YouLookFab Forum » Topic: How do you inventory your wardrobe?

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: How do you inventory your wardrobe? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:33:44 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Kate on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307863 Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:33:25 +0000 Kate 1307863@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I use a spreadsheet (well, 1 excel file with multiple sheets) to keep track of my wardrobe, plus I keep digital photos of what I own tucked away in a folder.   I started my spreadsheet almost 4 years ago and it's gradually grown to 15 tabs!  It has a sheet each for clothes, shoes & accessories, and jewelry, and each of those includes details about what I own - type of item, color, style, where I bought it, when I bought it, how much I paid, plus every single time I've worn it which then automatically calculates how many times worn and cost per wear.  Then I have sheets that keep track of purchases, my budget, average cost per wear for each type of item (clothes, shoes, and accessories) recorded bi-monthly, and my master wardrobe plan that I use to guide my budget and shopping priorities.  I also have sheets that track how many items I have of each color (right now brown and plum reign supreme in my closet) and how many items I have from each store (about 1/3 of my clothes are from Loft).  Mixed in I've included various rules for myself based on what I've learned (ex: don't buy tights!  5 of my 11 tank tops are plum, do not buy any more plum tank tops!).   And then I have several more tabs that are my packing lists for upcoming travel.  This makes it easy for me to plan out visits by copy/pasting items into the packing list tabs.   It literally took years for me to grow my system to this level, and I would not suggest starting out this big.  If anyone is interested in seeing the spreadsheet, feel free to pm me your email address and I will hapily send you a copy! Barbara on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307650 Sat, 19 Jul 2014 02:06:35 +0000 Barbara 1307650@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do modified spreadsheets which are easy to update and keep a running list of what I'm seeking, whether I actually NEED it or just WANT it! I purge my closets every year and rotate seasonal items to my "main" closet. I created a fun look book with dozens of seasonal outfits, including accessories. Gigi on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307649 Sat, 19 Jul 2014 02:06:29 +0000 Gigi 1307649@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Melaine, I not long ago created an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my closet, and I have found it to be so much easier than looking through my wardrobe physically. I divide up the spreadsheet into sections (tops, pants, sweaters, etc.), and each section is tallied so that I know how many pieces I have in each section. I would make sure that whatever your descriptors are, they clearly earmark ONE piece in your wardrobe, so that you will know exactly what item is being referred to. I divided my spreadsheet up into manufacturer/store name, general descriptor, color, date of purchase, and dates of wear. I have the spreadsheet set up to automatically calculate number of wears and cost per wear based on the above info. I started experimenting with color-coding the items so that I would know at a glance whether something was for warm weather or cool weather. I don't think my method has been successful, so I am still thinking on how best to do that. I live in a four-season climate, and I want to be sure that I don't overbuy for the shorter seasons, which is why I think some kind of method to track this would be helpful. I find that the spreadsheet helps me a lot when I need to buy a top and have to decide on the color. I open up my spreadsheet and look at the bottoms that I might wear such a top with, and I can decide from the spreadsheet descriptors what the best color would be.  I also like the spreadsheet because it helps me easily pinpoint items that I love but aren't getting enough wear for some reason. (I can see this from my "Times Worn" column, if it is low.) Then I can think about the item and say, "Oh, it's because I have only one top that goes with that," and I can then solve the problem by buying another top to help me get more wears out of the original item. It also helps me pinpoint items that I'm wearing a lot of but that are on their last legs, so that I can have those items fresh in my mind while I shop, in case I can find a replacement. lyn* on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307531 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:50:43 +0000 lyn* 1307531@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I use StyleBook on my iPad. I also have a pretty good mental inventory as well. Anonymous on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307516 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:30:35 +0000 Anonymous 1307516@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am very specific.  I use a spreadsheet format and enter the exact item name (as identified by the store), the date I purchased the item, and the cost of the item.  I do this automatically today.  As soon as I decide that an item will be added to my wardrobe, I enter the information.   I started this system for the very same reason you are thinking about it.  I felt out of control.  I didn't feel I knew what I had and I was buying the same thing over and over and over again.  I also wanted to have an idea of just how much money was going into my wardrobe and why I didn't feel like I had anything to wear.   I had to start somewhere.  I started by pulling everything out of my closets and drawers.  I inserted every single item into a spreadsheet.  