How Many Essentials are Essential In Your Wardrobe?

Ingunn

I've been editing my wardrobe and removed the more summer-y pieces, so now I have a nice mix of essentials and less essential pieces left in there. Doing this made me realize that the number of shirts/blouses I have is increasing, since I tend to favor those when I shop. I've also added a dress and a couple of skirts, and a grey cardigan and a v-neck already this season.

Numbers:
I have three white shirts, and I think that is the right number for me. I have three patterned shirts/blouses. I have one cream silk blouse, and one chambray shirt. The total number of shirts is 12. This is (more than) enough.

I have recently added a lovely red pencil (J Crew No 2 Pencil). After trying it on, I realized how well it fit, and that my lack of love for my black pencil from BR made me avoiding it. Now I've bought a black version of the No 2, which will replace no less than three black skirts I no longer care for. My total number of skirts for f/w is reduced to about 6. The number of pants including jeans are around the same. This is sufficient, but I would love to have a bootcut jean.

I have 8-10 dresses in total for f/w, including the dressiest options. I really like all of them and intend to wear them enough. I might find it difficult to argue for adding more without purging one.

I have four sweaters and two cardigans. They are all very basic. I would love to add one with a graphic pattern or print.

My question: How many of each do you need to avoid wardrobe crisis if the laundry is slow?
-Shirts/tops
-Layering pieces
-Pants
-Jeans
-Skirts
-Dresses
Etc

A curiuos mind wants to know!

12 years ago

General

12 replies

Latest reply was from Caro in Oz

(website)

Veteran

Not sure of numbers of items needed, but I know the categories I need:
slimmer fit BF jean(s)
straight casual skirt(s)
tank(s)
looser drapey tee(s)

Add in assorted footwear and toppers where needed and I'm basically good to go.

EDIT: I like (and own) many dresses, but they are not a wardrobe essential. I can get by without a dress if I have to. Not these other items.

also a seasonal note: for summer, shorts are a must have

12 years ago

Makrame

Veteran

For me, it really depends on what I am doing. If I am teaching, I may need some jackets/dress pants. If the jackets or pants cannot be washed, I need at least two or three of each item to avoid dry-cleaning crisis. If they are washable, I can get away with a couple of jackets/one pair of dress pants for a typical week (2-3 teaching days). I usually need at least a couple of pencil skirts, especially those that have to dry-cleaned (like Halogen skirts). One nice buttondown shirt in a relatively bright solid color + a couple of flowy blouses seem to be OK for me, although I would like to add another buttondown.

When I can go casual (like most days at work), I can wear anything from midi skirts to jeans to ponte pants so I could really just have one of each of these items + 6-7 tops and be all set (so one dress, a couple of blouses, a couple of loose-fitting t-shirts, a couple of sweaters, one pair of bootcuts, one pair of straight leg jeans, and one pair of skinnies or ponte pants would pretty much cover it for me).

12 years ago

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Because it's so hot here most of the year I think my basics have to be doubled as I often find myself changing in the middle of the day. I must have at least 14 knits and tees (double that if you count short and long sleeved) and probably about 10 button downs that I wear regularly. A few more that are worn only on occasion but I still really like. I think I have six pair of shorts that I wear regularly and several pair that are more for garden work, house work, hanging out at the lake.

I'm not sure if I can count my real number of jeans as I have a few pair that should be culled but I know I have at least 10 pair in rotation in the f/w. I also have ponte black pants, mini cords in 2 colors, brown jeans and a few dress trousers I haven't worn in years. Dressier items I have just a few, a couple of silk tops, a couple of skirts, two dresses.

I also have a few very lightweight sweaters and a few slightly heavier ones.

12 years ago

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

Interesting.

Mo, you have had a clear perspective on your style and wardrobe as log as I've read your posts, and you know what you need and want. That's perfect. I agree that dresses are optional, but I love them, too.

Makrame, we don't distinguish that clearly between dress codes here, so my wardrobe is more or less smart casual, all of it. I think we have similarly sized wardrobes, but of course there is not a "correct" wardrobe size to aim for. Do you have a lot more than you mentioned here, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm sure I could reduce the numbers a lot, maybe down to half, but then I think I might get bored with the content of my wardrobe. The recent capsule exercises showed that it's not about having a lot, but having variety and coherence.

12 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

I am gradually getting the hang of what I need in my new role. Largely it is becoming a seasonless wardrobe for work with bits and pieces of extras for weekend summer/winter/travel looks. I know I have more than I need, because I keep wearing the same items! As I purge I hope to know the numbers better.

