My pre-purge numbers.

Melaine

I hadn't counted up my wardrobe lately and have added a lot of items in the last couple months. Deborah's thread inspired me to do a tally before I get down to the nitty gritty. I think having the big picture will help me to be more ruthless when it comes to cutting things out, which I plan to do starting tomorrow. I feel like starting today but as it is Father's Day, I will spare my hubby the upheaval of starting such a major project. These numbers do not reflect a couple days of worn clothes that are in the laundry and don't count any of my loungewear, PJs, underwear, bras, socks, coats, jewelry, accessories, bags or swimsuits. I will be editing those categories as well. I'm a homeschooling SAHM so I'm afraid I have let the yoga pants for non-athletic use section of my dresser become over-run. I will probably break the categories down more seasonally after I edit significantly.

Tops

Tanks: 20 (pretty much all layering pieces, only a few stand alone wearables. I put sleeveless shirts in with the short sleeves.)

Short Sleeve Shirts: 27

Long Sleeve Shirts: 30

Bottoms

Shorts: 10

Leggings: 12

Pants: 30

Skirts: 15

Dresses

33 (this includes short dresses, maxi dresses, and many tunic length that I pair with leggings and boots spanning all seasons).

Jackets
17 (mostly structured jackets as worn in outfit rather than outwear)

Hoodies
6

Cardigans
17

Shoes
30

Total: 251

My total is staggering, given that I have done multiple major closet purges over the last couple years. I got rid of garbage bags of clothes after my last pregnancy and nursing my DS. BAGS. And this doesn't count the entire dresser full of pjs/unders/loungewear.

I do feel like I am shopping smarter than I was a few years ago, but I am still not dressing with clarity. I forget things I have and don't take the time to pick great outfits and pairings. I would love to utilize stylebook more fully but since the majority of my wardrobe is thrifted, stock photos aren't readily available and I haven't been able to take the time to photo in my clothes. Maybe once I limit it down I can get a better handle on that.

I'm really glad I did a count though, I feel more determined to do better. And it's time for a big shopping break for me. Which is the hardest part. I love shopping

8 years ago

General

10 replies

Latest reply was from approprio

puppycat

Active Member

Hey there. Your post really resonated with me as my numbers are similar AND the majority of my clothing is thrifted. I also love shopping as well--maybe too much.

As a thrifter we have to balance a couple things new-item shoppers don't.

First, thrifters have a "get it while you can" mentality, because on trend items in the correct size aren't something that you can just walk into a store and buy. For thrifters, this stuff has to be hunted down, so if you see something that's ALMOST right (almost the right size, almost the right color, almost perfect condition) there's a STRONG temptation to buy it because (this is your inner thrift voice talking) chances are, nothing closer will turn up again, so you better grab it now, even though it's almost but not quite. That mindset leads many thrifters to a lot of wardrobe orphans because, well, you get home and it's almost. So you keep looking/buying.

Second, because thrifting is far less expensive than shopping new, some of the natural limits that new-stuff shoppers have don't kick in until our closets are groaning and/or we're totally drowning in clothing. If I were buying new, I'd have to content myself with buying one or two things every month, and carefully consider the quality and weigh the options. Instead I choose to shop where I can get quantity AND quality (because I am quite picky) so I accumulate much more clothing than I would in the wild.

In addition, many thrifters are willing to take chances on items they would never in a million years pay full price for. You know, that certain kind of pants that you saw on YLF and it looks so versatile and cute on some of the other posters? Yeah, for $5 I'll buy a similar pair of pants in the thrift and have fun styling it once or twice...maybe. Then I wake up, realize it isn't for me, and donate or let it languish in my closet. That would be a much more expensive mistake with new purchases, and I would likely think much harder about giving in to the urge.

It's a process. Personally for me, thrift shopping is part of having my own business and I can't just stop (it's how I source inventory) but since reading YLF and especially the Vivienne Files I am much more selective when I see things I "must" have for myself. Most of the time I leave them on the rack.

Best of luck to you....:-)

8 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think puppycat is spot on. I used to thrift and buy a lot on consignment. I stopped for several years, partly because my income increased so I could buy new, and partly because the options in my area were lousy, and partly precisely for the reasons she mentions. I wanted to refine my style and that included a more modern look, and I found it harder to gain clarity while thrifting.

Now that I have left it alone for a few years, I think I could go back to it with a clearer sense of what is right for me and what it's okay to leave behind.

8 years ago

Anonymous

Great, great posts from both of you.

I was especially interested in Puppycat's comments.

Although I am not a regular thrifter, when I do thrift, everything Puppycat said was true of me. I came home with MANY nearly-perfect items that I was thrilled with until I realized they did indeed languish in my closet. In some cases, I didn't wear them one single time before I re-thrifted them. I bought far more than I would have normally and I was willing to try new things that might or might not work out for me. Sometimes they did work and that was a really great thing!!

