Wise words, Denise Thanks.

I think you are right, Mo! That is a great question! What is driving the need?

I think that question discrimates between the relief of a purchase followed by disavowal (binge-purge), versus the obsession to accumulate, versus experimentation with room for mistakes.

Power to you, CocoLion!

Serial purger here, stepping up to the confession booth.

But here's the thing. Can I confess if I feel no guilt?

Truly -- I had, essentially no wardrobe, and no style, before YLF. So I started buying stuff and experimenting. Lots of it came from consignment or discount stores or was purchased on sale. Regardless, 2.5 years on, a huge amount of that stuff is gone. And new stuff has taken its place. But I'm okay with that. I don't feel bulimic.

I expect to slow down my edits over the next year or so. I'm getting clearer on what works for me. The more clear I am, the more I can hang onto for longer periods. So now it has become more of a process of one-in-one-out.

I like new things. I like trying new styles. I like trying trends. So this is going to continue. Not at the same rate every year, but I'll definitely be refreshing every season.

So, I guess that's another question -- and one that probably has no easily agreed on answer: What's "bulimic" and what's a "refresher." On the extreme ends we can probably all agree. An entirely new wardrobe when there's no external reason for it (move, weight change, job change, pregnancy) -- that's probably over the top for most of us. One or two new items per season, that's probably a refresher. But what about the grey areas?

Very wise words Denise.

Much of what I have purged came from ages ago. I kept them because one day I was going to fit back into them. 10 years later I still haven't. Or 8 years in some cases. I had several boxes of clothes I had been saving to get back into.

I have recently come to terms with the fact that I will probably not fit back into these clothes. Ever. So I parted with them and haven't looked back.

I have also been slowly letting go of pieces that are uncomfortable, no matter how nice they are or what I paid for them . .

Yes, I am living in that grey area right now. I don't need new stuff. But I want it. And yet, and yet - I often find myself in gear or lounge clothes. I admittedly can't wear what I already have often enough each year. What is my motivation? Am I trying to create the 'perfect' wardrobe? Shopping to fill an empty day to day? Buying because I know we have a lot more money here to play with than when we return home? All of the above?
And it is even a problem, or simply an observation?

Bwahahaha, Suz! Only you, and I and, um, the whole world will hear your confession.....

Yes, of course, there are always grey areas in life. If only life were as simple as black and white........!

But what you are describing sounds like experimentation rather than purge with disavowal.

Interesting question Mo. I tend to agree with Denise, and not see a desire for something new (and out with the old) an addictive behavior until it is damaging in some way. Or else there are a lot of addicts out there because we are all wired to greater or lesser degree to crave novelty and it's not a bad thing. The whole fashion industry is built on it (and a lot of other industries too).

I am not sure how I see myself in this framework. I go to thrift and second hand stores all the time to buy and sell and probably have new (used) stuff pass through my home more often than most people. And like Suz, I feel no guilt. Hmm, I have to think about this further.

I am a purge as I go person so this does not quite fit me but I do understand.

This is a really great question. I am a serial purger, not just with clothes but everything (housewares, books, you name it) ... I think Mo's point about perfectionism comes into it for me, and as well I occasionally try to be something I'm not, buy some stuff, and then realize (again!) that that's NOT who I am ... and back to my navy and stripes and black ha!

I am hoping my wardrobe analysis project is going to help me with this once and for all ... but I think this question will also keep me far more mindful of when I am not being true to myself in my purchases ... thanks for asking it!

I am a serial buyer. There I said it. I don't purge. Very very hard for me to let go something even if I don't wear it for years! I have enough clothes that I could probably wear for an entire year and still not repeat. Yes. That's me.

For me it was/is a way of getting back at life in general. Emotional security. Since I ditched food. So now my weight is under control but my closet not so! Even with a 250$ per month budget (which I religiously follow) I have clogged my closet.

But I am improving. I now only buy something because I *want* it not because I *need* it. I no longer crave shopping and its normal to come back home with nothing after a day of window shopping. I guess these are signs of improvement, right?

I am a big purger, and I think I am finally realizing why.
- I can be an impluse / emotional buyer - buying when I am hungry / angry / lonely / tired / overwhelmed / bored.
- When I stick to stores I know, clothes fit me off the rack - no tailoring - so I often make the "buy" decision at these stores very, very quickly. (JCrew)
- I find it hard to resist a good deal.
- Inevitably, I buy things I don't really need or want, and that I am tired of at the end of the season. So I purge them.

This isn't true with everything -- sometimes I make really good choices, and those things tend to stay. But the fact is, I maintain a pretty small wardrobe, yet I still manage to bring bags to the consignment store every few months. THIS IS WHY.

Yesterday, I brought a big bag to drop off. It contained about 6 pairs of work pants dating back to 2007 (their labels show the season and year) and a bunch of jewelry I don't wear. So I felt good about that part. But the bag also contained three things I never should have bought: a jacket I bought on sale at the Loft last month that I wore only once and no longer am attracted to at all, a JCrew jacket I bought in the fall (too small), and a pair of jeans I bought on consignment that were too short when I bought them.

