I have several items that are just for special occasions. My formal wear is the main example--- I have one formal dress (cocktail/black tie-- but not long) that obviously isn't something I wear more than a couple of times a year. Still, I do attend lots of weddings and I generally wear that dress for all of them. So, let's just say 5 years x 2 times a year--- at least 10 wears out of one dress. My particular formal dress was less than $100 on sale-- 65 maybe? plus what I had spent on wraps, shoes, clutches, and jewelry to make it more versatile. These special occasion only pieces are the only things that I feel need to be super versatile in my wardrobe as I just can't justifying owning more than a few. I do have a couple dresses that are a step up from a cotton day or sun dress that I tend to wear to graduations, special occasions, casual weddings, ect. These two are less versatile since I have two and can switch between them so I don't show up to a similar event with the same group in the same dress 2 or 3 times a year---
I have 6 year old dress pants that are occasional wear items, but I have gotten my use and money out of them and they are both wearing out and I am ready to retire them.
Most of my other items have a much shorter lifespan in my closet. Blouses, sweaters, ts---- all stay in less than 5 years.
However, I expect a much higher level of wear from them. It is pretty common for me to have maybe 8-10 work outfits (some incorporating the same slacks or blazers) and a couple casual outfits in the rotation. I have a 4 season climate, but tend to wear the same clothing in spring and fall, with a coat over it in winter. Summer has its own much smaller wardrobe to some extent and I mix those pieces into spring and fall outfits. So essentially I wear the same 12-14 outfits 8-9 months out of the year. My pieces are usually under 100 dollars at the most with the exception of shoes, blazers, and coats. I expect blazers, skirts, ect to last upwards of 3 years, jeans to last a year or two with constant wear or more with less, and ts and blouses to last 2 years. That is a pretty high cost per wear.
Still, I have some pieces that don't get worn much--- things that end up as orphans, wear poorly, aren't practical or I just hate. Keeping a small wardrobe allows myself to get over the fact that sometimes this just happens-- I don't feel wasteful.
