Jussie- thanks for this thread. It has given me an opportunity to clarify my thoughts about this. Sorry in advance for my long reply. But maybe you will find it helpful in some way.

I have been struggling with my attraction to minimalism and having a wardrobe that really "sparks joy" As I shifted my focus from an analytic approach to my wardrobe to a feeling based approach I have realized I have very distinct wardrobes wants for at home vs out in the world with not a lot of overlap between the two. Also what I want to wear in transitional weather is different from spring vs fall both in colors and fabrications. So, my ideal wardrobe will be larger than I originally aspired to.

Fall/winter is easy. I basically want to wear two different silhouettes (uniforms) and am drawn to a very limited palette of colors. Once I realized this I was able to think about how many items in each category I wanted based on laundry needs and the amount of variety I would like. I came up with about 45 items for fall and winter. I feel very content with this plan.

Spring/summer has been another story. I have struggled to really define what I want to wear. I feel much more unfocused. The last 4 months have been very chaotic so that probably plays a large part but I don't think that is the only issue. Like Kate I don't really like spring/summer clothes as much as fall/winter. I think I will end up with more items for these two seasons, probably around 60 at a guess.

So that would put me @ ~120 items. The same as you
Not minimal but an edited wardrobe that will make me happy I hope.

I relate most to what Cardiff girl wrote. I have a large-ish wardrobe, and I’m continually eyeing and editing it, especially at times like now, when I’ve brought in some new things during the NAS, and want to give my closet a little breathing room.

I don’t count items, but I know when I start feeling like there is too much *for me.* I have a four+ season climate, and a casual but varied lifestyle that requires some rugged clothes and some refined. I love shopping and clothing, and have a budget that allows for a bit of fun and frivolity in my dressing and shopping. So while I strive for an orderly and user-friendly wardrobe, I know I have more than many here on the forum do. Some of it is brand new, and some of it 10+ years old, and it’s all good.

Could I stand to get rid of some things that don’t spark joy? Sure! But I don’t really aim for a number, which feels a bit arbitrary to me. I just want my closet to not be crowded and to not feel overwhelmed OR deprived when I go to get dressed. With a very rare exception, I can pretty easily pick out something to wear for nearly any occasion, no matter how last-minute or unusual. To me, that is the “right size” wardrobe.

This has been an interesting discussion. I am in the camp of those who think there is no magic, across the board perfect wardrobe size. It all depends on your climate, lifestyle, and preferences. I live in a 4 season climate of extremes bordered by slightly different temperate periods, meaning that cross-seasonal overlap is quite low. I travel frequently. I also spend a fair bit of time walking outdoors in all seasons. In my professional life I fill multiple roles (writer, editor, professor, student) and I'm also a parent. I need a "dressy" outfit of some description at least once a month. I give public appearances as part of my author role, in a wide variety of settings.

What this means is that to function well, my wardrobe will probably be larger than that of a woman who lives in a stable temperate climate, does not work outside the home, and takes care of her kids (for example). And larger than that of a surgeon or nurse, who wears scrubs or a uniform most of the day.

For several years when I joined YLF, I had a very small wardrobe -- fewer than 70 pieces. There was a lot of turnover. I really couldn't keep many items for more than a year, aside from a few coats and toppers. I had to do laundry all the time, and I was woefully unprepared for many events. Even dressing for a very casual holiday party or "date" was impossible.

Gradually, as my income improved, I bought more and for the last few years my wardrobe has hovered around 130-160 pieces. That includes footwear and bags and coats but does not include undies, PJs, scarves, belts, or strictly gear items.

My ideal, I think, for this climate and this period of my life, is more or less in this range. This fits in my closet (with seasonal change outs to a spare closet) and satisfies my need for variety. I know what I have and I wear it -- if I don't wear an item in its season I seriously evaluate whether or not to keep it and generally let it go. I replace about as many items as I buy per year -- figuring on average wear lengths of 3-5 years, with coats and some dresses and toppers lasting much longer and some tops not lasting as long.

But for a very eclectic dresser, this might not be enough. And it might be too much for a very classic subdued dresser. Even if their weather/ lifestyle, etc. were identical to mine. So it is extremely personal!

If you feel overwhelmed, and you are not wearing the things you want to wear because you feel obligated to wear everything, then its too many. If the clothes are overrunning the space allotted, its too many.
If you regularly use (within season) most of your clothes, and enjoy them, and they suit your lifedtyle,its not too many!
That being said, it sounds like your woven blouses are an issue. Can any of them be dyed or altered to make them spark more joy? Or, can you find other alternatives for "nice tops" that youd like more?

