How do you define "duplicating"?

catgirl

In regard to Angie's post today, I am now in edit process. Despite the last purge, I still have about ten thousand black jackets of every type - cropped, velvet, dressy, swing, cotton. At what point are they redundant?

What about repeating the same item in a different color?

I fear I have hoarding tendencies which I am trying to overcome. Nothing bad enough for TV, just an urge to keep everything just in case.

15 years ago

General

17 replies

Latest reply was from Lisa

Louise

Veteran

I would be happy to have (and do have) multiple black jackets *only* if they were different styles. Personally I'm not keen on having the same item in different colours x

15 years ago

Barbara

Veteran

Really, alaskagirl? Ten thousand black jackets? LOL!

If they are all different, they are NOT redundant. Wear them and enjoy each individual jacket!

And you are allowed to have the same item in a different color!

I believe in duplicates for tees, turtlenecks, yoga pants, jeans - basically anything that fits me like a glove, is good quality and I know I'll probably wear it to death.

15 years ago

Bianca

Veteran

One time on Oprah I saw something like this pertaining to closet organization. Let me pass along the tip I learned: If you feel you have too many of the same item....leave it on the hanger and put the hanger backwards in your closet. Every time you wear the item, correct it to the proper hanger position. At the end of the season, you can see which items were not worn because the hangers will still be "backwards" (Did I articulate this right?). Just a suggestion though. I tend to be a purger, so If it were me, I would take the best of the best and the items that truly compliment you.

15 years ago

Veteran

You can always take photos of you wearing each jacket and we'll help you edit like Secondhand Shopaholic has done in the past.

I think it's fine to duplicate in different colors if it's a basic like layering t's, scarfs, jeans, etc.

15 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Bianca, that's a good idea! And you explained it perfectly. Was the idea that if you wore something ONCE in a season, it was enough to keep? I have a couple of things like that but they are mostly formalwear.

15 years ago

Louise

Veteran

Sorry that came across a bit confused I meant not the exact same item unless basics for layering. And you'd have to have multiples of things like scarves but I wouldn't pick up the exact same one in multiple colours x

15 years ago

Sara

(website)

Active Member

I would suggest trying them all on and objectively deciding which fit you the best, and try to think of which of them you have worn most in the last year. I was in the same boat as you (THREE black boyfriend blazers, totally unnecessary) and decided to get rid of the ones that did my short self no favors and weren't in regular rotation to make room for things I would wear more often. As much as I thought I loved all of them, I don't miss the ones I took to the consignment store one bit.

15 years ago

Bianca

Veteran

Yes, I believe the intention was that if it was worn 1x per season it can stay. I guess formal wear may be a different story, but if it is taking up valuable space in your closet, you may want to think about retiring some pieces and only keeping the best. Maybe you can even incorporate your formal pieces into everyday wear so they have a chance to be worn?

15 years ago

Bianca

Veteran

Oh and I echo AJ...dups for tees, jeans, yoga pants, stuff like that.

15 years ago

Aida

Veteran

Una, if you only wear black jackets and have no (or little) intention of buying or wearing many colored jackets, AND the jackets you have are actually varied AND fit well, I don't think it's a problem to have several black jackets. Ten thousand might be a bit much though

15 years ago

Kristine

Veteran

My closet's pretty small, so duplication for me would be something similar that serves a similar function. I have a grey scoopneck wool sweater and found myself looking at a heavier version this weekend. I wanted it but thought of my full dresser drawers and decided to stick to one grey scoopneck sweater.

I did buy two pairs of the exact same dress pants though, one in navy and one in black. It's hard for me to find pants and they fit me well, so in that case I thought duplication was fine.

There are so many factors- Do the jackets serve different functions, do you wear them, do they flatter you, do you have a large or small closet?

15 years ago

LeahJanes

Active Member

If you have occasion to wear them all, then keep them.

Get rid of the ones that don't fit your life or don't fit you.

15 years ago

Refugee

Veteran

From what you say, you feel like you have multiples of black jackets. At the same time you recognize that different forms and functions don't neccesarily make them redundancies. And then the whole 'keep everything just in case'.
Perhaps if you sorted them according to type it might help you see the redundancies more clearly? Sort first, then look at each type. Start with the smallest piles first. Perhaps this would help the process be less overwhelming? Do you think this would be helpful or is there something else at play?

15 years ago

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

Can I have one of those black jackets?

I think it very much depends on your style. If you are team black rather than team colour then multiple black jackets in various cuts and fabrics are probably a necessity. I guess you can still have too many though. The turning around of a hanger is a great idea, as is modelling them here for us to comment on.

15 years ago

hanna

(website)

Active Member

like others have mentioned, if you get a lot of use out of all your multiples, then hey, knock yourself out! i have 3 different black blazers myself, but i keep them all because each of them gives my outfits a totally different spin.

i'm much more likely to duplicate basics - all my most worn jeans right now, for example, are straight legs from marks & spencer, and i have a selection of long sleeved tops in a rainbow of colours that all came from dorothy perkins.

15 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I think this is one of those wardrobe items that many people have duplicates of - right up there with jeans and layering tees. I have 3 black jackets as of this year - a velvet blazer, a lightweight belted safari style and now my crop tuxedo. But I don't think I'd wear either of mine in place of the other. For example, only my tux one would go over a party dress and only the safari with the sleeves tabbed up would go over shorts etc. I find that they each do a separate thing in my closet independant of each other . . . if that makes sense. Maybe you could think of your jackets in that way and then see where there are duplicates in the sense of what you pair them with.

15 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

I am more prone to duplicate basics (layering T's, workout wear) than I am more recognizable pieces such as a jacket. I will stock up on duplicates of layering T's in the same colors and different colors if I like the fit since I wear them daily in colder months. I am also prone to duplicate jeans in style, but not color since fitting bottoms is always a challenge for me. For example I own two pairs of the Gap perfect boot jeans (one light blue and one dark blue) and two pairs of the Express Stella Skinnies jeans (one dark blue and one black). I am less prone to duplicate what I call toppers (cardigans or blazers) in the same color as I like to mix up my colors often. I figure if there are 7 days in the week, how many of them do I really want to wear the same color? If you like black a lot and don't mind wearing black jackets multiple days in a week, then I would err on the side of keeping more black jackets. If you want to mix up the colors, then I would start decreasing them.

I also like Mo's suggestion to identify each jackets purpose. If you have say half of your jackets as dress layering pieces but rarely wear dresses, then you know some of those can be weeded out.

15 years ago

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