I can be a bit OCD. At that time, I just described each item (e.g., red tank top or pink fleece top).  If I didn't know the price I paid or the date I bought it, I inserted an estimate of what I thought I paid and the approximate year.  It probably took a full day to do.  I am so glad I did this.  It was the start of me not so much reining in my spending, but focusing my spending on things that I actually needed so that I had a wardrobe that I could wear.  For example, I found that I had tens and tens of "bottoms" but hardly any tops.  This made sense because I once read that we dress our favorite part of our body.  Bottoms were so easy for me.  I shopped for them constantly.  I didn't know what I liked in tops and had many failures so I was always reluctant to buy them.  The spreadsheet showed I had to change some things.  I ceased buying bottoms and started focusing on buying tops.   Now, how do I arrange my spreadsheets.  I used to have one big spreadsheet.  It was cumbersome.  In later years, I divided that spreadsheet up into individual spreadsheets based on a category (jewelry, summer, winter, coats, shoes, sportswear, work, casual).  When I started tracking when each piece was worn, I recombined everything into 30 to 40 pieces that are worn each season.  I like this method the best so far. I hope this helps.  If you have additional questions, by all means, reach out to me individually and I'll help as much as I can.  Isabel on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307507 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 23:07:57 +0000 Isabel 1307507@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I also do somethings mentally but my primary method is to make a list as I go through a season of things that I would have worn if I had them.  I try to find an alternative in my wardrobe.  If I don't find anything that works and the "hole" ends up on my list 3X, I buy it.    Otherwise, I keep list of minimal things that I need for our 2 week vacation every year.  But that is it.  I like to experiment.  So I take a certain number of clothes and see how it goes wearing only that for a couple of weeks or a month.  Right now, I am about to do that through Sept. 15  ( usually when it starts to get a little chilly ).    I am a stay-at-home, so my sartorial needs are not complicated.   :  ) Good luck.  Mo on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307459 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 21:54:34 +0000 Mo 1307459@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I took a pic of everything to try and use Closet Couture.  I found it not very user friendly and since stopped.  But I have all my pics.  I organize them in folders in Windows on my laptop.  Tops (with subfolders of tank, short sleeve and long sleeve), pants, skirts, dresses, jackets (including overcoats/outerwear), sweaters, shorts, and shoes.  I have an accessories folder but don't catalog much there, I just toss pics in there if I happen to have a close up of something, or a stock photo of an online purchase.   I just open the folders up and count lol.   Caro in Oz on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307443 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 21:38:56 +0000 Caro in Oz 1307443@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I use Stylebook on my ipad.  You can take photos or import stock photos & it does the CPW calculations & clothing counting for you It also has a calender where you can log WIWs.  It isn't perfect but was the best app I could find. I like seeing a photo of my clothing so a spreadsheet doesn't really do it for me. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.stylebookapp.com/">http://www.stylebookapp.com/</a> E on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307405 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 21:00:05 +0000 E 1307405@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm like Aida: my inventory is physical/mental rather than spreadsheet/photo based (and I have a large wardrobe). I have two accordian-door, reach-in style closets: one has a rod, to which I added an extra hanging rod across about 1/3 so I could put skirts beneath shirts (It was cheap at Container Store & you just hook it over your existing rod & can adjust height/length), while the other is shelves. Each is about 4 feet across. In the hanging one, I keep my dresses/tunics, then woven blouses & a couple thicker knit ones sorted first by sleeve length (sleeveless/short/three-quarter/long) then by shade (starts with white and goes through navy blue). On the second rod underneath the blouses hang my skirts (sorted by shade, as they're all the same style) and my blazers/indoor jackets. They're a shelf above the rods that holds my bags (I only have 4) and jewelry. The shelf closet holds more than just my clothes, but I mainly separate shelves into clothing/non-clothing. One shelf holds folded and stacked trousers, shorts, and knitwear so I can see everything at once. The arrangement varies between winter & summer, but right now I have wool trousers/skinnies (which are too hot for me to wear during our summer) in one of the corners, then warm weather trousers, then shorts. The other two-thirds is devoted to knitwear: warm weather cardigans, warm weather pullovers, and then in the other corner are all my wool sweaters. Basically, I put whatever's most weather appropriate in the middle of the shelf as that's most accessible. My layering cam is & regular tees fold up into a little shoebox (stored vertically, like a filing system) and live on a shelf that also has boxes for socks, tights, undies, and pjs. Because it makes me happy, all of these categories are also sorted by shade, lightest to darkest. :) All of my shoes fit on the floor of this closet. My coats live in a hall closet so are separate. Because everything is visible at