I guess the lesson for me is that the purging itself is not the problem -- but it has alerted me to the unhealthy shopping behaviors that lead to the purging.

I've always been the type to purge items in my closet pretty regularly. When I lived in Boston I used to do it when I switched out my Fall/Winter and Spring Summer clothing (was a good excuse to look at some items with fresh eyes after not seeing it all season and decide whether you really wore it enough last winter to merit hanging on to it.

Sometimes I purge things because it turns out I just didn't wear a piece as much as I thought I would or because basics in my closet have become worn and need to be replaced (like t-shirts and such) and more recently I've been purging a bunch of stuff that is more "professional" looking than I need to wear at this stage of my life. I used to speak at a lot of industry conferences on Ecommerce Optimization and User Experience, so I had some nice "professional but still uniquely me" pieces.

Over the last couple of years I haven't been doing speaking engagements so I've had no cause to wear them -- so I've been selling them and replacing them with things I'm more likely to wear regularly (cashmere sweaters, moto jackets, boots, etc.).

I've kept a few pieces, knowing I will end up speaking professionally again but just not as often as I used to (so this way I won't feel the need to go out and buy more "professional attire" when I do have a gig).

I've also purged a huge number of dresses and skirts (unless they work well with tights). Not *all* of them, but definitely more than 50%. When I lived in Vegas and was working at Zappos the weather was more often than not VERY hot (which I loved and found comfortable) so I wore a ton of dresses and skirts. Now that I'm living in SoCal and the average temp is around 70 it's just too cold for me on most days to go bare legged (I am almost always cold and don't start to feel warm till the temp passes 85 or so).

I realized I likely wouldn't wear these things regularly anymore so I kept a few for when I visit Vegas and other hot climes and either donated or sold the rest.

My last reason for purging is problems with my feet. I developed arthritis in my left foot so I can't wear many of the sky high heels I once could. So I've been selling and donating a lot of shoes from my extensive shoe closet (working at Zappos.com and Onlineshoes.com came with a hefty employee discount, so I definitely have too many shoes!)

I still shop often and sell items often. Since I buy most of my stuff secondhand (via online sites like ebay, designer consignment and thrift stores) it doesn't really hit my budget too much at all --and since I regularly sell items I don't wear I find that what I get for those pays for many of the newer items. So it sort of balances out and is a nice hobby to distract me when I need to be distracted from work.

That said, as a former antiques and vintage clothing dealer, I also have pieces I've owned for over 25 years and would never consider purging, no matter how often they are or aren't worn (like one of my vintage Pucci dresses).

We all see this from different angles. Interesting. I get that we all purge. We better, or our closet will burst! And of course, when life changes, as Suz so correctly pointed out, that necessitates a change.
I'm wondering where the 'cycle' of the buying comes into play. For instance, TorontoGirl was the only one who said she does this with other parts of her life (books, kitchenware). I find it fascinating that clothing is somehow a category unto itself that is seen as more consumable (credit MaryK ;)). When I bought my laptop, I didn't think, "this will be fine for a year or two until the latest one comes out." But, some people do! They keep up with technology like we do trends.

I suppose I'm wondering how to be a fashionista and a responsible consumer at the same time!!
Hopefully, if I buy smarter, I will slow down the cycle, if not get off the merry go round all together.

I'm with you, Mo. Definitely want to slow down the cycle some.

Interesting thought, Mo, about whether to keep up with trends and how to do so without bloating a closet. I've dealt with this on a very small scale this past week. The weather has warmed up in my part of the country, and there are amazing deals on the clearance racks. I want to go shopping and refresh my closet! Trouble is, I don't want to increase the number of items in my closet; I'm happy where I am. So I deliberately decided not to buy anything because I wasn't ready to get rid of anything.

On a larger scale, I've pretty much made a decision that I'll be bypassing most of the trends I see here, not because I don't like them, but because I have a very small budget and because I want to keep my wardrobe size in check. That means very little buying...which means most trends are not going to be for me, and that any style shifts I make are going to come pretty slowly. I had to make a conscious decision to be OK with that.

I've purged a lot this last year. When I first joined YLF, I thought I was gonna be more bombshell. But I felt like I was just trying too hard and I realized that I need my clothing to function like gear, I need to be able to run, jump and play with kids and dogs.
Sometimes a fashion crush becomes true love, and sometimes it's just a fling. Boots are true love to me. I had a torrid affair with dots that lasted a season and I was done.
I have a 4 season climate so I'm limited to 6 pieces per season. Last year, it would never have worked to limit my shopping. I had to build a foundation of things I want to wear. My vision is much clearer this year, as far as knowing what kinds of things I'll wear and what will play well in my closet
I do want to shrink my closet some more so I do have more purging to do. By next year I'd like to be a 1in/ 1out kind of girl.