Hi Molly, this topic is always very interesting to me. I am flabbergasted with Sheila's amount of clothing. I love her too, btw. I am not surprised by the shoes. Most of the women that I know here in the Northeast have upwards of 60 pairs of shoes. Most women that I know also have walk-ins, so maybe 400 is not alot. I would find it mind numbing to manage. With that said, so much depends on ones lifestyle and environment ( figuratively and literally ). Whether one works, the type of job, whether one travels...whether one has a fashion blog. In the end, if it works well for you , who cares ? I have cut back a lot the past year and a half .

I have tried the 30 x 30 and can't get passed choosing the 30 ( and I don't work outside the home ). I live in a 4 season climate that can get well above 100 for days or below zero for days. We get snow and rain. Though I try to have some versatility, I also have things specific for certain weather. And I love coats, trenches, and jackets. So I always have more than the one I need...just lettin' you know.

I would say that I have around 100 - 150 pieces of clothing excluding underwear and socks. That includes hiking, biking, canoeing "gearish" stuff. All of my footwear adds up to 38 pairs ( except one pair of flip flops and slippers ). I feel as if I have too much. I don't work outside the home, I don't go out much and when I do it is casual. I am very happy with my gear, but I get a little overwhelmed by choice in my regular clothes. At this point, I don't want to add, I just want to pay attention to what I wear and how much joy factor there is for me .....

This post was very interesting to me, too, so I went and did a closet count. What was most interesting to me is that while I would like to reduce my closet, what should be reduced are not the items I was expecting.

I live in a four season climate, though winters are mild and I don't need the large variety of coats that other members do. I have my clothes divided into 5 capsules, some of which overlap, so I did my count in three separate groups.

Uniform capsule ( I'm in the military): 40 items including shoes and coats. I have a large Tupperware with about 20 other items that I didn't count b/c due to my current job, I won't need them for another 2 years. This capsule is bare bones and probably needs some duplication.

Gear/Lounge capsule: 75. This capsule holds workout gear, loungewear, and painting clothes. I'm not that picky with this capsule. I have certain brands that I like, but I'm not trying to achieve a certain look. I always thought that this capsule is too large and that I have too many tshirts, but its really not in that bad of shape.
25 ss shirts
11 ls shirts
15 pairs pants
10 pair shorts
5 sweaters/jackets
10 shoes

Date Night/ smart casual/ casual wear. This is the capsule of what I really consider clothes. As I wear a uniform 5 days a week, so i really only wear items from this capsule on weekends and vacation. It seems like I should focus on downsizing this capsule and really only having pieces I love, but I enjoy trying on different combos. I was surprised that it is a lot smaller than I thought. My grand total including coats and shoes and things Im holding onto for nostalgic reasons: 145.
35 ss knitwear (including camisoles-- so it's more like 12 camisoles and 23 ss knits)
12 ls knitwear
7 blouses
16 sweaters
7 blazers/jackets
7 coats (this includes my puffer and raincoat)
5 skirts
8 pants
5 shorts
17 dresses ( the biggest surprise, I've worn a dress less than 10 times in the past year. This needs to be downsized!)
26 pairs of shoes (includes snowboots and rainboots)

Question: I find that I have several items of clothing that I have been holding onto for "just in case" circumstances. Examples: a conservative black dress in case there is a funeral, a suit in case I go somewhere professional where I can't wear a uniform, a Hawaiian dress in case I get invited to a themed party/function, a few things case I need a Halloween costume. Where does one draw the line?

Robin, that's a good question. I expect the answer must be individual. For myself -- I'd keep the funeral outfit, but probably ditch the Halloween stuff or at least keep it in a separate place -- it's not really "clothing" as such and it would confuse me to have it in my main closet. But that's me and my slight OCD tendencies!

I was thinking about ditching everything except the funeral dress and 1 haloween costume. I can't imagine I'll need a suit for the next 2 years, and I'll probably want something different by then if I do need a suit (the suit itself has been in my closet unworn for at least 5 years)-- it's just that if I did need a suit, it would probably be a one of thing and well, that one fits and is pretty decent. Indecision!

I have a hard time with that, too, Robin. I've got items from when I had an office job (i currently work at home) like dress slacks and although I've culled a lot of them, plenty of them are still in good shape and not out of style, so why shouldn't I keep a couple for unexpected occasions assuming I have room? That's what I've done so far; sometimes I put them away somewhere other than my usual closet, but then I never wear them on impulse when I'm in the mood to dress up occasionally.

A lot of the lovely folks here are better at being brutal with culling than I am. I'm a cheapskate, and although I am happy to donate something that doesn't fit me or suit me anymore, if it's still fine but I just don't wear it right now I struggle more.

Well -- I thought I was going to have a lot more, but my wardrobe is not as extensive as I thought it was. This accounting includes everything except exclusively summer items (stored). I have:

25 dresses (all occasions)
21 pairs of jeans
10 button down shirts
60 pairs of shoes (all seasons, all occasions)

Wow... I keep peeking in at this thread, and finally, I had to own up to my reluctance to even say anything, because the truth is... I have no idea. 400 is probably close, but I've never counted.

Like AnnieMouse, my life has a wild array of variations, including theatre and dance, and I have started to do costuming, as well (although my number only includes the costumes that I can wear). In addition, my life includes regular travel to wildly different climates: Florida in summer, Toronto in winter - or vice versa. I love to layer, even thin layers in the summer, because in Georgia or Florida you can park your car in 100-degree heat, and walk into a 65-degree air-conditioned office.

