https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:31:14 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1619409 Tue, 23 Feb 2016 01:19:56 +0000 rabbit 1619409@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Caro </b>- yes definitely, I have some high joy per wear clothes that only get worn a handful of times a year. &nbsp; Sometimes they were older than 2014, sometimes I offset part of the cost of that item with a little bit of consignment income so it they work into the overall spreadsheet balances (and I focus on the joy rather than the cost of that item).</p> <p>I note down my outfits daily and have a four point scale because that seems to work best for me: &nbsp;'meh, good, great' or sometimes 'really great'. &nbsp;I repeat the greats and really greats and try to learn from the mehs. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1619400 Tue, 23 Feb 2016 01:03:03 +0000 Caro in Oz 1619400@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fabulous insights, rabbit - thanks for sharing. I love your picks - they look very coherent.<br />I don't go into as much detail as you but I do find tracking CPW one of the most useful things I've ever done -it really clarifies where to put my money :)<br />Do you have any measurement for how you feel in your clothes? For me, JPW (joy per wear) can really outweigh a higher CPW on certain items. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1619187 Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:32:15 +0000 rabbit 1619187@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Suz</b> - yeah, your approach is basically what I did last year, and noticing what I naturally defaulted to wearing was helpful. &nbsp;I did try to incorporate less worn things at least a few times in their season, but I didn't focus as much on wearing my total wardrobe regularly as I did the first year.</p> <p><b>Joy</b> - I think it's helpful for those of us with bigger closets for sure. &nbsp;Also think about how many years you plan to keep a new item, and maybe set your mental CPW amount based on that --- the total wears over it's lifetime, not just in the first months.</p> <p>Hi five <b>cheryl</b> . Tracking wears I think was helpful in getting me to cut down on buying overall, and also to find out where I could spend a little more of my overall budget on something, because it would get more wear.</p> <p><b>Sally</b> - yeah I think that my CPW would be artifically low for many people, but I think whatever system of being mindful works is great. &nbsp;Having a slightly smaller wardrobe and buying less items yearly is my end goal.</p> <p><b>La Pedestrienne</b> - &nbsp;I'm sure that information about gear is tracked somewhere, I know my DH tracks his bike mileage over the year (there is a way you can do that for charity). &nbsp;Gear is hard because I think it's dependent on the intensity of use. &nbsp;Serious runners replace their shoes every few months I think? To avoid injury. &nbsp;I've had my hiking boots over a decade, maybe over 15 years? &nbsp;They've been to Europe, India, Thailand, Nepal, and backpacking in the Western US. &nbsp;But they haven't gotten regular daily use outside of trips. &nbsp;I wonder if the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree or something has threads about that... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618942 Sun, 21 Feb 2016 21:07:43 +0000 LaPed 1618942@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hmm, this is very interesting. I'm tempted to play the CPW game this year. I'm a thrifter and a clearance shopper too -- just doing some quick mental math I think a great deal of what I purchased last year is already under $1 per wear.&nbsp;</p> <p>For the gear-oriented among us, has anyone here ever calculated cost-per-mile on their running shoes or hiking boots? I'm always on the lookout for the perfect ratio of comfort:durability. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618929 Sun, 21 Feb 2016 19:33:25 +0000 Sal 1618929@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks Rabbit, fascinating. You keep thorough records and impressive CPW. I now keep a list of my purchases and price I pay, but I don't track the number of wears. While I don't buy a lot ( 23-24 pieces each year for the last two years) my cost per wear will be higher because few are thrifted or clearance sale items. </p> <p>It is great that you can use the information to plan future shopping, and that you have reduced your budget by such a large amount. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618882 Sun, 21 Feb 2016 16:10:30 +0000 cheryl 1618882@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fantastic insights. I love posts like this and it's great to see your low CPW. I have a small budget and buy clearance, sale and thrift so I have lower outlay per item than many people. I have a spreadsheet where I used to track purchases and wears but in the last year or so I haven't kept it updated. Your post has inspired me to get back on track. Thank you. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618771 Sun, 21 Feb 2016 02:42:11 +0000 Anonymous 1618771@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You have renewed my intention of tracking wears, especially new items.