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Thoughts on CPW and other numbers

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

So today while I was at the Flagship Nordies going through the rest of my NAS orders and returning the BCBG dress, a sales person (not mine) brought these shorts for me.
http://us.topshop.com/en/tsus/.....1&

The fit and length was nice. They'd look killer with my black Brooks Brothers no-iron button down and my black Maison Martin Margiela sequin pumps.
But then I realized in Seattle, we have what just over a month of summer of left. One weekend I'm on call, another going home. So IF, and that's a big if, I was lucky I'd get 1-2 wears out of them.
For the record I do not calculate CPW, or even sheer numbers in my closet. If I did that and adhered to such a strategy I would have to shift over my entire fashion persona to a classic bent to get CPW reasonable; given my schedule and lifestyle. I would be wearing the same thing, every dang weekend off. But I'm trendy, Queen Trendiest of Them All at that. So wearing things over and over again, bores me to tears.
So whereas I'm trying to be more practical in my purchases, hence the return of the BCBG dress, because it won't work for the opera, I'm not going to participate in all those those threads about numbers. Numbers take the joy out of fashion for me. My job is very serious, and 100% focused on the patient. Fashion is my out, allows me to be frivolous and a bit selfish.

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42 replies

Latest reply was from Marley

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Bottom line - will you wear it enough to be happy with what you paid for it. I think that's the what all the crunching comes down to.

JayS

Veteran

I see no problem there. You're the only one that has to answer to you. And I looove the shorts! Could you lengthen their season by wearing with tights?

LACeleste

Veteran

Hi Anna,
It's all about the joy! I'm the most practical* person going and I truly understand and support your perspective.

*no spreadsheets for wardrobe analysis yet so maybe not most practical person??

I'm still captivated by your amazing bitten cherry headband. Fashion magic makes life better. Thanks for sharing yours.

abc

Veteran

Thank you for this post. I'm a Libra and try to find balance in everything. The number cruncher in me wants to go down the path of counting the closet but I'm like you. Fashion is my fun place and I'm not quite ready to take the fun out of it.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

What Mo said! I also think "Joy per Wear" trumps absolute CPW but to have JPW I need to actually be wearing the things :).

jackiec

Veteran

Get the shorts. Won't you wear them next year? If you love them, get them. I'm searching to see if The Bay carries them in Canada. They are great & you'd rock them.

ETA nope - not here

Lucy

Veteran

Completely agree. If you earn it, you can spend it how you want!

I think for many people, CPW is important, if budgets are tight, or there are concerns about over-consumption. Or, sometimes, I'd just rather spend my money on a weekend away, not on one item of high end clothing! But I don't think the idea of counting or strict budgeting is made to make you feel bad if that is not the way you want to go - instead, why not take maximum pleasure and joy out of your clothes? You deserve it.

And to those shorts - hey, they are super cute. And they would look hot with opaque tights for autumn/spring as well???

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

And sometimes, for some of us, calculating cost per wear is part of the fun! (Me, I am still trying to remember to take my pictures everyday.)

Lisa

Veteran

I am a huge fan of number crunching, but that's because it makes me happy to see the numbers go down (I'm a scientist by training and adore data). And as others have already said, it's all about personal happiness. I say go for what makes you happy and if that means some pieces get only one or two wears, then so be it.

Gigi

Veteran

Anna, this sounds like a good strategy. So you don't need to calculate CPW, but you just estimate how many times you'll likely be able to wear the thing. On my thread about CPW, a lot of people said they did just that and did not get into the nitty gritty of it. This saves you from buying something that will sit in your closet unworn because of seasonal changes.

I do enjoy wearing the same things over (once I find something I love), so CPW for me (or probably more so number of times worn) really helps me know what kinds of things are working well in my closet. I don't use CPW to "force" myself to wear anything, because I agree that would take the fun out of fashion. However, I do use CPW to pinpoint what I'm not wearing, or what hasn't proven to be a good purchase, and then to figure out why. A lot of times I really do love the item, but I'm missing an appropriate top or bottom to wear with it.

Or perhaps I see a nasty-looking CPW and say, "Off to consignment with you!" while there is still value left.

I like how you respect your own emotional needs and accept how your closet helps you meet those needs. There is a real purpose to the items you buy, Anna! My own closet is larger than I'd like from a purely practical point of view, but I understand that I do "emotional work" via my outfits, so my closet size is what I need it to be for now.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Anna, like you, I'm not passionate about calculating the numbers behind my wardrobe - like the CPWs and the quantities of my items. That - for me - takes the fun out of things too. It would feel like homework I really didn't want to do. BUT for others that type of analysis is part of the fun. And I respect that wholeheartedly. People derive joy from different parts of their style journey. Horses for courses - always.

