Hello dear ladies,

I haven’t been around for a while and I’ve missed you. Life has been busy and stressful, and for a long time I didn’t feel much interest in fashion, dressing, or shopping. I’m also going through a not-so-fun transition—hot flashes, weight gain, poor sleep, irritability, anxiety… the whole package.

Still, I’ve kept up with my wardrobe tracking habit, and now I think it’s time to reevaluate it—and maybe get your thoughts. This weekend, with the seasons changing, I finally have a moment to look back at how my spring/summer wardrobe worked and start planning for fall/winter.

A little background: years ago, I split my wardrobe into six capsules, with each item assigned to just one—whichever made the most sense. The capsules were similar in size and structure. Three are for spring/summer and three for fall/winter, and each seasonal set is divided by color: dark neutral, light neutral, and accent color.

Back then, my wardrobe was much bigger—each capsule had over 30 items. Now it’s down to 20 per capsule, and that includes almost everything: coats, shoes, even loungewear like sweatpants, t-shirts, tank tops, and shorts. Accessories (bags, belts, scarves, gloves, hats) are tracked too, but they’re so streamlined now they don’t add much to the total.

I’m constantly reviewing and adjusting the capsules to reflect what I actually wear. For example, each of my spring/summer capsules used to have three blazers and three dresses—now I’m down to just one of each. My original goal was to keep an item for about five years and wear it 6–7 times per season, which would average out to once a month and ideally 30 wears over its lifetime. But I just didn’t have enough opportunities to wear nine summer dresses that often, so I’ve gradually reduced that number.

Right now I’m evaluating the number of blazers in my fall/winter capsules. I currently have two per capsule, but I’m thinking of cutting that down to one. I just don’t wear them much anymore—especially with hot flashes, cardigans are more practical. Easier to peel off, easier to stuff in a bag, easier to wash. I’m also reconsidering my thick wool sweaters and turtlenecks. I think it’s time to swap some of those for lighter layers.

I’m doing all of this slowly. I only remove something if I haven’t reached for it in over a year. But looking at my spring/summer outfits and tracking numbers, I’ve realized that trying to hit 6–7 wears per item might be a mistake. First, the numbers aren’t organic—they’re forced, so they don’t really show what I love. Second, I sometimes wear things just to boost their numbers, and the outfit suffers. Like when I’d prefer a white blouse but wear navy instead just to even things out. The outfit is fine, but it doesn’t make me as happy.

So I’ve decided that starting this fall/winter season, I won’t force myself to wear anything. I’ll just aim for the best outfits possible—the ones that make me feel good—and let the numbers shape themselves. I know the wears will be less balanced, and some clear favorites will emerge. I’ll probably repeat outfits more, and that’s okay.

This shift is also affecting my color palette. I’m leaning into brown as my dark neutral, beige as my light neutral, and more muted accent colors like camel, burgundy, and gray. I’m not going to push myself to wear colors that don’t feel right anymore.

I’m curious to see how this goes. Will my capsules shrink even more? Will I feel happier—or maybe get bored?

Right now, each of my three fall/winter capsules includes:

• 1 long-sleeve t-shirt
• 4 sweaters (varied weights and necklines)
• 1 sweatshirt
• 1 cardigan
• 1 blazer
• 1 jeans
• 1 dress pants
• 1 casual pants
• 1 skirt
• 1 jacket
• 1 coat
• 1 boots
• 1 booties
• 1 sneakers
• 1 sweatpants
• 1 dress
• 1 shirt

That’s 20 items total per capsule.

I know this kind of wardrobe tracking isn’t everyone’s thing, and I hope I don’t sound completely crazy. But I really enjoy numbers, rules, planning, and analyzing—it’s what I do for a living, actually.

Sorry for the long post out of the blue. I’d love any feedback or suggestions you might have.

Has anyone else shifted from tracking wears to focusing on joy? How did it go for you?