Like Mo, I know categories at least:
- slim-legged bottoms that can dress up for work
- 1-2 genuinely dressy trousers
- 1-2 above the knee skirts
- 1-2 midi skirts
- jersey dresses
- 3-4 button front shirts
- sleeveless tops for layering
- lightweight cardis/blazers/jackets
- large, comfy shoe variety

12 years ago

Makrame

Veteran

Ingunn, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the point of view ) I have a lot more clothes than the minimum number needed. However, some of them are not actively worn (such as older items that need to be purged). So for example I have 2 or 3 white shirts but rarely wear them (either because the fit is off or because they are too sheer). On the other hand, my magenta Brook Brothers shirt gets a lot of wear because it is much more flattering and practical. So I think I might invest into another shirt like that (that is heavy enough to be worn on its own, in a bright color, does not strain at the bust etc.).

I also live in a four-season climate (the winter is probably similar to yours, or at least not much warmer -10-20C, lots of snow etc.; the summer is probably a bit hotter than yours, up to +30C). So I have one pair of "teaching pants" for warm weather, 3 pairs of wool dress pants for the winter, 2 pencil skirts for fall/winter, 3 skirts for spring/summer, about 3 lightweight jackets for spring/summer and maybe 4 for fall/winter etc. I generally try to go by "enough bottoms for at least five days, enough tops for at least 7-8 days" rule but if you factor in different temperatures, that's a lot of "seasonal subcapsules".

12 years ago

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

That's a tough question! I am a flybaby so I do a load of laundry at least every other day (BF has an LE front-load washer with serious custom settings, so I can do tiny loads set for small increments of time). I almost never re-wear tops because I used to have a bad dust mite allergy, and dust mites loooove skin flakes. (I know, it's totally gross)

On my average day, I have work meetings, classes, dance practice at home, and/or outings with friends, so I normally will change most or all of my outfit at some point during the day. I don't know an exact count of items, I can only approximate. But my staples that I cannot live without are:

4-5 Stretch camis or tanks (mostly from Forever XXI, and layer well)
3-4 stretch boleros that our dance group orders from eBay (dressy enough for going out or performing, casual enough for class)
3-4 pairs of Max Studio stretchy pants (can go from street to dance)
3-4 Pencil skirts
4-5 Fitted 3/4 and long sleeve tops
3-4 Long-sleeve tissue tees
2-3 pairs of dance shorts (worn in the studio or at home, never on the street!)
Stretchy little jackets when the weather is cooler (below 78), or there is AC
AND my black Loft shorts that I bought for five bucks at a consignment shop in February. I've worn them at least 2x a week since April!
4 bras (1 black, 2 nude, one sports bra in a color that can only be described as 'Once was White')

Everything else I wear is gravy or pink icing roses on the cake. I am probably one of the few people on this forum who doesn't wear denim, because when I look at a pair of jeans or a pencil skirt hanging in the closet, the pencil skirt always wins.

I expect this list will change in another month or so, when it cools down in Georgia.

12 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ingunn, I am just in the process of working this out. I don't feel I have a clear answer yet.

I guess there are two ways of interpreting your question:

How many of each item do we need simply to avoid going around naked or unprepared for our daily lives?

How many of each item do we need to feel covered emotionally -- so that our desire for variety and interest is met.

You originally asked question one, but in your last answer seemed to be talking about question two. I think both are valid questions, but I would give a different answer to each, as you do.

If it is simply a question of preventing laundry logjams, I could probably exist with:

8-10 tops of some kind (either shirts, knit tops, or sweaters)
2 or 3 layering sweaters for over the tops in 1, in cold weather
2 or 3 jeans.

Plus footwear, socks, underwear, hat, gloves, scarf, and I suppose one jacket and coat (though how I would manage to clean those, I am not sure). Oh, and workout wear and PJs.

This would prepare me for my work at home days, at least. If I exercised extreme care in the selecting tops, it might even get me through some of the other parts of my life, too, although I would be stuck for most dressier functions that come up.

I'd also be really bored. Which is why my wardrobe includes more items! And additional categories like skirts, dresses, and dressier trousers.

The part that is tricky for me is deciding on my sweet spot. How can I prevent boredom while at the same time not overburdening my closet? I want to wear all my clothes. I don't really want things in the closet that I do not use. Yet given my various roles, and our weather, I pretty much have to own a few items that are rarely worn.

