This is a companion piece to my 2020 review https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/2020-review, but I kept it separate due to its statistical vs philosophical leanings!

Having become intrigued by the concept of counting wear opportunities for garments, and the idea that crossing the threshold of 30 wears is a litmus check of use, I decided to ‘count wears’ of essential garments from my wardrobe for 1 year. Specifically, I counted tops and bottoms, or one piece items - such as a dress. I didn’t count toppers, outerwear, accessories, or sports kit/gear. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but I definitely learned from the experiment, and will implement what I learned going into 2021 and beyond.

#1 - ‘30 wears’ is a conservative estimate for longevity of an item - particularly a well made garment. The pants I wore the most (a pair of jeans) were new in October 2019, and in 2020 I wore them 72 times! They were mid priced jeans ($135) that I got at half price. I will probably get one more year out of them before the fabric gives way at my main wear point. Second place for bottoms - white jeans from 2018 that were converted to shorts this summer and worn 39 times after the conversion. They look and feel like brand new, so still lots of wear left in this garment. The most worn tops were 3 Boden striped t-shirts from 2019 that saw 22-25 wears each this year. They will probably last one more year. I did dispatch two striped t-shirts (about 15 wears each) that I liked very much for their colour-ways, but they did not last the year in my closet, because they did not hold up, which leads me to....

#1 Fabric composition. I learned a lot about the durability of fabric from this experiment, and if there is anything I’ve learned it is a new respect for some fabrics (wool and some synthetics!) and a slight falling out of love with 100% cotton. Throw a little nylon or polyester into the cotton mix, or even 100% synthetics (polyester mesh) plus some spandex for stretch, and you’ve got a winner. Rayon, Viscose, and Elastane in any but the tiniest (1-2%) are to be avoided (by me.). I absolutely detest when a garment that fits at try-on time ‘grows’ with body heat, and stretches out of shape. The striped shirts that didn’t make the cut? They seemed to grow a size with every wash and became distorted and unattractive. This ‘growing’ was the number one reason for dispatched/donated clothes this year! Though cotton can be comfortable, as a woven you need to go for very high end quality (like fine men’s shirts) to get any kind of durability or colour fastness and cotton knits need special treatment to keep their shape and colour - which leads me to.....

#4 Laundering is the bane of garment durability! There are a few magic spandex blend gear type fabrics that seem to last 20 years with no special treatment, but for the most part, it is the laundering process that puts stress on most garments vs the actual wearing! Midway through this experiment of counting wears, I started line drying more of my garments, and I firmly believe this has increased the durability, and improved the appearance, of the items I selected for special treatment. Wearing an undershirt or slip under some garments, and an apron when cooking or doing messy tasks, reduced chances of dirty mishaps and more frequent laundering. Giving clothes a break to ‘air’’ between wears is another good habit.