once, I don't really forget my inventory. If I thrift too much and find the stacks are getting unwieldily or I've having to add lots of hangers to my rods, I re-assess and will pull the least-loved items out and/or cut way back on shopping for awhile. I don't mind having a big wardrobe (it's over 200 items I'm sure if we're including shoes and outerwear), but it all needs to fit neatly and easily into its assigned space. I'm pretty much aware of the (very few) 'holes' in my closet and just keep mental track of them, but I also think keeping a shopping list like Aida does would be very helpful. If I need to know exact numbers (usually for a YLF discussion, lol), I just hop up & count! Since you want to do an inventory to sort out/take control of your closet, if I were you I'd count by function. Like, do you wear your sleeveless summer tops one way but your long sleeved ones a different way? If so, it might be helpful to count them separately. If not, just lump them together. Ditto for work/play, dressy/casual, etc. If you live in a four-season area, divide by that, but if it's the same weather year round, only divide if you wear different colours in different months. Basically, you want your inventory to reflect how you use your clothing, so that you can see in what areas you have more than you need, what areas you have less, and what areas are just right. If you only have one formal skirt, for instance, and need to dress formally occasionally, you don't want to get rid of it just to make your closet smaller! Whereas if you have thirty party dresses and only go to three parties a year, you could probably afford to weed out a few. Anyway, if you do a spreadsheet, you can note all of the different categories that matter to you as you go and then sort them by different group to see numbers that way. If you only have a couple relevant categories though, pen & paper might be just as easy. shedev on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307397 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:48:57 +0000 shedev 1307397@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I do pen and paper. just basic catagories. abc on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307385 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:27:26 +0000 abc 1307385@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Haven't seen all responses but if you want a spreadsheet example, Shannon just posted one recently. I think it was post 6 in her series. I use Stylitics but have not loaded everything yet. Hoping to purge more first. Aida on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307373 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:18:26 +0000 Aida 1307373@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ My inventory is primarily mental. I have pretty much all of my clothing in my closet (except a few very summery items that get put away any time it's not July-August), and the bulk of what I have I can wear year-round. So basically I can see everything that I have daily. To keep everything more organized, I have it all sorted by type and kept together. This makes it so that, at a glance, I have a very good idea of what constitutes each category. For example, on the hanging bar from left to right I've got Pants, Dresses, Tanks, Blouses/Tops, Vests, Shorts, Skirts, Jackets; then on the shelf above from left to right I've got Jeans, Cashmere sweaters, All-Season sweaters, Summer sweaters, Winter sweaters, Sweater dresses, Cardigans, Tees; and on the floor/shoe rack are aaaalllll of my shoes and boots. Everything right there where I can see it, although scarves, jewelry, and outerwear are kept elsewhere. I've also got the hangers at the capacity I'd want on the rack, so I work with a one-in-one out as well which is a huge help with keeping control. I do keep a shopping proper list (on my phone) which I consult while shopping along with keeping in mind what I've got at home. I jot down what I feel is missing throughout the season, and at the end of each season I review to determine what the true holes are and save that info to refer to for the following year (otherwise I'd totally forget or forgo in favor of "pretty" things). I've been toying with the idea of making a spread sheet, but so far my system seems to be working out well enough for me :) Susie on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307364 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 20:02:42 +0000 Susie 1307364@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I've gone overboard for sure :) I actually have more than one list. In Evernote (app), I keep lists of items by categories like pants, sweaters, jeans, skirts, knit tops, shirts, shoes, bags, etc and I list each like "KUT dark wash skinnies" or "black ponte pants".  I like Evernote because I can access it from any device- computer, ipad and phone. I can also add photos right in each note. I don't have pictures of all my clothes because I know them pretty well. In Evernote I have a note for each week where I record what I wore that week. I have one for weekends.  Then I also have a spreadsheet that lists everything by category too. I use this because I track how many times I wear my items. Mine is set up for 6 months' tracking at a time. I also include the brand name, where I bought it and the price because I also calculate cost per wear.  