YouLookFab Forum » Topic: DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months) https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:24:03 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Lyn D. on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1235964 Mon, 28 Apr 2014 22:29:29 +0000 Lyn D. 1235964@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/    I missed this Lisa, but wanted to nod along with Suz and Pam re. clothing numbers in my closet. I have around the 100 mark now excluding gear and coats,  and it is working pretty well for me. I had forgotten that you started with around twice this amount, and purging so many items will be quite a challenge. I hope that this exercise will make it easier from the point of view of knowing that you will actually be wearing a greater percentage of your clothes from now on. Satisfaction guaranteed :) rachylou on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207936 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:38:34 +0000 rachylou 1207936@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Oh, yes. I have a lot of socks. I have socks, smalls, towels, linens, darks, denim, lights, greens, reds, handwash, and line dry. I put the orange with reds... That's funny about not wanting to spend a whole day washing... I do not want to be tethered to the machines for more than one day a month. It's a two-hour process at least from wash to dry, and I don't have hours together like that more than one day a month. Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207929 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:33:19 +0000 Lisa 1207929@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Suz-Your range sounds about right, for the size of my wardrobe.  I am heavily debating about doing one massive purge at some point, because I do not want to hold onto items forever.  The problem is, I'm not ready to face the music yet with letting go of so many items.  But April's idea about a YLF swap may be the push I need. Pam-A 115 items sounds like a nice number. April-Thanks! I would be very interested in a YLF swap.  Rachylou-Thanks!  I do repeat entire outfits often, but not always weekly, although I have a habit of wearing something to work one week, then the weekend the next, then to work again the next week.  Angie-Thanks!  I think I can finally do one in/one out successfully now. Alasse-Thanks!  I am happy the updates are helpful. April-No worries, hijack anytime.  I do laundry weekly. April on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207922 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 20:19:57 +0000 April 1207922@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ MINI-HIJACK (sorry, Lisa) -- RL, you wait till you have a full load of *socks*?  Amazing.   My neighbor growing up used to divide her washes not just by whites and colors but by color: oranges only with oranges, greens only with greens, etc  Her kids waited a long time for their clothes to come back from the laundry, let me tell you. I'm crazy in the other direction.  I do laundry daily because I can't stand when dirty clothes pile up and I don't ever want to spend a whole day washing.   Alassë on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207700 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:28:40 +0000 Alassë 1207700@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting! Thanks for faithfully sharing your updates/conclusions, Lisa. Angie on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207680 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:14:42 +0000 Angie 1207680@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Then you have reached a very happy medium, Lisa. That's brilliant. xo rachylou on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207668 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:04:57 +0000 rachylou 1207668@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ So interesting! Are you repeating things (or whole outfits) every week? How do you feel about repeating more often? Four years ago I moved from a big suburban apartment to a closet of an urban one. Most of my things had to go in storage, and I've been working on sorting and purging all this time (!!) In any case, for move in, I took a select capsule of stuff, based on 3/4 colours. Over time, I've been sneaking into my mother's basement to pull stuff. Found it very interesting what would get me to go through that kind of trouble to get it. The first thing that happened was driven by colour. Needed more. Why I had so much - besides having the space to keep it - I used to not like repeating outfits (items OK). Also, I have an elaborate system for doing laundry. I want everything separated and done in their own load - socks with socks, pants with pants. That means enough to do a load. My neighbor says I'd make a "good gypsy", lol. There did come a tipping point where I wanted to wear more of my stuff more of the time. However, I can't seem to stop sorting, but that does need to stop. The sorting bags are crowding me out! April on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207654 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:46:12 +0000 April 1207654@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Lisa, when you wrap up your challenge and have decided what you can part with, maybe we should plan another East Coast YLF swap.  It could be in NYC this time -- a little easier for people to get to.   Anonymous on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207643 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:40:02 +0000 Anonymous 1207643@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm with you, Suz. My non-gear total (excluding shoes and scarves) is 115 and I feel pretty capable of managing that (keeping track of what works, what doesn't). It helps to keep a finite # hangers available- enforces the one-in-one-out rule.  Suz on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207567 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:25:42 +0000 Suz 1207567@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Lisa, if at the end of this year you arrive at a good figure for your wardrobe (i.e. what you would reasonably wear) then will you purge to get to that level and go to a one-in-one-out policy for shopping?  I counted up all my items of clothing (across all four seasons) EXCEPTING footwear, scarves, gear wear (I don't wear it except as gear), winter and rain coats, PJs.  