&nbsp; I find that this exercise encourages wearing my things and not saving them for special occasions.&nbsp; I am spending more on fewer items and hope that the CPW will not be scary. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618726 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 22:15:27 +0000 Suz 1618726@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>7 times boggles my mind, too, <b>Laura</b>. That is definitely not true for me. I feel awful if I don't wear an item more than that. Sure, mistakes occasionally happen and the odd item seems to self-destruct before I get that many wears, but many of my items get hundreds of wears before I let them go.&nbsp;</p> <p><b>rabbit</b>, thanks for elaborating. That makes sense to me. My jeans are pretty long-wearing, too, because I have lots of pairs and rotate. But I justify having a lot because I wear them often. I know the CPW on my jeans is on average super-low, even if a few pairs get less wear.&nbsp;</p> <p>I agree that it is really reassuring to do these numbers and realize that after the first crazed wardrobe-building phase, the over-buying doesn't tend to continue. I do think tracking wears is helpful for that. When I did it, it kept me busy with something other than shopping and was a constant reminder of clothing that was in the closet. I tried to track without expectation or judgement and didn't force myself to wear anything I wasn't naturally wearing, but I did *notice* if I wasn't wearing it and ask myself questions and go forward to the stores with a more informed idea of what I would actually use in future.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618720 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 21:17:59 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1618720@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love these kinds of posts so thank you. Weirdly, as someone who loves numbers and metrics, I've never managed to track wears consistently, so I don't know my CPW. I do keep track of how much I buy per year, though. I definitely bought less in 2015 than 2014; my goal for the year was actually to buy more expensive items. Like Suz I don't thrift/consignment shop anymore (I was just buying a bunch of stuff I didn't need because it was cheap), and since my budget stayed the same I bought a lot less. So far this year I'm on track to be about the same as last year, 5-10 items per quarter.</p> <p>Funny that you post this right as the Link Love was talking about some survey that said women wear their clothes an average of 7 times before getting rid of them. Only 7 times?? Boggles my mind. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618700 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 19:56:39 +0000 rabbit 1618700@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>aw thanks <b>Suz</b>, &nbsp;yeah definitely someone should adjust the dollar amount per wears to whatever feels right and aligns with their price/longevity sweet spot. &nbsp;</p> <p>I actually probably should adjust the average amount I actually spent/spend per item up in some categories -- like bags, given their wear patterns. &nbsp;(And durn I just missed buying a HEWI bag online &nbsp;because I was trying to avoid the 5$ shipping, it sold out in the minutes I was searching for an accompanying shipment item --- false economies and all that). &nbsp;</p> <p>Something like a coat or jacket should be likely to last longer than two years, five sounds like a good average. &nbsp;Two years was all I had data on, and also the point when I figured some thinner knitwear tops might be starting to pill and would need to get replaced. &nbsp;Also jeans could reasonably be 3+ years for example.</p> <p>I didn't track 'edits' as scientifically in 2014 because it was all much older clothes, but last year I started moving those to a spreadsheet page with all the price and wear data attached, so hopefully over time I can see where I really need to spend more $ to increase longevity. </p> <p>ETA: I bought more than 75 items my first year for sure, and over-bought in certain categories. &nbsp;But it's nice that it does settle down a bit in subsequent years when the core wardrobe is functioning and it's more about replacing/refreshing than building from scratch.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618697 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 19:40:32 +0000 Suz 1618697@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>ETA: I don't have the item type breakdown but my gross purchases included 75+ items in 2014 (depending whether snow boots and PJs figure into the total) and, by comparison, 45 items in 2015.&nbsp;</p> <p>I also did a huge amount of wardrobe building in 2013 (which may have been my biggest buying year). I'm now lucky enough to have a working closet and mostly replacing worn items/ upgrading and using a very rough one-in-one out principle.&nbsp;</p> <p>It looks as if I am buying fewer items but since I don't buy on consignment or at thrift any more (or not often) this means the costs are higher and so this is what I can reasonably manage.&nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618696 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 19:34:33 +0000 Suz 1618696@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>rabbit,</b> thank you so much for this post. (And again, it is such a treat to have you back on the forum more regularly!) I have not been tracking wears this year but intend to resume in the spring since I did find it illuminating.&nbsp;</p> <p><i>"I take the average wears of any type of item over the two years totalled, and I felt confident buying at that number x 1$." &nbsp;<br /></i><br />That's a great way to do things. For those not buying thrift/ consignment the number might have to be a bit higher, I suppose. Maybe $2 &nbsp;x average wears? Or maybe not. Just thinking on the page here. Items that last longer (for me, blazers) could be averaged out over the course of their years in the closet. I keep most of my blazers four or five years at least. So if I wear one, say, 20 times in a year, then I could justify a higher price tag.&nbsp;</p> <p>I really like the addition of blush, white/ off white, and reds to your closet.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618650 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 16:07:48 +0000 Angie 1618650@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>WOW. You are VERY dedicated with the numbers! Fabulous insights. Rock on.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618639 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 15:28:50 +0000 celia 1618639@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, I am really impressed with everything here. The amount of items you bought, the cpw ( and the fact that you can actually track it ). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618558 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 03:47:47 +0000 rabbit 1618558@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>shedev </b>- yeah, I think that CPW goals really have to be an individual thing. &nbsp;My goals were set based on my budget, and partly on my desire to explore and try a lot of new things at a low price point, and partly on my shopping habits (clearance, thrift, off-price) and that I did have time for the hunt. &nbsp;If I factored in the time spent hunting into the cost of an item I eventually brought home and kept? It would be a lot higher.</p> <p>thanks <b>sterling </b>- I'm also looking at this and wondering at why I bought ~13 skirts in 2014 but only ended up wearing them an average of three times each last year, same with scarves (and also tights which I didn't list). &nbsp;I think a big part was initial over-buying, and then a shift in favorite FFBO's.</p> <p><b>Muffin</b> - if it's something that's fun for you to do it can be illuminating and I've found it a help with mindful outfit creation and shopping with a larger wardrobes. &nbsp;Other people have other systems (like smaller wardrobes and one in, one out) which seem to work great.</p> <p><b>Jenn </b>- the short answer is yes, I'd plan to spend ~$10 on a dress (from thrift or clearance). &nbsp;Of course for a special occasion like an event or wedding I'd spend more, but I don't need dresses for work, and I don't wear them often, they tend to be fun summertime frocks. &nbsp;</p> <p>If I totally found something that was amazing and never to be seen again I'd balance out whether I'm willing and likely to wear it more -- my price guidelines are averages, not hard and fasts. &nbsp; So for jackets I might have spent 135$ on a leather jacket, but also got coats/jackets for around 25$, and the average over two years for the wear of a jacket/coat is 43 wears. &nbsp;</p> <p>I also reduced a few higher ticket items by taking old clothes to consignment and counting that income against the cost of a coat for example. &nbsp;And some things just blow my estimates &nbsp;but work out over time or as part of the overall budget/CPW for all categories -- but tracking makes me mindful about those exceptions.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618555 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 03:32:26 +0000 rachylou 1618555@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lots of insights! My goal this year is to track what I buy... See what kind of use I get. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618553 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 03:24:20 +0000 Jenn 1618553@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, this is really fascinating! You're making me want to do better tracking, so I can geek out over numbers.&nbsp;</p> <p>Trying to understand what I'm seeing... If your dresses got an average of 3 wears this year, and 6 last year, that would be 9 wears over the two years. Does that mean you're only willing to spend $9 on a dress? That seems low! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618550 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 03:09:34 +0000 Muffin 1618550@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow- I love the analysis (&amp; your clothing choices). I've only recently been tracking my purchases but haven't started on my tracking my outfits or cpw--squad goals (as the young people say, or said last year). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618544 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 02:42:35 +0000 Anonymous 1618544@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am pretty damn impressed. &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618529 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 02:00:05 +0000 shedev 1618529@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, your CPWs are really low. Last year I calculated my avg CPWs too and I have the same goal of not buying in low avg catagories. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618521 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 01:44:23 +0000 rabbit 1618521@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>2015 average wears per item listed are during that year only, not cumulative (cumulative is reflected in average CPW = cost per wear)</p> <p><b>Accessories: 51, 2014 was 50</b><br />10 bags, av wears 31, av CPW 0.28, versus 2014 7 bags, av wears 50, av CPW 0.27<br />9 belts, av wears 27, av CPW 0.27, versus 2014 9 belts, av wears 21, av CPW 0.38<br />12 scarves, av wears 3, av CPW 0.50, versus 14 scarves, av wears 8, av CPW 0.57<br />20 shoes, av wears 16, av CPW 0.63, 2014 was 20 shoes, av wears 21, av CPW 0.67 </p> <p><b>Toppers: 21, 2014 was 18</b><br />10 cardigans, av wears 4, av CPW 0.67, versus 2014 10 cardigans, av wears 10, av CPW 0.79<br />11 jackets/coats, av wears 22, av CPW 0.99, versus 2014 8 jackets/coats, av wears 21, av CPW 0.88</p> <p><b>Core Wardrobe: 74, 2014 was 86</b><br />7 dresses, av wears 3, av CPW 0.43 versus 2014 6 dresses, av wears 6, av CPW 0.50<br />14 pants/jeans, av wears 20, CPW 0.40, versus 2014 13 pants/jeans, av wears 16, av CPW 0.54<br />13 skirts, av wears 2, CPW 0.62, versus 2014 15 skirts, av wears 9, av CPW 0.71 <br />32 tops, av wears 7, CPW 0.54, versus 2014 43 tops, av wears 7, av CPW 0.71 <br />8 sweaters, av wears 12, CPW 0.57, versus 2014 9 sweaters, av wears 10, av CPW 0.83</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/late-2015-numbers-post-year-in-review-long#post-1618519 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 01:39:02 +0000 rabbit 1618519@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is ahem, a little late, but I wanted to put it down for myself for posterity. In 2014 I joined YLF and majorly overhauled my wardrobe, bought a ton of things, but also started tracking wears and costs in Excel to try to get below personal goal of $1 cost per wear at the end of 2014:&nbsp;<a rel="nofollow" href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/first-ylf-year-in-review-a-numbers-and-cpw-and-complete-wardrobe-overhaul-post-long">http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ete-wardro</a></p> <p><b>In 2015 I discovered:</b></p> <p>-I bought a <b>lot</b> less, 15 pieces over the year which all went into fairly heavy rotation.&nbsp;<br />-I kept editing my wardrobe bit by bit, mostly legacy items or tees bought very early in 2014 before I'd figured out a style direction.<br />-Because I bought much less, while I spent a little more per item, I was able to keep a budget goal of under half of what I spent in 2014 (actually about 1/4.)<br />-I focused more on adding toppers and pants which got high wear. In 2014 I went overboard on tops, leggings, tights, scarves and skirts, so I didn't buy any of the last 4 categories and culled more tops than I bought. <br />-I wore less of my overall closet regularly, the new 2015 clothes got some of the heaviest wear, and I wore less skirts/dresses and their accompaniments, and more sweaters, boots/oxfords, coats/jackets and jeans. I think this was mainly due to weather and activities.<br />-I didn't focus on decreasing CPW as heavily as I did in 2014 with a flood of new clothes, but I did generally aim to get individual items and categories under $.50 CPW. It's a work in progress, but gave me a ballpark price range. &nbsp;I take the average wears of any type of item over the two years totalled, and I felt confident buying at that number x 1$.<br />-I kept track of high happiness outfits and with a limited palette and narrow group of silhouettes in my closet it was pretty easy to create them.</p> <p><b>Goals for 2016:</b></p> <p>-booties in other colors besides black since they are a constant year round, I also have one pair of sandals (black gladiators) and could use a light or bright pair in a current style. Shoes really have to be comfortable though to get worn much, maybe a bright sneaker?<br />-replace a white sweater or two, get a longer white belt (I gained weight), maybe replace b/w leather sneakers.<br />-fun bags still get tons of wear, my preferred shapes are backpacks, clutches, and very light cross-bodies.<br />-try to stick with the 2015 'maintenance' budget and keep purchases in balance with culls so the closet size doesn't grow. <br />-don't buy more stuff in the categories with low average wears last year</p> <p>My purchases for last year are pictured, and below are the numbers if on the off chance you are a geek about this like me. ;)&nbsp;</p> <p>If you actually made it through this, how did you find your purchasing or wear patterns changed from year to year? &nbsp;How do you anticipate this year looking different or the same? </p>