I have less than half the clothes you do, and live in a four-season climate, and I'm very content with my closet size. But that doesn't mean that I have the right amount of clothing and you have too much. I came to my closet size by considering the space I have to store clothes (very little), my budget (equally small) and my preferences -- I LIKE having fewer clothes. For me, it's easier to get dressed if I can see everything and don't have so many choices.

Climate plays a huge part in size- a tee shirt, leather jacket, jeans and sneakers would work for 80 percent of my days. Maybe more. If cold I would wear a big scarf, if hot I would remove the jacket. There might be one month where I would be a bit cold in this, and one too hot, but my needs for 28 plus or under 8 (degrees C) are not great.

Before I read any of the comments, I want to post my response. I am posting before reading because I do not want to be swayed by anyone else.

You have too many garments when you literally cannot slip your hand between individual pieces hanging in a closet. My best friend, who was an admitted clothes horse, had closets that were packed so tight that you could not budge the clothing in any direction. THAT was too many.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m over the 500 mark. But I have a divided life. Summer, Fall, and Winter. Office and bakery. Dress up and At Home. I like to play with fashion. And I like being able to shop my closet, and not ‘make do.’ That said, I have too many shoes and socks. As per recent discussion, I’m hanging on to heels I’ll never wear. And socks... that’s a straight up addiction.

OMG. This is such a good thread. We haven't had one of these in a while. I need to read these types of posts every once in a while to ground me.

That really depends on your lifestyle, your needs, your dressing style(s) and your personality. However, generally, I'll say that if you own items that you never or very seldom wear, consider to let them go. There may be exceptions, of course, due to TEMPORARY changes in health, climate, and other factors. (My own exception is some partywear which may not have been worn for one year but which I nevertheless want to keep.)

I, too, live in a 4-season climate, and at the end of each season I evaluate my closet and think about which items I still want to keep and will look forward to use again. If an item has hardly been used and doesn't spark joy or isn't really needed, I'll let it go. (If an item is simply worn out and really needs to be replaced, I'll make a note to myself about it.) I also try to evaluate what I no more like about items I let go. Is it the colour, the lines, the texture, the quality or the style? These evaluations help me to evolve my style, focus on what works for me, and make better purchases.

I am still reeling. I have never , ever, counted my clothing. Ever. And I just did. And I think I will be fired from the forum. I stopped when it hit 160 and I hadn't even gotten to my dresses, jeans or shorts, hoodies, jackets etc . And this is just what is hanging in my closet and on my rolling rack for summer. Probably into the mid 200's. Some if it will cross into winter, but still! What is all of this stuff and who bought it? I haven't done my mid-season edit yet, and clearly I need to. Lots of tops in my closet that I don't wear because they are not perfect. Taking a page from my own book...and hanging head in utter shame.

I'm with Lisap, I'm afraid to count ! I have way too many clothes/shoes and too many items that I don't love but that I keep "just in case ". My closet is crowded and I have been losing track of what I actually have . So many mistake purchases especially on sandals. I find myself wearing the Naturalizer's that Angie recommended 90% of the time! They are SO comfy. It's quite overwhelming to me and it makes me stressed. Today I took two bags to Goodwill but it is a drop in the ocean .I simply can't bring myself to take more items as many are virtually brand new. I have new pants that are tight on the waist as I have changed shape
I have way too much for summer and have had a stern conversation with myself about not purchasing another thing. Having said that I have too much I still struggle to get dressed as I don't love most of my clothes argh. I don't do well with consignment so I should simply rip the band aid off and just pass on the items to Goodwill.
All I can say is that I am trying to slowly work towards a goal of only purchasing an item that I love and I have to NEED it !

I think it’s ok to have a big wardrobe, The exact number doesn’t matter so much as long as your feeling happy with all the items in there, or that with some minor styling tweaks every item would be good to wear.
Yesterday I whittled it down to 130 items, however I recently ordered 2 items on eBay so I am planning which 2 old pieces can go to make room for the new, if they are keepers.
I actually felt a lot better getting dressed this morning with slightly fewer options, and less items that I don’t like wearing to distract my focus. With 130 items there’s still HEAPS of variety.
Your responses to this thread are brilliant, it’s quite enlightening to hear people’s thoughts on this topic. I can see myself becoming a real nerd for wardrobe planning :).
I think what I need to do is really hold myself a lot more accountable for making sure when I purchase a new item that I have at LEAST one old item I’m willing to part with before allowing the new item in.
Ideally for ease of dressing and decision making I think getting down to 120 is a worthy goal for me.