My number was 87; I'm probably around 95 or so now because I purchased some sweaters and did not purge anything.  I decided that on the whole, this is a pretty good number for me. I do think I could use a few more of specific items (for variety's sake). And possibly a few less (but better chosen) of others. But somewhere around 90-110 items seems right, and I know for a fact I am wearing 80% of my closet regularly, and the other portions I'm not wearing due to function. (E.g. formal wear, items that are only appropriate in very specific weather conditions, yet are needed in case those conditions arise.)  I wonder if that would be a good "ballpark" figure for you also?  My spring-summer closet is smaller than my fall-winter closet.  Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207533 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:57:10 +0000 Lisa 1207533@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Alexandra-Thanks!  I was pretty surprised after I ran the numbers.  I thought I had less. Angie-Thanks!  Yes and no.  It may be cheating, but a few months before I started the challenge, I overhauled my wardrobe from NAS.  So many of the pieces I've been pulling from the boutique are new or only worn once or twice.  And I haven't stopped shopping, in fact, I'm always perusing the stores either online or in person.  However, my purchases have really gone down.  For my daily wear, I've only purchased 4 items so far (1 poncho from Christmas, 1 white skinny jeans, and 2 cotton trousers).  Instead, I've been focusing on items for my hard to shop for capsules (business and business casual).  My role at work has changed, so I have had to grow these capsules a bit.  And since I don't need any casual clothes, I have had no choice but to focus on these 'less fun for me to shop for' capsules.   Angie on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207178 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 01:38:46 +0000 Angie 1207178@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Fascinating, Lisa.  Have you been missing the need to refresh your wardrobe with new purchases, or has selecting from "the boutique" satisfied your need to "shop"?   Alexandra on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207155 Fri, 28 Mar 2014 01:05:26 +0000 Alexandra 1207155@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting, Lisa, with the 21%. And also that you have essentially a whole extra wardrobe in the boutique. I love this series of posts of yours. Lisa on "DH Closet Challenge Recap-Week 20 (5 months)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-20-5-months#post-1207092 Thu, 27 Mar 2014 23:12:12 +0000 Lisa 1207092@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Hi, I've almost completed week 20 (5 months) on the challenge.  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, <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/closet-challenge-from-dh-rules" rel="nofollow">click here</a>. For a recap of week 18, <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-18-on-to-spring" rel="nofollow">click here.</a><a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/dh-closet-challenge-recap-week-6" rel="nofollow"> </a> Reflections for Week 20 Crunching numbers or How much of my total wardrobe am I using? I was inspired by the number crunching that <a href="http://http://recoveringshopaholic.com/how-many-clothes-are-enough/" rel="nofollow">Debbie doe</a>s so I ran some statistics on my wardrobe. Since I am in the middle of DH’s closet challenge, my fall/winter wardrobe is the only portion ‘set’ at the moment. If spring ever comes, I can start working on the size of my spring/summer wardrobe.  I have 52 items for my fall/winter wardrobe. And I have 188 total items when I add everything in the boutique. (I am not including shoes, handbags, outerwear, or loungewear in these numbers, however, my gear is in the numbers.) That means I am only using 28%  of my total wardrobe right now. And this number is even smaller when I consider  that a portion of my fall/winter wardrobe is either gear/workout outfits or thermals. If I subtract those items (12 pieces), I’m at 21%. The usual number I see for how much women wear of their current wardrobe. Now looking ahead, let’s say I add the same amount of pieces for the  spring/summer wardrobe (52 again). This would mean I still will have 84 items sitting unworn in the ’boutique.’ And it means I will end the year with 45% of my  clothing in the boutique. I’ll be wearing about 55% of my clothes, which isn’t a bad number, but it would be nicer if that number was a bit higher. Why the 'boutique' is still in business Of course one reason is because, I haven't yet done this challenge for a full year,  and I still have two seasons worth of clothing to put into my working closet.   However, there may be another very good reason why the boutique is still open.  Looking at the estimates from above (52 items for fall/winter and 52 items for  spring/summer) this would put my working closet at 104 items.  With 84 potential unworn items after the working closet is built, I have almost enough items in the  'boutique' to replace my ENTIRE working closet, yikes!  While this number should go down a little at the end of the year (as items wear out, I purge pieces, and if I do NOT add anymore new pieces) it's probably still fairly accurate. It's no wonder why I have been struggling with purging.  I've been asking myself to purge, almost an entire wardrobe!  I am not yet ready for such a large shock to the system.  But this also means, I really shouldn't need to purchase anything new for a long time, after all, I have almost an entire wardrobe to pick from when I shop the 'boutique.' I’ve added 7 items for spring/summer since the last check in. Completing week 20, I had 17 items for spring/summer 4 bottoms (added 1 bootcut jean) 0 hoodies (no change) 7 toppers (this includes: pullover sweaters, blazers and cardigans; added one striped cardigan] 0 knits (3/4 or LS, for layering; no change) 0 gear items (no change, not warm enough to add yet) 0 shirt (no change) 2 SS T’s/Tops (added 1 top) 1 tank (added one tank, for layering now and stand alone with shorts later) 3 scarves (added two scarves) 0 workout outfits (top and bottom; no change, not warm enough to add yet) And here is the current spring/summer closet, I’ll try to post outfits soon. Thanks for reading!