One thing I've determined for sure: Because winter lasts so long for us, my winter wardrobe needs to include more items than my summer wardrobe, or else I get very bored. It is okay for the summer wardrobe to be smaller.

ETA: the bare minimums list above would be my winter wardrobe. Summer would be a different list because there are almost no true crossover items. (For spring and fall, yes -- crossover. For summer to winter, not so much. Maybe one jean.)

12 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

It looks like 12 is about my number.

I am a four season climate, but run on team cold. And I do laundry once a week. Also, for my personal preferences I don't generally repeat too many wardrobe items in one month, usually only 2 or 3 times right now.
I currently need:
-Shirts/tops-6
-Layering pieces-6
-Pants-1
-Jeans-12
-Skirts-0
-Dresses-0

I'm not a skirt or dress gal, so my jeans/trousers are my bottoms. I find 12 total tops/layering pieces work well for me, because by the time I go through them all I'm ready to repeat. I am also a big fan of layering so I'm adding

blazers-5
cardigans-4
pullovers-3

Of course I do have more than this in my closet, but I find I'm only getting to wear items in some of these categories once a month (or once every two months) because I have too many. This is the case for me with t-shirts right now. I have 17 of them, and yet I only wore 9 of them last month yet I wore 10 of my 13 jeans/trousers in the same time frame. And the three unworn bottoms were all out of season items.

12 years ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Ha! Working on this.
I wear pants, no jeans, most days for work so have at least 12 pairs of 3-season, a few of which are washable/summer, plus a few more that are for colder weather, and probably 7-8 are black!
I've still to do my tops project, so I have no idea, yet. I think I'll need to cull some more, and I know I want to be more selective in new additions.
But, for 4 seasons and for a 2-week cycle, I could see having 40 tops and then some, where 10 might be especially for really hot weather, 10 for really cold, and others in between, but some would be favorites and repeated more. (Tops category would include anything that can be worn alone such as pullover sweaters, other knits, woven blouses, cardigans worn buttoned as a top). Many of these can overlap with smart casual/casual night out/church, using footwear and accessories plus use of either jeans or dressier skirts to get a different vibe, depending on the occasion, and this is a feature I'd like to exploit more since I see different people in these different settings, anyway.

12 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Bare minimum to be happy is really low for me. I am also used to doing frequent laundry and can't go beyond 10-12 days because of underwear shortages anyway.

3 pairs of blue jeans
1-2 summer skirts/dresses
1 pair of shorts (BF style)
1 pair dress slacks
5-6 tees (one set short sleeve for summer, 1 set long sleeve for winter)
3 blouses/relaxed button downs
1 dress button down
3 toppers-- 2 jackets, 1 cardi (leather, cotton or jean, cardi or knit jacket)
winter coat
one pair of boots, one pair of shoes, one pair of sandals, one pair of dress pumps
1 multipurpose dress

in addition to this I have a bunch of gear and PJs, one more pair of summer shorts, 2 more dress button-downs, one pencil skirt, 2 extra summer skirts, one extra summer dress, and extra multipurpose dress, 1 extra leather jacket, and 1 extra pair of heavier trousers, and 1 formal dress. I also have one pair of heeled sandals. I could definitely make do with the minimum in the first list though, because many of my "extra" pieces are frequently unworn or orphans.

I would like to replace a lot of my top collection and add a bit of variety, add some sweaters (pullovers and cardis), replace the shorts or add an additional pair next year, replace the summer dresses and skirts or add next year, replace the cotton jacket and perhaps add a second, and replace or add to my shoe collection and perhaps add a pair of BF jeans, a blazer, and a pair of skinnies or straight legs.

12 years ago

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I have capsules for exercise, evening & dressy day, these are all fairly small. I also have a coat capsule & a summer one (see below).

I don't make absolute capsules with my everyday clothes because I find there are always some options I love to wear a lot more than others. What works for me is 8 bottoms (one for each day & a spare). I try to have 2 to 3 tops & 2 jackets that work well with each bottom & each other. Most of my clothes are trans-seasonal & I prefer to layer rather than wear heavier clothing & our winters are usually fairly mild - no snow.

Also I have a linen/cotton capsule for our very hot weather. This is the one I have been working on improving. I wanted to get the tops in this group to work with my lighter pants & jeans in my year round clothes & the linen bottoms to work with my trans-seasonal tops & knits.

12 years ago

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