See, I said I go overboard. But to me it's fun! Laura (rhubarbgirl) on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307349 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:33:42 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1307349@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm with rachylou, I tend to manipulate the actual items themselves, i.e. go to the closet and pull things out, rather than have a spreadsheet or list, or photos of everything. I started taking photos for the Stylebook app, but never finished. I should really update that - it'd be a good thing to do while I'm procrastinating from doing real work. ;) I think it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Are you not wearing everything and you want to know what you have? Are you wanting to track your wears for CPW or future shopping purposes? If as you say you feel like you have a small closet that's crammed full, and a lot of stuff that needs to be altered, I'd pull everything out and then put back in just what you're wearing right now. Everything else should go somewhere else or in a box until you figure out what you want to keep and what you need to alter. rachylou on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307301 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:42:50 +0000 rachylou 1307301@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I would make a terrible, terrible bean counter. I'm more of the stand in front of the shelf and see if there's any room left type. This is essentially my process: <ol> <li>take everything down</li> <li>examine the condition</li> <li>set aside things in poor condition</li> <li>mull what I've got to pair with OK things - if nothing, the OK item also gets aside</li> <li>fold OK things neatly again</li> <li>sort like with like</li> <li>put back on the shelf</li> <li>...and see how high each stack is</li> </ol> I do separate into fall/winter and spring/summer. One set is always in bins in storage. deb on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307294 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:30:03 +0000 deb 1307294@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I started by just counting the items, jeans, pants, shorts, etc.  Then I went through and purged that items that were not in top condition. Yes, this part can be upsetting but the more you do it the easier it will be. This year I also started keeping track of my purchased item on a spread sheet. By the end of the year I will know the number of items I purchased, the cost and which groups have the largest number. viva on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307287 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:26:14 +0000 viva 1307287@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Melaine, I'm not sure I am the best to give advice here because I just took my first inventory and there are MANY women here who are much more skilled than I am in this area ... plus some of them are crazy-good with spreadsheets and if you want to really go down that path you will have lots of good tools sent your way. This is what I did. I started by simply counting, but along the way I realized that two things were also important to me -- (1) was it year-round or season-specific (just warm weather or just cold weather), and (2) was it casual and work and dressy, or just one of those?  I also created subcategories (under tops I had button-downs counted separately from tees/tanks, and under pants I had denim separate from others). So my spreadsheet ended up looking like this: Total tops: xx - Total button downs: xx --- button-downs for casual: xx (xx are year-round) --- button-downs for work: xx (xx are year-round) --- button-downs for dressy: xx (xx are year-round) - Total tee-style / cami/tank-style: xx --- tee-style / cami/tank-style for casual: xx (xx are year-round) --- tee-style / cami/tank-style for work: xx (xx are year-round) --- tee-style / cami/tank-style for dressy: xx (xx are year-round) I counted tops, bottoms, sweaters, skirts, dresses, and inside jackets/blazers. I did not count outerwear or loungewear or super casual cotton tees. I got a lot out of going through this process. I am aiming for a small wardrobe that is year-round and mostly interchageable work and casual.  Doing this exercise was extremely helpful to me and really helped me to see where my holes are and also where I have clothing that I need to start wearing!!! ETA: Also, as I was going through and counting, I made a "give away" pile of things I definitely wanted to get rid of (knew I was no longer wearing, or knew it was in bad shape), and a "holding pile" of possible give-aways. I came back to the holding pile at the end and made final decisions. Lastly I just want to say that there is no magic number. Some people are happy with a large wardrobe and some with a small. So don't be intimidated by large numbers. You'll find what's right for you. Good luck! Vivian Melaine on "How do you inventory your wardrobe?" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/how-do-you-inventory-your-wardrobe#post-1307279 Fri, 18 Jul 2014 18:15:37 +0000 Melaine 1307279@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I apologize for asking what has no doubt been asked and re-asked. I don't feel like I am great at searching on the forum, so I was hoping to get current responses from you guys. I am trying to shop smarter and I think I have improved a lot BUT I am noticing my shopping is snowballing again and I am not being deliberate. It is time for another shopping break, and I want to take stock of what I have before going back into the stores for Fall. I haven't posted any WIWs because I don't have a great camera option. I wish I could take photos of my outfits but I think the first step is to inventory. Do you use a spreadsheet, an app, pencil and paper? Do you categorize by season, item, color, etc? How specific do you get? I don't even know the names of all the different items TBH! So can I just write summer tops: 12 or should I break it down farther (there are way more than 12!). I am such a thrifter that I think the sheer numbers in my closet are going to be upsetting. Also, I have recently gone back to sewing (very much learning) and now that I am realizing I can alter some of my clothes so I am wanting to hang on to stuff. But too much is TOO much. My closet is small. I want to take control again!