Realizing that thrifting could result in a cascade effect, I am cautious. I very much like looking though. I love the idea of giving clothing a second chance.

8 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Puppycat makes some great points. I used to thrift a lot and have pulled back from it like Suz for various reasons, and I find that my planning process has to change almost entirely. Mostly-thrifting with occasional bargains is a completely different experience for me than mostly-first-hand with the occasional find. When I buy mostly first-hand as I've been doing for the last few months, it's almost entirely limited by my budget, whereas with thrifting it was limited by my wishlist or the size of my storage. Plus there's the confounding factor of being able to return things to regular stores, but not usually to thrift stores (at least in my area) so the decision gets made earlier and is do-or-die.

Anyway, I ramble...I haven't updated my wardrobe numbers in a bit, but I expect that they are similar to yours. I was aiming for a 200-250 item wardrobe (all seasons) when I ran the numbers last year, including shoes and outerwear but not including undergarments, PJs, or exercise gear. So I don't think your pre-purge numbers are that crazy. Obviously, if your closet is bursting at the seams or you feel overwhelmed by your clothes rather than happily enjoying them, then that's one thing, but - there are a lot of YLFers who are very into minimalist, small wardrobes, capsules, etc. but not everyone is suited to that. I like having variety and I like being able to browse and shop, so after trying to fit into the 'typical YLF mode' for several years I've realized that I'm not going to be happy with a very small wardrobe; it will just stress me out more rather than simplify my life.

8 years ago

Staysfit

Veteran

I see you also have a large number of bottoms in your numbers. I'm curious if you are happy with the ratio of tops to bottoms or if you would change that?

8 years ago

cheryl

Veteran

I love reading about other peoples wardrobe numbers. I have a large wardrobe, due to thrifting, sale shopping and getting plenty of awesome hand me downs from friends. I have a hard time editing and letting things go but have recently gotten rid of some items because I moved. Keep sharing your process and progress, I love the inspiration.

8 years ago

Beth Ann

Veteran

Sounds like you're started thinking strategically --- and the forum and Angie's archived posts are a great place to hone your wardrobe building skills!

Do you ever use outfit formulas? I find these reallly helpful in my life (that is more casual than I imagine in my head). I sometimes do capsules, too, although they take more time. Are there five outfits you could put together that you might call favorites!

When I purge, I keep a bin or two as a "holding zone." I do not hold any items that are worn or that I don't care for. I completely disregard that "If I haven't worn it for a year" rule. One of the great things about wardrobe formation is that you get to make rules that work for you!

8 years ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Puppycat's response is right on in terms of thrifting. I used to bring home far too much until I came upon the idea of only keeping what is right and not just almost and selling the rest. Works perfectly in theory anyhow!

8 years ago

Melaine

(website)

Active Member

I just wanted to thank everyone for their responses. I realize that I haven't been good about thoughtfully typing in my answers to your feedback, even though I appreciate all of the answers so much. I attribute it to the fact that I am always browsing on my phone and it is so difficult to type in the lengthy posts that might be in my head. But it's no excuse, of course, so I am dusting off the laptop to get down to some of it.

I have a lot of reasons for purging the closet, although I never intend to have a true "capsule wardrobe".
1) space: sharing a closet with DH, and needing to use closet for non-wardrobe storage as well. We are still in our newly wed home and it seems to have shrunk significantly over the the last dozen years as we have added three children and a dog and even more so now that I am homeschooling. So I am really trying to purge all of the unused items and in doing so I am discovering some of the joy of simplicity. As someone who loves shopping, this is really difficult for me, but valuable work.
2)contentment. the more clothes I have, the more I seem to buy. For whatever reason. I do love to shop, but I think the chaos in my closet has encouraged an excess that I am not proud of.
3) clarity. I can't see what I have, I forget what I have, and there are so many items I can't match them up. I wanted to use Stylebook, but because almost everything was thrifted without stock photos available, the task was completely overwhelming.

I am posting another thread with my closet progress.

8 years ago

approprio

(website)

Veteran

Thanks for posting this. I recently did a similar exercise so it's very interesting to read your observations.

I came up with 220 items collected over about ten years. I'm generally happy with the content because my wardrobe is diverse and very seasonal, but I do feel the need for a tightly focused edit so I can continue to develop.

I really like what puppy cat says about thrifting. These days I look for provenance in second hand clothing and I try to limit my thrifted purchases to only the very best designer/vintage pieces. I've found that since I've raised my standards, the contentment factor has gone up while the shopping numbers have gone down.

8 years ago

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