I am however:

strict about adhering to my budget
strict about the one in one out policy
And LOVE to wear things over and over again. It gives me great joy to wear golden oldies with new items - that's part of my fun. I love being able to say that I've had something for 5 years and it's still going strong - and I wear it.

I'm glad you're thinking more practically about your wardrobe. That's a very sensible thing.

Tanya

Veteran

It sounds like the right strategy for you Anna! Happiness with clothes matters more to me than anything else.
I also do not calculate CPW. Some things get worn to death, and the others just a few times per year; but as long as they all make me happy each time I wear them that is enough to earn them a place in my closet.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I also echo exactly what Tanya said.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

LOVE those shorts!!!!

Couldn't you wear them commuting next year?

Don't count or calculate if it robs the joy.

I wouldn't say it ADDS to my joy -- and I still don't have a spreadsheet, although I've counted my items and I have a pretty good idea of how much I am wearing various items and which ones have "earned" their place.

But "earning" their place isn't always about CPW. Earning their place (for me) is also partly -- maybe even largely -- about joy per wear, as Caro said.

I think what Mo said is a good way of looking at it. If YOU are okay with what you paid for the item, you got good value from it, whatever somebody else would thing. And for each of us, that's going to be different depending on budget, priorities, and maybe specific items, even.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

You need that on your business card or your name tag at work - QUEEN TRENDIEST OF THEM ALL - *bow*

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I'm not a counter either, but whatever floats your boat. For some people counting adds to the fun and I am all for it if it works for them.

cciele

Veteran

I'm on Team JPW

rabbit

Veteran

I really like that there is so much diversity in HOW we enjoy fashion and style.

I think that's what it comes down too for me, no one would spend time playing in their closet or visiting a style forum if on some level it wasn't a fun escape. For me having certain (some arbitrary, some pre-determined by my yearly budget) 'rules' I made for myself helps keep the experience a pretty positive one most of the time.

But for example my guidelines aren't the same as Angie's above, or anyone elses', they are just what works for me, and if they don't work, I adjust and make new ones. I also track how I'm adhering to boundaries in a way that's most fun for me.

Minimalists and maximalists, thrifters and retail shoppers, bean-counters and emotional/gut instinct shoppers, in my opinion it's all good as long as it IS a good experience.

ETA: and just to confess, I bought over a hundred items of clothing and accessories this year so far, and that was definitely more for fun than necessity in the larger sense. But the bean-counting and budget making and thrifting are all part of making that experience of joy and experimentation and wearing my first planned wardrobe something doable within my budget as opposed to out of reach.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I agree, the numbers things aren't really my idea of fun. I enjoy reading about others' experiences with them. And I do congratulate myself when I find I keep things for a while and get a lot of good out of them. I like to think of negative cost per wear in those situations. But the thought of counting my clothes makes me feel a headache coming on.
I like the shorts! I'm counting on (counting--get it?) some more warm weather this summer. Sometimes we have warm days into September. So I wouldn't be too pessimistic about how much chance you'd get to wear them. Would you wear them next summer? Or do you think by then some other cool shorts would demand your attention? (The ones you are wearing in your blogger-inspired outfit are awesome, by the way.) Tough question, if one is trying to be practical.

Deborah

Veteran

Good on you Anna! I think we all work out what works for us. I counted my wardrobe recently because all the posts made me curious about what I actually have. But I'm not a spreadsheet person or cpw person - I find that boring and a bit joyless too, but that has a lot to do with my personality. I also work in a serious profession providing services to vulnerable people and my closet is a fun, safe place I like to go to away from all of that. I am personally very conscious of waste and excess -in my life- that is largely a result of working with people who don't have a lot, so I do try to maintain a balance and I don't like to have clothes sitting in my closet that don't get worn (note I don't need the same kind of variety you do).

