For those who might be interested, here are all the gory details. Since I returned my last 2 white jeans today and am keeping the foil shirt and hoping it just softens with wear I'm calling it a wrap officially for the year.
Return costs are 7.5% of my spending this year. Sheesh. Gift money of $100 for B-day and $100 for xmas was included, so all told $1400 budget, but only the planned $1200 out of pocket. I will call it a success, even if I did buy 36 items rather than the 24, or the lofty 12.

Wow. This is so organized.

Is there an App for this? I need some help to set it all up. But I think it could be so useful.

Suz, I am so app stupid I can't begin to tell you! This is simply a windows template on my laptop that I doctored up to use. I'll see if I can't figure out which one I grabbed.

Mo, would you share your thoughts on the right-hand column, "Cost per Wear <$20". Is $20 your CPW target for the higher priced items? Would love to know your thought process.

Oh, Carter, I am not as organized as one would think . . . so that is my CPW threshold, if you will. Items with over $20 CPW are on my 'hit list'. When a new item that is kind of $$ for me comes into the closet, I put tally marks next to it to its total value - each tally being $20. As I wear something, I remove a mark. Once all the tallies are gone, it has gotten below $20 CPW. I started this when I began buying things over $100 and kept doing it last year with any and all items, most of which get worn soon enough to not get on the list.
Suz, I found the dang template!! It's under MicrosoftWorks Fundraising category.

This was a great read, thanks for posting Mo!

I haven't tracked how many clothing items I bought this year, but I did buy 5 pairs of shoes & received 2 others as gifts, which is a pretty dramatic amount of shoes for me. Especially since 2 were bought retail at $160 and $180! The other 3 were ebay'ed and came to around $75 all together, which gives you a sense of how much I usually spend on shoes. I was definitely in a shoe wardrobe building year, and all of the shoes have seen a lot of use, so I think they were good purchases, although we'll see how well they hold up over the next few years.

For most of the year, I visited the thrift store on the way home from the library, which is a weekly event for me. I didn't always find something, but some days I'd find 5 things, so I'm sure I'm at least at the US average! *runs off to closet*

Ok, from what I remember, and I tried to err on the side of 'if in doubt include in count,' I'm at 55 clothing items, two of which were gifts. That doesn't include intimates, but I don't think I bought any hosiery or bras (did knit 2 pairs of socks), although I did do an undie refresher in the spring with 7 pairs or accessories, of which I think I bought 1 scarf, 1 summer hat (and knit 2 hats), and maybe 4 belts.

At the beginning of the year, I was still in wardrobe rebuilding mode after figuring out my style goals, so it makes sense that the total represents more than a quarter of my wardrobe (and I likely culled almost as many as I brought in), but now I definitely need to switch to refinement/maintenance mode! At my current numbers, my clothes will probably take years to wear out, which feels good to me since I love them all so much, but on the other hand doesn't allow much space for significant style shifts.

Thanks, Mo!! I also just downloaded something that might work for an app...I'm going to see. This might be a better bet for me in fact. Simpler!

Thanks, Mo! I doubt that I will ever be as analytical as you, but you inspired me to keep track of my purchases and their amounts last year. I also tracked their full price and how much I paid, which averaged 61%. I spent and bought way more than I intended, especially on items that were not on my *list*. Interestingly enough, presence on a list was not necessarily correlated with how often I wore an item or was sometimes negatively correlated!

Next year, my purchases will have to go way down since DH plans to retire in January. At the very least, I need to replace my Dansko Pros and a bra or two. But of course, I will end up buying much more. A huge goal is not to make footwear mistakes, but with my fussy feet problem footwear doesn't always make itself known after merely walking around the house.

thanks. I've got mistakes, too. I tried on the white maxi dress again this evening and compared it to a green halter I've had for 4 or 5 years. No contest. The maxi just isn't flattering without work and perfect belt placement. It's gotta go. One of my more expensive purchases, even at just $75. Oh, well. Maybe I'll get half the value back in resale. No more non returnable purchases! Onward and upward.

I love watching your posts on these topics. This year I purchased (or received as gifts) 22 items (not including undies and socks, but including gear and big accessories-- bags and shoes). Next year, based on calculations of what I need/hope to buy for 2014, I am aiming for 32 pieces (not including bras, undies, socks, and a couple pieces of loungewear if I have the budget but including the 2 pieces of gear I have on my list). However, since I like to shop seasonally on a minimal scale then add a piece or two throughout the season as I find something or need something it makes more sense to think about that being 3-4 pieces now to get me through winter, 10 pieces in the spring and 3 as summer goes along, 12 in the fall/NAS, and 4 in Nov/Dec for winter-weight sweaters and style refreshers. Next year I expect the number to be slightly lower, I won't be buying as many shoes and toppers but might need to add a second handbag and coat, and refresh gear and staples like jeans, layering tops, button downs, and running gear.

This was a great thread, thank you everyone ( Mo ! )

I have absolutely no idea how much I bought. UGH ! My problem isn't clothes...it is accessories. So the clothes ( maybe 10 ) and shoes ( 3 for Spring ) were not a lot but the other stuff probably was. I bought no hand bags. I have been downsizing and gave away a whole lot of stuff again. I also packed away some jeans, I felt that I had too many.

How do you decide you need or want 40-60 pieces a year ( outside of wardrobe building ) ? Do you get bored with your clothes ? I went overboard the last couple of years because I gained a lot of weight. But now that I am stable and very happy with my clothes, I just don't feel that I want or need that much. : )