I'm moving in with you in September for a taste of Fall. You can move in with me in March for some Spring.

Geeks unite!

And btw I have STILL not had the courage to actually count my items yet. Kudos to you for having the guts to do it especially after the recent additions.

Carter, that is a DEAL!!!! (September is gorgeous here....truly beautiful. Best weather all year. 24 degrees and sunny most of the time. Blue water, green grass, leaves just beginning to tinge with yellow....oh, and I have a nice spare room and a really great real estate friend who would love to talk shop!)

abc, I know....I was quaking a bit. But it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I am a pretty constant editor.

Greedy? Not a chance! You just love clothes!

Hey -- that's right, Jen!!

And Carter, that's 24 CELCIUS. Think mid-70s.

Oh, I'll trade houses with you for a month this winter, but only if I get to wear your fab winter clothes as part of the deal!

Great thread! As another person who lives where it is pretty chilly nine months out of the year, I like hearing everyone's responses to your wardrobe breakdown.

It seemed to me that this last winter, which was so harsh, required about three stages of clothing, i.e., two refreshers. I was horribly unprepared because I couldn't find anything that I was looking for, despite all the knitwear around. So like you, once I get my spreadsheet in gear I will be analyzing the breakdown between warm-weather and cold-weather items. I think I am grossly unbalanced in favor of the former. But winter is so dark and dreary that you *need* an emotional pick-me-up. I like the idea of not overspending yourself at the beginning of the season but allowing for a midseason refresh, or even two small refreshes.

I am like Claire in that I tend to use a "checkbox" mentality and want to just buy what I need at the beginning of the year and call it done. But that doesn't lead to happy purchases at all! At least I know that I have enough items that I can struggle through the winter while I wait for what really trips my trigger. I was actually very strong last year in not buying anything because it wasn't exactly what I wanted. It was a pain, but at least I don't have a lot of expensive sweaters to purge.

Funny...I was multipling by 9/5 and adding 32, hoping I was remembering correctly! I'll be on your doorstep in September...with much more than a carry-on.

Love a numbers post!
Mine is similar to yours Suz, only a bit smaller.

110 in total:
Dresses 7
Knits 12
Pants 21
s/s tops 18
L/s tops 15
Shirts 7
Workout Gear 14
Jackets and coats 16
Shoes including workout 30

Suz you are not greedy!
I think you do need lots of knits for your colder climate- will just updating- 1 in 1 out- be enough to stop the boredom?

Sometimes it only takes one new item for the wardrobe to feel refreshed for a month. With such a long winter I would give yourself permission to update later in the season.
There are other ways of updating without adding to the wardrobe - new hair do, new pedicure or shade of lipstick. I sometimes use these when everything seems blah!

Suz! Great post on your thoughts on your wardrobe! Echoing what everyone says here - if you get bored in February (OMG I DO TOO!), then perhaps you need a more extensive winter wardrobe. OR... Maybe you need more creative accessories. I'm trying to figure out the cause of February blues myself but I'm almost certain they yucky super cold snowy weather contributes to this! I'm not sure if thus is true with you but I also feel mor BLLLLLLAAAAAAAH and less "inspired" in the winter months because I have to dress more practical for the weather (and the icky cold and slush). Maybe being able get past the blaaaaah-ness can help?

I agree with MsKatieKat ! I think that many of us are just worn down come February and thinking that spring is the following month.

I don't bore of my clothes easily but I have come to face the fact that I don't like wearing something a lot. For me, the question has become, " When did this all change ? " How did we go from being happy when we were younger with wearing something over and over...to the current situation. So many blogs are about not wearing the exact, same outfit twice or not wearing it more than once a month, or whatever. This fascinates me. Mostly because I have no clue as to the answer. : )

Accessorize ! : )

Suz - if I had 8 months of chilly weather out of which 4 snowed ... I would have 15 coats, 25 toppers and about 50 full sleeved tops (minimum). Why did I put those random numbers out there?

Because I have 10 toppers now for my 2 months of mild winter o_O. And I don't even wear them every single winter day!

I get bored very easily. In fact seeing something hang in my closet very long makes me feel bored even if I haven't worn it! All this just to say, nope you are not alone or greedy! I think your winter wardrobe needs to be larger. Or it needs a refresher mid season, where you chuck out all tops and get some new ones. Your summer wardrobe sounds like my winter wardrobe, too many for too little time!

Maybe some day I will count my items - would probably be good information for me. Suz - I'm assuming that you're not taking including tanks/camis into your total number?

That's right, Marley -- not including tanks and camis. I count those as "undies" since I don't really ever wear them alone.

