https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:16:39 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236342 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 19:26:47 +0000 Angie 2236342@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It's hard to plan accurately in advance, isn't it! Especially in a global pandemic and with all sorts of lifestyle changes. </p> <p><b>Minaminu</b>, your plan sounds good and I wish you luck! May I suggest keeping thoughts and plans flexible. Needs do change, and it might be more realistic and less stressful to not expect wardrobe items to work &nbsp;for every future scenario. If your needs are covered for a season or two - you are doing smashingly well! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236317 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 17:56:24 +0000 rachylou 2236317@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>When I first arrived on YLF it radically changed my wardrobe—I stopped buying dinner gowns, lol! That was major. And I think it’s safe to say dressing for dinner is not only dead but passed into sketchy historical myth territory.</p> <p>When the pandemic started, it really changed nothing for me. But a year in, I went from full time on the bench at the bakery to half bench/half office. I started wearing my old office clothes again. </p> <p>… I don’t know whether or not it was good to hang on to those old office clothes. It’s not like with the dinner dresses. Half of those office clothes still have no occasion, but it’s nice to have had clothes ready to go. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236245 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 14:44:13 +0000 Anonymous 2236245@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My days are pretty much the same, but what I wear is mostly determined by weather and activities, if any. &nbsp;I like to be ready to run out &nbsp;to do errands or a casual lunch without having to change. &nbsp;If I know that I will be sitting on the floor or climbing I wear pants. &nbsp;In fall a topper is a must when the sun is not out, like early morning and evening, sometimes all day when cloudy.&nbsp;</p> <p>Also, laundry must be considered. &nbsp;I never wear the same thing two days in a row, but put many in a wardrobe holding zone for a second wear. &nbsp;I need to duplicate sock colors and footwear, undies, white pants and some basics or there will be a laundry bottleneck. &nbsp;Also, number of tops per bottom. &nbsp;I like three tops of different weights or styles, especially sleeve length. &nbsp;</p> <p>I learned on this site to figure out my main season and buy or plan for it. &nbsp;The main season used to be hot summer weather. &nbsp;Now it is cool transitional falls and springs. &nbsp;Lighter toppers and sleeve length has become more important. Consider your major season. &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236228 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 13:42:02 +0000 Minaminu 2236228@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Stagiaire Fash</b> makes a valid point about repeating things, I'd also add to the mix that, in my case, I also have to consider the limited storage space (my wardrobe is 85cm in width, outwear is stored elsewhere but that's it). <b>Suz </b>&nbsp;indeed thank goodness that we like a Classic style, make things a lot easier! I don't really mind repeating and mixing things up - I wonder if it is something that is culturally more acceptable than in some countries than others. My French side of the family have smaller wardrobes and repeat few items on a continuous basis, but they are extremely good with their laundry routines and as <b>Cat2 </b>suggested, I guess the summer weather helps to keep a good routine! Today for instance I am wearing my pink jumper, not only because I love it but also because the rest is still to be washed and dried (and for several reasons, I don't want to use a dryer).<br /><b>Jenava </b>and <b>Sal</b>, the beauty of this exercise is that you can allocate a category and describe the clothing that you would wear, so you can identify how many pieces it would be good to have for holidays or conferences. I find it very informative and eye-opening for the present time and&nbsp;<b>Shevia </b>is wise to question about life after the pandemic. My guess is that a complete u-turn to the pre-pandemic times won't happen and it'll be more a question of learning to live with this and other pandemics, as it has been happening in Asia for the last 10-15 years. Personally, I'd dread to be working full time in an office again as I noticed that office politics are less active when WFH.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;If everything goes to plan, this will be my last office job and I am planning to do a big move in a few years' time, I need to take this under consideration too.&nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />I wonder if direct replacements could be the solution for 2022, albeit a bit boring :S</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236172 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 03:06:00 +0000 Suz 2236172@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I find this useful, and fascinating. I have done similar calculations in the past and they helped me with wardrobe building in more predictable times. Like you (as you know!) I have a fairly classic style and I agree, this makes it easier to put certain items away for months or even a year at a time and know they will still work when conditions for wearing them change. Even so, <b>Staglaire Fash </b>makes a good point regarding wears -- even though in percentage terms we "should" need fewer clothes for public facing roles, in real life terms, we often need even <b>more</b> of those items, for the reasons she explains.&nbsp;</p> <p>Having said all of that, I believe 100% in considering what you actually <b>do,</b> asking yourself how much laundry you're willing or able to do, and then calculating wardrobe percentages based on that --- along with seasonal needs and, as above, factoring the greater need for variety in forward-facing roles.