I don't feel any guilt about my numbers - I have started keeping things inventoried, so that I know what I have, and identify any personal wardrobe or costuming holes, and so I can avoid duplicate items. I have been gradually letting go of things that I know I won't need or use - which is a lovely feeling But I know I will never be a minimalist unless I am forced to it.

It is interesting to read about the various sizes of your wardrobes, and the climate conditions and lifestyles that are associated with them. I live in a cool temperate climate, we have a few hot days during the Summer, but not many. I travel regularly to warmer climates, though, so I need a proper Summer wardrobe anyway. I need clothes for rain, wind, and chill, and I need anything from casual to business casual for my general lifestyle. I've counted my items, and I was surprised that they were as many. I have around 100-120 pieces of clothing plus underwear, belts and scarves, and I have 25 pairs of shoes. This is a manageable amount to me, and I am not adding much new stuff without purging some of the old. I like to keep everything available (which is seasonally relevant, that is), and my closet is very small. If it had been larger, I think I would have had a little more, but a too large wardrobe is stressful since I'm on Team Wear.

I recently created lists in Evernote of all of the items in my spring/summer wardrobe because that is what I consider to be my "active" wardrobe. Additionally I have winter items (sweaters, coats, jackets, heavier pants and tops, etc) along with some things that don't currently fit but I'm not ready to get rid of yet.Also not included in my active wardrobe count are cocktail dresses, pajamas, camisoles, bathing suits, etc.

Mine is teensy-tiny. Mostly fits in one 1930's armoire.

Last count I had around 30 tshirts, which I consider to be way to many!!

I don't think I want to know...but I might count after the purge.

but....way less than 100 and I thought I had too much. I've been reading blogs that focus on having a very small wardrobe of perfect pieces that combine in perfect ways...it's a daunting concept actually. Especially since I can't find those perfect pieces!

To hear these high totals is a little bit more relaxing. Thanks ladies!

I think I'm majorly lagging behind!!
3 dresses/ 3 dressy dresses
2 tunics
2 smart trousers
2 jeans (1 is white and I rarely wear them)
approx 6 tops
2 skirts
5 cardis
2 jackets
approx 4 ls layering tops
5 ss t's
2 leggings
6 waistcoats (I know I'm a bit skewed here)
2 sets of loungewear (2 of each trousers, tops and toppers)
i think approx 20 shoes

Now we get very screwy with my hiking/ walking clothes!
5 pairs walking trousers (1 of which is winter only)
3 no 4 wicking tops
2 gilets
1 fleece
1 softshell jacket
2 insulated jackets
and it's my only proper capsule as its all in black, blue and shades of pink and purple! x

I have often seen threads of this nature on YLF, but have never gone and counted. Until now. Just did a massive wash over Easter, so the wardrobe is full and the count should be accurate -+ 1
Have excluded sleepwear, underwear and gear

Dresses/tunics 22
Trousers 1
Jeans/shorts/clams/skorts 11
Blouses/shirts 11 (3 uniform from work)
toppers 8
T shirts (both long and short sleeve and sleeveless including polonecks) 10
Skirts 8
leggings 3
outerwear 2
jumpers/cardis/fleeces etc 12
tracksuit pants 2

This gives me around 80 items but I could easily cull some more, and replace others.

boots 2
shoes 11

I have

6 dresses
10 skirts
4 pairs of pants
5 cardigans
6 tees
2 tanks
15 fashion tops
6 jackets
15 pairs of shoes
1 pair of shorts

total-70 items

I want to add more dresses, pants and shorts. I try to refrain from buying more shoes and jackets.

After moving to a new home this weekend I can tell you: there's TOO MUCH. But this is inspiring me to go do a count. I've been pretty ruthless about whittling down the collection of tees (LS, short sleeve, tanks) that I never wear, but my work wardrobe is large, particularly dresses. Living in SF means that our climate is the same year round, so there is never a seasonal swap out--it's all in one place which is another good argument for frequent editing!

So I tallied up my inventory lists (which excludes unmentionables, workout gear, socks, tees I wear when washing the dogs/ cleaning/ etc, and stage/ event costumes).

I'm not NEARLY as bad as I thought! I guess I've culled more vigilantly than I realised ^__^

For actual clothing, I have right around 150 items:
20 skirts - ranging from weekend pleated minis to maxis, swishy knee skirts and pencil skirts.

8 pr trousers - I don't wear many trousers anymore, as my office went to super casual, but I keep these for when I have important meetings/ interviews/ visibility.

20 pr jeans - I live in jeans. Skinny, in colours or patterns, dark wash boot cut, straight leg... I pretty much always reach for jeans.

15 dresses - mostly sheaths that are super versatile, several cocktail/ special occasion dresses as we've somehow found them necssary over the last several years.

41 blouses/ dressy tees - my go-to top. Button downs always feel really weird on me (I've got an extremely long torso, so they are often not long enough, for one thing), so I default to a plain tee in a nice fabric.

21 jackets/ cardigans - use toppers all the time

18 sweaters - layers, alternating silhouette from my bottoms; slouchy for skinnies, fitted and skimming for maxis; and so on.

7 coats: in varying weights and applications (leather for motorcycle riding, faux fur for theatre/ ballet/ opera, classic black trench, etc)

.... and 103 pr shoes.
Because I love shoes.