Neel, thank you for the commiseration! Our winters ARE very long. I definitely think more coats are in order at the very least!!

Isabel, I am not sure if I used to bore less. Good point to ponder. Sometimes I'm not sure if boredom is actually the problem. Maybe, as Ms. KK alludes to, WINTER is the real problem! Ha!!

Ms. KK -- you're right that the long long spell of having to dress in a silhouette that allows me to walk around without ruining my clothes is part of the problem. In summer, I don't only have more actual items, but I can wear them in more different ways.

Kiwigal -- good reminder. I don't have to think about a complete overhaul every year. One or two new items in mid-winter could be enough.

Lyn, I am really impressed with your numbers -- mine do not include workout wear, or shoes.

Suz I like what Claire and Gaylene and lots of others have said. You need to build in mid-season refreshers and by then you will know what is not working for you and can keep some balance by getting rid of that. Of course I can't help but think ahead to a late spring shopping refresher that will probably be summer oriented. <Insert Cheshire Cat grin>

I second the tracking process as a way to help in the decision making process Suz. It's amazing what the data reveals I thought I had a really good idea of what I wore but I really didn't. It doesn't have to suck the fun out of the process imo. To me it gives me data that allows me to buy better & buy what I actually wear.

Fascinating assessment. I find tracking to be incredibly helpful in decision making. I no longer buy haphazardly or impulsively. My wardrobe actually goes together. And whats more, I think I can reach into my closet for whatever occasion comes my way. This was not always the case. I used to have to frantically shop for complete new outfits (clothes, shoes, purse) for special events (wedding, funerals, parties). It was exhausting.

Pam, that last point is SO interesting!! It could be that you are more used to wearing summer clothes so have more idea how to wear them in imaginative ways. Or it could be that you prefer summer silhouettes. Or get to wear more silhouettes in summer.

Many of us -- including me -- bemoan our summer style and complain that we are not as stylish. So now I am faced with a paradox. I may not feel as stylish in summer (more on that in a second) --- but I'm not as bored as in winter.

And, as a matter of fact, I actually DO feel as stylish or more so now in summer! My avid buying has helped.

Hmm. This may deserve a thread of its own.

I'm a little late to this party, and I do agree with a lot of what's already been said. Our summer season is so dang short that it's practically impossible to get bored with the outfits. Every year I struggle with NOT buying too many dressy summer clothes because the reality of my summer life is that it's super short and super casual. I'd love to purchase a few more skirts and dresses, but what am I going to do, wear them while paddle boarding? Ziplining? (That would give everyone a show!) My S/S (and I've skipped over spring because it's practically non-existent here, we seem to go directly from winter to summer) wardrobe needs to be super focused and super budgeted: Mostly gear, with a few casual outfits.

F/W is where tracking will be extremely telling. I haven't done it yet, but I already know, since I took daily pics, that I have several items that I love and yet I only wore them 2 or 3 times. I also have clothing that I like but haven't worn at all. I always want what's new, what's of-the-moment, what looks good and what feels good when wearing. You know Maya Angelou's poem "I Love the Look of Words?" My version would be, "I Love the Feel of Fabric!"

So for me, I need to get on with that taking inventory and tracking project. Right after I browse the NAS catalog...(oops, did I say that out loud)...

I always adore a numbers thread. I do think it is difficult to own the same number of items for each season, when the seasons are not even in number. As others have mentioned, I would replace some of the shorts which seems a high number for only two months, with more cool and cold weather options.

DH and I have been talking about what to do once the closet challenge is over. He is someone who literally wears it all out before purchasing new items so imagine my surprise when he advised that I focus on replacing half or less of a wardrobe each year. His logic is I enjoy fashion too much to wait until things wear out, so why punish myself by waiting for items to wear out. A half or less refresh means I can add new trends and styles as I like and I know roughly how many items to replace because I finally know how much I wear and need.

First off, these numbers posts actually make me fall off my chair....as an accountant it shouldn't be the case, but I can't even make myself go there Maybe because I know I have a jam-packed closet of tons of things I don't wear. It's getting way, way better, but I think I'd embarrass myself with the stupidity of it. I've been regularly purging but still have tons of bad stuff...

My summer wardrobe is way smaller than my winter/fall wardrobe, similar to you. I get the same sort of blah feeling mid-winter but prefer to ease that by shopping sales mid-late winter as opposed to stocking up earlier in the season.

This might motivate me to take a closer look in my closet....maybe another purge is in order. Having just returned from vacation, and lived with a small hot-weather capsule, I'm sure I could easily ditch half of what I have.