&nbsp;</p> <p>I've returned to classroom teaching three days a week and I'm amazed how many more clothes I need! Whoa! It's not a question fo laundry bottlenecks. It's the need for variety and office-practicality (different from WFH practicality). Then, when I get home, I want loungewear in a way I never wanted when I was purely WFH. And of course I still need gear for workouts and hikes! It adds up.&nbsp;</p> <p>Next semester I will only be on campus one day a week -- big change again! I won't buy anything "office ready" at all -- I suspect I can make do with what I have, apart from updated footwear.&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236168 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 02:47:59 +0000 Jaime 2236168@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is very interesting. My main question for you and others is whether you are&nbsp;sure you will not be returning to work when the pandemic subsides? Again speaking from my experience in Israel, where all pandemic things seem to happen early, people are now back in the office at least part time, and overall life has returned more or less to pre-pandemic outing levels.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236163 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 00:53:20 +0000 Sal 2236163@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It is a great exercise to do - and I can see why it is challenging in these times.&nbsp; Office wear does have longevity so that helps if pieces don't get a lot of wear.</p> <p>And the seasons make sense too - if you take a two week break in winter or summer that can reduce your work days in those peak seasons.</p> <p>NZ feels very out of sync with the pandemic - we had the hard lockdown, followed by 14 months of absolute freedom (except for travel) and now are back in restrictions whilst everyone else is at the newer stage of less restrictions unless self imposed.....&nbsp; And my work is very casual so working from home and the office are not very different.&nbsp; I developed a smart office capsule which means I have 2-3 outfits to wear all year that work for those rarer events.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>My main change has been less conferences and client meetings, no overseas travel, and less parties/events (recently). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236137 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 20:22:39 +0000 Jenava 2236137@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ah, this appeals to me so much! Thanks for sharing. I feel I don't need even a spreadsheet to calculate this, as my life has become extrmely simplified during pandemic. 70% SFH, 28% casual weekend with young children, and 2% holiday/night out.&nbsp; And of course we need to split our actual items out by season, right?&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236133 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:47:35 +0000 cat2 2236133@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>On the laundry point, I did piece counts by category for each of Summer and Not-Summer and figured out where the gaps were — long sleeve Ts, jeans and things like scarves and gloves don’t make their way into my closet without me making a special effort — and worked on first filling those. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236132 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:44:07 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2236132@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The “should be” vs “is” data is interesting. It brings to mind a further complication: do we want to repeat things the same amount of times as all other categories? </p> <p>I’m thinking of my days teaching and researching/writing. Teaching was 9 contact hours per week, plus a few office hours, meetings, and time on-campus between things, so a total of ~20 hours. A certain professional appearance was called for. Grading, class prep, reading, and writing were done at home, 30-40 hrs per week. So it looks like I needed almost twice as many items for the WFH portion of my day as for the campus stuff. </p> <p>In reality, I often spent a couple hours writing in the middle of the night or early morning before my small child got up, so no clothes were called for, and in the other hours comfort reigned over all other priorities in choosing what to wear, so two heavy sweatshirts got me through the winter and I very, very often wore one of two identical pairs of jeans. For classes, I never wore the same thing twice in a row, and generally didn’t repeat within a week for a class (but I would wear the same thing for two days of teaching in a week if no classes were repeated). I had to plan laundry carefully so things would be ready for teaching days. I probably could have used a few more pieces there. </p> <p>I’m eyeing your special events as another example. I have sometimes subscribed to concert series consisting of maybe one event per month. That sounds like I would just need one dressy option for summer and one for winter. In reality, I prefer to wear different things from one concert to the next. Probably not a different outfit for every concert, but maybe 4 for a series that ran fall-spring. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236131 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 19:17:25 +0000 Minaminu 2236131@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>SungTiger,&nbsp;</b>great minds think alike! Here in the UK, there are mainly 2 seasons (warm or cold, with very few weeks of a heatwave). So when I look at this percentages, I also split it per season and there is a noticeable discrepancy. </p> <p>Here's an example of my&nbsp;<b>2022 </b>needs versus what I actually have <ul> <li> <p>Quality Casual should be 68%, cold season is actually 26%, warm season is actually 30%</li> <li>Smart Casual&nbsp; <p>should be 8%, cold season is actually 15%, warm season is actually 30%</li> <li>Business Casual&nbsp; <p>should be 12%, cold season is actually 28 %, warm season is actually 17%</li> <li>Business Formal&nbsp; <p>should be 8%, cold season is actually 13%, warm season is actually 22%</li> <li>Special occasion&nbsp; <p>should be 4%, cold season is actually 17%, warm season is actually 6%</li> </ul> So, I am not surprised I am struggling with the current wardrobe!