Lisa, if anyone on this forum says anything to make you feel shamed for the number of items in your closet, they are the ones who should be “fired”! I am quite sure I have more than that myself.

I stopped comparing the size or my wardrobe to other forum members years ago, so I’m not going to go into a frenzy just to meet some other person’s standard, which would be as meaningless for me as my standard would be for someone else. I think it’s just as easy to get caught up in the FOMO fever of racing to a smaller, more streamlined closet as it is to get caught up in the frenzy of shopping for the latest things we see fellow forum members buying and wearing.

Also — and I may be a little controversial here — I’m a little leery of arguments that ascribe some sort of high virtue to a minimal closet, and I’m seeing a lot of that in current trends in blogs and the still-strong Kondo trend.

I firmly believe the number is not the important thing. I think we have too much if we have things that we don’t love, don’t use, can’t afford, and don’t have room for. Those are my personal criteria for my wardrobe, not a number. For those who find numbers useful, that’s great! But there is no shame in a more abundant wardrobe, IF it works for you, and you enjoy having choice and variety. If the abundance stresses you out, that’s another story. But I sincerely hope that no one here is made to feel guilty for their wardrobe choices, any more than they would be for choices to do things like wear makeup, color our hair or have cosmetic surgery.

Janet: quite right what you say. I don’t mean it all in a moral sense or suchlike. I’m thinking purely of practicalities, so that I can get dressed with a higher happiness factor :).

Gosh! I might be a minimalist regarding clothes, but my husband thinks I need an intervention regarding my gardening budget! I don't believe in getting judgey over the number of garments a person owns! Or cookbooks! Or any other thing that brings them joy.

But, it can be an interesting topic for discussion...

Carla - my gardening budget is of on going controversy in my house too. I mean, in our climate, isn't it the most gratifying and fun thing to do in summer? If I had no restrictions money-wise, I would spend every cent on yard and garden stuff.

I do feel shameful because I'm always the first one here suggesting we all have too much. I do feel my wardrobe is too large judged against Janet's criteria, which are bang on . My wardrobe stresses me out, period.

Lisa, I feel like you were feeling pretty good about the state of your wardrobe prior to counting, so does knowing that number change anything?

eta: I ask, in part, because I think counting my stuff did change things for me. I’m not sure why, but seeing how many tops I had and comparing it to the number of days in a season GOT me.

Lisa p: don’t stress! Your wardrobe actually sounds like it’s in a great place, because all your items are 9’s and 10’s. To be honest, I think most women, if they counted would have upwards of 150 items. It adds up surprisingly quickly.
Jenn: I agree it’s the issue of whether things are getting worn to full capacity each season that’s bugging me. I have calculated that my seemingly large wool jumper collection is about right, as I figure accounting for weather and lifestyle activities I wear a wool jumper 72 days per year. Divide this by 12 and that’s 6 wears each. Although I don’t wear them perfectly evenly, because we have so much sweater weather I feel like having that amount of variety is useful and brings joy.
On the other hand, 20 woven tops, of which I only rate a couple as above 7 in terms of likeability seems too many, because I don’t wear them on any of those 72 sweater days.....

Jussie, what is your current method of selecting to wear the woven tops, given that you seem to be forgetting about some of them? I mean do you tend to just wear the favorite ones on repeat? Do you do a turn the hanger backwards method? It would be good for you to know more specifically about your current habits before deciding that the next step is to buy more nicer woven shirts.

I’ve found that I’m very particular about color palette for woven shirts and only end up wearing fairly neutral ones in fairly classic cuts. So I have learned that a bold color assymetric one is going to become orphaned as much as the idea appeals to me in theory. I’m content to wear certain shirts more some years and others more in other years. I deliberately buy woven tops in colors and patterns that aren’t too trendy because I know my number of times worn fluctuates from year to year but overall they serve as essential pieces and not as statements in my wardrobe.

What a productive discussion! It seems like one of the important considerations is “variety of roles.” Someone who works 11-hour days in an office (my hubby, for example) needs mainly office clothes- not much time to wear anything else! But in my life I have very different things going on every day— even my job appearance fluctuates a lot as I’m self employed so sometimes I do this, sometimes that.