Great topic.

Lisa, that's amazing! Half or less as a replacement goal.

If I were living with a smaller wardrobe, this would make a huge amount of sense -- and maybe it is a goal for me -- to continue to whittle back, but simply accept that I will replace more things more often. I wonder. Something to ponder.

I do think I'll probably reduce the shorts -- I'm at an artificially high number because of inheriting two pair from my daughter. There are probably a few pair that can go.

Jackie, I started with almost nothing (after weight loss) so have slowly built this closet up after several years and lots of shopping. I'm a very eager editor, too -- I keep very little if I am not actually wearing it.

Karie, you and I can track together. I'm trying to decide whether to use an app or just pencil/ paper or daily photos and counts after the fact....

The replacement rates is an issue unto itself! I always figured I held on to stuff for longer than I really do. More false information we think we 'know' about our habits. In reality, I buy 30 - 40 items a year even when I am trying to keep a lid on numbers. This equates to 20% - 25% of my 150 item wardrobe. So I obviously turn over 1/4 to 1/5 of it average each year, even if I think my rates are closer to every 6 or 7 years.
This may be a newer phenomenon since I used to be bad at purging and am now improving. Odds are, I used to keep things upward of 7 years on average, but now that I'm keeping overall numbers down with regular in and out, the resulting turnover rates changed.
I'm comfortable with a 4 or 5 year rate of turnover. I know tops will likely average only 2 or 3 years and coats and boots are going to go past 5 easily.

Suz, I agree with you 100% about how challenging summer wardrobe can be. You have made an excellent comparison between summer and winter clothing. Lots to think about here.
I actually feel a little bit paralyzed right now. I have purged my closet to a very small number but am afraid to add new items as I dont want to make any mistakes. I am thinking that actually counting each item like you should give me some idea where to start.
I did a quick count in my head as I am at work but here are my summer numbers.
Pants - 2
Denim - 5 (these are worn year round except two pairs of Bf's which are strictly summer)
Tops - 6 (this number will go up by 2 when J.Crew linen sweaters arrive)
Jackets - 3
Shoes - 5
This makes 23 items in total for my summer wardrobe.

Oh I can so relate to what Claire said about buying too early and too quickly in a rush to check off the items that I think I need.

Even though I have gotten a lot better with shopping and making good choices vs mistakes in general, for some reason I felt that it was imperative to be prepared with casual knit tops. So I bought a bunch early on. Some have been good choices but there are 5 that I bought that were probably mistakes because of the 5, I've only worn 1 and that was 1 time only, for a stay at home day! And I think I knew when I bought them that I was settling. And I justified it with their low price. Just not worth it! If I truly had an absolute limit on the number of items I can have, I would be mad at myself for wasting space on those tops. Because this past weekend I found 2 knit tops that are so much better. AND since it was well into the season they were on sale.

Anyway....enough about me!

Suz, I agree that it does look like, numbers wise, you have room to increase your count of fall/winter items. I know that we both tend to favor our new stuff. So I think that you just have to plan to add mid-winter refreshers to avoid the boredom. Yet you may need to limit the number of pieces you add at one time so that there's still room to add the next season. Though I have to say that the tops you got for s/s really are nice. I can't imagine that you won't be excited to wear them again next year.

Many points to ponder.

How do you feel about "silhouettes" in terms of change, vs just having more of similar items?

I'm finding I want to be able to explore different cuts in clothing--more or less taper, longer or shorter, that sort of thing. Then I tend to start to feel better in certain styles and not some of the older ones. Then I run the risk of over-stocking in the favorite shapes which might not be favorites later.

So, in addition to numbers of items, I think it's interesting to look at picking 3 or 4 "silhouettes" which are kind of capsules, and then having enough of those.
Also I think I am not a "stock up for winter" or whatever person. I don't want to be "set". I'm trying to repeat when I feel that the weather or the styles are not where I want them so I wear what I like of what I've got, and then be able to buy when the item comes along that really fits me. That can mean not on sale, or it can mean buying something mid-season.

The thing about boredom is, you have to be able to tell whether you're bored with something because you're tired of it altogether, or whether if it's in your wardrobe but not in rotation it'll still feel fresh when you do wear it. Does that make sense? Because if the former, you may want to wear and wear and then do one-in one-out and really plan for many seasonal refreshers, while the other you can have a larger wardrobe but wear something, concentrate on a few capsules in rotation, wear something just a few times a year and really enjoy it.
I'm having trouble with the latter because I feel fashion is fickle or that I'm changing faster than I thought.