</p> <p><b>Cat2</b>. glad to hear I am not the only one stuck in this current situation! Agree that the best approach is to put on hold any major purchases and try to mix what we currently have!&nbsp; Interestingly, I wouldn't mind either reducing the number of pieces in my wardrobe, but my worry is always to run out of pieces if I miss the laundry!</p> <p><b>Stagiaire Fash</b>, interesting point! I don't think there is a right or wrong approach to fix this situation, hence why I am asking around on how people overcome this type of situation. It's interesting to hear that you built an autumn capsule before heading to Berlin, smart move and it must have definitely taken off some stress of moving into a new place!</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236116 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 17:52:37 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2236116@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What’s the appropriate attire for hours of mucking around online? Asking for a friend, of course. ;)</p> <p>Seriously though, your exercise makes good sense, with the caveat that ST raised—how do you use data from the past to plan for a different future? I’ve commented before on my experience here, that when I wanted to plan for the move that was less than a year away, the ylf chorus said to build my wardrobe for my current life. So I did it on the sly, building seasonal capsules as I went through the year, then packing each with a few additional items to account for climactic differences. My first one, for Florida fall, was the best. I assumed (correctly) that I wouldn’t wear the black capris here, added black pants instead, ls base layers to wear under the sweatshirt, etc. Would’ve been nice to have peoples helpful comments on thst, but really, just getting the fall capsule together in the first place was a big deal. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236068 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 13:56:46 +0000 cat2 2236068@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am in the same boat. For so many years I had a shopping routine that kept my business and casual wardrobes stocked, and me ready for the different climates I travel to, and I have had to put a pause on all of that to figure out new patterns. I have been spending the last few years remixing what I have with a few sort of make-do casual pieces but am now trying to figure out how to build moving forward. It feels like I may need a lot less, which is sort of an odd thing for me! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236019 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 11:38:15 +0000 Anonymous 2236019@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That's kind of like my theory of PUPY value, but mine takes climate into consideration as my summer and winter wardrobes are completely seperate.<br /> I'm moving away from the idea of shopping for actual life though. It works if you're planning to stay the same as far as work/retirement or climate, but can lead to overbuying when it's time to change. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/lifestyle-changes-wardrobe-planning#post-2236005 Wed, 03 Nov 2021 09:24:47 +0000 Minaminu 2236005@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>There have been several posts about accepting/planning lifestyle changes and how difficult it is to plan/make it reflect on our wardrobes.</p> <p>Over the last year,&nbsp;I have been struggling as well to synch my small wardrobe with my lifestyle. My wardrobe is still based on the lifestyle that I had back in 2019, when my time was structured with 4/5 days in the office, several internal and external meetings, networking, etc. I realise that this is not reflecting the current lifestyle nor what I am planning to do in a couple of years' time. This is something that I need to take under consideration, as I want to continue to purchase pieces that have a longevity in my wardrobe.</p> <p>Few years ago, I read a book about wardrobe planning and it had a fab exercise.&nbsp;I re-did an exercise, slightly tweaked it to better reflect the current times, and I think it could be beneficial to other fabbers, so I am posting it now as it could be helpful when planning the 2022 shopping list ;): <ol> <li>Look at the diary for a recent 4 weeks period that shows a typical example&nbsp;</li> <li>Go through the diary and how you spent the day, adding the appropriate level of dress and the situation.</li> <li>Add up and write the total for each level and % (number of days divided by total level in weeks)</li> </ol> Simple, isn't it? </p> <p>I have attached a screen shot of my calculations as the results made me consider a few points.</p> <p>When I compare the results of 2019&nbsp; and this year (and what I am planning to do for the next few years!), it clearly shows some changes!</p> <p>The&nbsp;initial thought was that I am glad that I like a classic style, as I can&nbsp; put in an holding zone some items that I do not need now but will need next year or so - and this is fine for me as these pieces are essentials and I love wearing them in the right environment. It's like seeing an old dear friend again :).</p> <p>I've also been thinking about possible weight loss (for health reasons) and even if I reduce my weight, I would be very happy to keep on wearing my current tops in a loose way, so I am happy to have invested in these and will continue to do so in the next purchases. Being pear shaped (and WFH, plus working on loosing some weight), makes me think that the bottom pieces can be of less quality than the tops since I will need to replace them more often due to fit.</p> <p>It also helped me understand why my 2021 shopping has been such a challenge! I mainly bought direct replacements and focused on balancing the palette of my wardrobe with lighter shades - it's now getting easier to mix things up and looks more curated. My 2021 budget shows that so far I purchased 21 pieces, 14 of them were direct replacements and the remaining purchases were an alternative style/fit to previous items. Overall, I kept the same number of pieces in my wardrobe but I am slowly shifting the level of dressing to match my lifestyle.&nbsp;</p> <p>It'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on this exercise and how it made you consider your wardrobe! </p>