I didn't reach for last winter.

I don't mind having more darkness in winter, but my winters are short.

Can you come and set up my boutique?

Krista

There is nothing I love more than a good wardrobe analysis. This was an excellent read while I enjoyed my morning coffee! Thank you!

I hear you on the dark colors. I have actually been wearing two blazers that I bought last Spring throughout this winter so that I feel like I have some color. They are fuchsia and cobalt and are ponte knit, so they don't look like Spring or seasonally confusing. I've been trying to find winter alternatives but have had no luck, which is disappointing to me. So perhaps your frustration with dark colors also comes from the idea that there just isn't a lot out there in the way of bright colors that you like, and that is also why your boutique is full of them as well?

cheryl

This was a great read. I am so impressed with your analysis and how you have really broken down your thought process. As someone who has an extra large wardrobe this is just so fascinating to me. Bravo!

Oh what marvelous observations! I need a variety of colours & shades too, even when I'm working with a tiny carry-on wardrobe. Even if I'm wearing all neutrals, I like to vary between the lights & darks. And as long as you plan it, you can fit a surprisingly large variety of colours in a small wardrobe & still make it mix and match.

amiable

Wow - I love this experiment of yours more and more. I need to start thinking hard about how to do something like this - finding my ideal size of wardrobe by starting off very small, and growing as I want more.....

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