Please note that I in no way think a large wardrobe constitutes waste and/or excess. But in years past my larger wardrobe was a reflection of bad choices and money not spent wisely and I was unhappy with it and deeply unsatisfied.
You clearly have a large wardrobe that you enjoy and find fulfilling:)

I hope everyone's wardrobe brings them joy as well as functionality and it seems we all achieve that by way of different methods and processes. Much of my wardrobe evolution appears to occur by osmosis:)

T

I also don't do CPW, nor do I enjoy wearing things over and over. The only things I think I get superb CPW is on jeans, trousers & office skirts. I also enjoy wearing On-Trend clothes. For me, I find daily life with its mundane office routines to be boring and at times anxiety/pressure ridden. I look to clothes to make me feel better and more excited about future possibilities and life in general. It may not be the sensible thing to do, but that is how I cope best.
I respect & admire others who are able to bring discipline into their wardrobe. I am even amazed at some women who maintain tiny collections of clothes - but all the very best classic brands.
I am otherwise very disciplined in daily life about diet & health, office, routines etc. but clothes is an area I choose not to discipline.

Cerinda

Veteran

Pfft! Rock the shorts, Anna. You can. No one will go hungry. If it brings you pleasure, why not? If the dress won't go where you want it to go, then no pleasure: it has to go back.

Count me in on team JPW. I want a wardrobe that gives me pleasure; otherwise I consider it just impression management or meeting expectations. That said, I did just finish my first big numbers event -- a total summer/transitional/fall inventory. It was a lot of hassle, but I learned a lot. I suspect I won't do it again.

Glory

Veteran

This is tricky. I realize that you may only wear them a few times but they are fabulous and would make you happy. I think you would really rock them.
Yes, I am no help and a total enabler.

unfrumped

Veteran

Of course! Room for all approaches here.

I agree with Alana -- for some people, various counting modes are a way to understand and focus individual style so as to get the look and wardrobe desired. It's a means to an end.

Anonymous

I agree with you..... completely. We all need an outlet and if fashion is your outlet, I applaud you for finding something that is fun and not harmful. I have only very recently given myself permission to have fun with fashion. For me that means taking more risks.

Beyond a doubt, you are Queen of the Trendiest and I think that is great. I view your WIWs often with much interest. You show a knowledge and sophistication that I lack. I hope to learn from you as time goes on. I know I will never quite achieve your sophistication, but some of you might rub off on me and that excites me.

I am one of those people that love spreadsheets and numbers. It iS DEFINITELY not for everyone. It just so happens that I relax by playing with these numbers. It soothes me. There are few people that share this interest so when I found others on YLF that also count things, I was thrilled beyond belief. It was finding my "people."

Janet

(website)

Veteran

High five, Team JPW. I might do a little counting/inventory now and then, to help me analyze what i have and what I need (or don't), but too much number-crunching applied to my wardrobe sucks the joy out of style -- for me.

I really like those shorts and would be curious to try them myself, but we get a lot more shorts weather here than you do there. I am trying to aim for more budgetary balance in my wardrobe -- we get relatively little transitional weather here, so if something can't either be worn in the heat of summer or layered well in the fall/winter, it will likely not get a ton of wear. So I hear you on trying to be more practical when thinking these things through.

ironkurtin

Veteran

You know, I never think about CPW. More about feasibility of wear, just like you did with the shorts. Everyone has their metric! Yours seems to work for you.

Thistle

Veteran

I have not read the other posts so I can give you my honest thoughts. And I am really glad to hear this! You are Queen Trendy. Your outfits tend to be very cutting edge. As such, I would expect your CPW to be higher, especially as you wear scrubs to work.

Fashion should be fun and have at least some enjoyment to it. And you have that nailed.

As for the fab short, only you can answer if you will wear them enough to be worth it to you, and if perhaps you will still wear them next year. If they make your heart sing, go for it. That is what makes you happy with your closet.

I am a numbers person. I work with them all day long every day, and enjoy it, but even I am a bit disconcerted at the sudden obsession with numbers. I get wanting to maximize your fashion dollars, and I also get wanting to buy what you truly wear, but I find calculating actual CPW tedious. Just as I find counting my wardrobe numbers boring and unproductive for the time spent doing it.

Eliza

Veteran

Don't count CPW. Don't like a closet that contains many items that are never worn, even if they are appropriate for the occasion. Don't count how many of what I have, except to notice excessive redundancy and choose the favorite when editing the closet, or make a note that I need buy no more of x, as I am set for a season.

I have a sometimes misguided thrifty gene that on occasion costs me more that just getting the "right" thing first. Slowly getting clearer about where to put my resources, including time. For me, fashion is a hobby, something to play with and enjoy as it suits me. I am practical enough, but don't track of every detail in real time.

One of the many things I value here is hearing how people manage their wardrobes and think about purchases as well as outfit creation. I have learned a lot and carry lots of YLF wisdom into my fashion pursuits.

Great post, Anna.

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