One thing I’m noticing lately is I don’t “save” the fun outfits (which may take more effort in terms of styling or dry cleaning) for “perfect” appropriate occasions anymore. I grant myself the freedom to wear them whenever- and to take the time to get dressed to the max whenever I have the time. Before, when I only “got dressed” for big occasions, I found it frustrating because I was out of practice and couldn’t come up with anything good.

I am intrigued by RachyLou’s sock addiction. Maybe we need a separate thread on that.....with pictures.....

Jessikams - we’re talking 5 drawers and a laundry basket! This does not include the storage bin of winter socks!

I just cannot help myself. And the sad part is, they’re not fancy socks.

Jessikams - I’ve heard all about these socks for years, but I think it’s just heresay without pictures.

If I don't count underwear, accessories, and shoes, I have very close to the same amount in my wardrobe (I also have a four-season climate). I think that part of the answer as to how many clothes you need depends on your style. I have a somewhat eclectic style (I have about three or four main styles that I alternate between), so that means more clothes, because I might feel like wearing style A one day but style B the next.

For me, the main concern is whether I am wearing what I am buying and whether I am rifling through lots of old, unworn items to get to the ones that I really do want to wear. As long as you're enjoying everything that you have, and you have occasion to wear it, I would stick with it and let it sort itself out over time.

I"m in the big wardrobe category. It's a combination of loving to shop, having a variety of roles, and constantly changing weight.

I started tracking last year in an effort to bring in some control, and found that I was over 200 pieces, not counting shoes, coats or active wear. I'm ok with that as long as clothes are getting worn, but I do worry its too much.

So, I've taken 2 actions to "right size" for me:
1. Shopping freezes in January and August (post Christmas, and post NAS!)
2. ThredUp donations every 3 months. It may be a small closet clean but if I'm able to retire 5 pieces that are 6/7s for me, that's room to consider a couple 10s.

I think most important, is this is a personal decision. I have friends who redecorate their houses every 2-3 years. I'd rather put that time/effort into my wardrobe. No judgement, just different priorities.

Rachy, If we count socks than my numbers skyrocket. I have two drawers of my dresser dedicated to them, one for gear socks, and one for work/daily wear socks. They take up too much space. I need to cull some out. Even Farley, the sock eating dog hasn’t reduced my collection enough to make it noticeable. Although we shouldn’t go down that rabbit hole again!

When I first joined the forum, I counted everything in my closet and it was too much for me because my clothes overflowed into other spaces. My goal was to pare it all down so everything fit in my closet and dresser and then to figure out how to maintain it at that size.

Janet’s comments resonate well with my thinking.

This a great discussion, one it seems that we are all preoccupied with one way or another. I think I have a small wardrobe - 85 items not counting gear, loungewear, coats for a four-season climate. I used to keep track of # of wears, but I don't anymore.
I feel like this is a good number for me. Over the years, I have realized that I am more bothered by the sense of things sitting unworn in my closet than for example fear that an occasion might pop up for which I will not have an appropriate outfit, or boredom that arises from repeating outfits. The first situation produces for me feelings of guilt, wastefulness, constant pressure to come up with ways to wear these items, etc - too stressful. So I've opted to go for a small but carefully curated, loved, and worn wardrobe. Another person might feel differently, and as a result may choose to go in another direction.
Even then there are still things hanging in my closet that I could do without. In that case, I try to understand the cause. Most often the culprits for me are gifts (my mother-in-love likes to give clothing as gift, which is not always returnable and I feel guilty for donating them - see above), and impulsive purchases. I shop the sales and discount websites quite a lot, because that's more suited to my budget. However, I am doing much better when it comes to sales goggles than I did a few years ago, so I feel like I've improved on that front. Keeping a list of what I own and what I need even if it's in my head helps me navigate the sales better.

That's awesome Bella, keeping a list. I have been taking my lists of what I own with me shopping much of the time in the past 2 years and that has definitely helped. I still do most of my shopping on sale but the quality of the brands I buy has improved and so the sales prices are a bit higher than what I used to buy.

Wow, THESE SO RIGHT for me:

- "an item that looks like a 9 when styled in exactly the right outfit, but doesn't look that great in any other combo.."

- "I'd (ME TOO) like to get better at making do with one imperfect item -- or, even better, doing without the imperfect versions altogether (that is, not buying them in the first place) and waiting for the perfect version to come along..."

Are we kind of perfectionists???

Besides that I love variety--- but my weight fluctuates either lot....:-(((.

BUT EVENTUALLY i DO HAVE TO DRESS MY BODY EACH DAY!!

So, you guess am afraid to count:-).

Oh no, no no. I cannot confirm the existence of my socks...