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I put my wardrobe into a spreadsheet

AnnieMouse

Veteran

Something you should know about me: I am a giant nerd about spreadsheets.

I am enamoured of the idea of a minimalist wardrobe, but have always maintained that I have to dress "too many people*" with my single wardrobe, and besides - I wear it all! But do I, really? Was I willing to get down to brass tacks with it?

I keep reading that the best way to work towards minimising your wardrobe into pieces you love is by tracking what you wear. I tried the hanger trick, but it always made me feel itchy in my mind - they all need to be the same direction! My CDO self just couldn't deal with it.

So a few momths ago, I added a page to my wardrobe inventory workbook of what I wear on a day-to-day basis. (I know... So, so dorky) I have been tracking my bottoms, top, additional layer, topper, shoes, and any other details as to event/ et cetera.

I started in March and have about 3 1/2 months of total data in there (I didn't stress about tracking - just when I happened to think about it and was at the computer). In the 115 days worth of data, I am able to notice some very clear trends on what I wear most often (by numbers of entries with that item) and total number of actual different pieces.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see that, as often as I feel I repeat my items, in that time, I wore 50 different bottoms! What I wasn't surprised by is how many times I reached for my favourite pairs of jeans or my maxi skirts. it brings into stark relief just ho rarely I will reach for a dress, prefering seperates far and away.

There are a few things this tells me:

a) Yes, I have a ridiculously large wardrobe (I thrift most of my wardrobe at a by-the-pound thrift shop)(Seriously: I have more than 50 bottoms, y'all. That's a lot)

b) I do actually wear more of it than I gave myself credit for

c) I will likely feel very stifled by a smaller wardrobe, as much as I feel it is an ideal towards which I want to work.

d) I have a much more clear understanding of what DOES NOT get worn in my wardrobe, so I have a much more vivid understanding of what can clearly go.

How do you manage your wardrobe? Does anyone else do something like this?

* My partner maintains that I have six or seven people living inside the one body - the hippie, the skate punk, the goth, the business woman, the 5 year old, and a kindergarten teacher.

General

19 replies

Latest reply was from lyn*

Archer

Veteran

Ha- I think the kids would love you then! I have just started doing this using the Stylebook app. (Invented for the OCDs) Your analysis sounds like what I can detect even after a couple of weeks- in any consistent way.
I don't think that you need to only show one aspect of yourself and abandon the breadth of yourself just so that your clothes take up less room. Really- that's too much.
Keep up the good work;)

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Wow. That is amazing. I really like how you have applied what you have learned to your plans going forward. Understanding ourselves and our needs clearly makes such a difference. This way, you might stop aspiring to a style goal that simply doesn't fit your life and personality, and stop feeling guilty that you can't meet it! You really do need a lot of clothes!

I don't have the patience to do a spreadsheet, although I can see how once you get started, it's probably not all that bad -- especially since you only need to enter the items once. Some people here do it by taking photos of their individual items (Ingunn comes to mind) and others keep rough track by posting daily WIW (or at least taking photos to look at themselves).

Last winter, I took photos as often as I could. (I didn't always post). My wardrobe is smaller, but I learned something similar to you. I really do wear all my clothes. Some more than others, obviously. (Jeans -- I work from home.) But I also wear and need the other items I own (which I had sometimes felt a bit guilty about because they're not really part of my "everyday" wear). Interesting recognitions.

Gabrielle

I use a spreadsheet as well!! The spreadsheet design was provided to me from another YLF member.

My results are somewhat different from you. I actually wear far less clothes than I own. But what I found is that I am a very seasonal dresser. I wear the clothes that fit the season and almost never think of grabbing something that "could work" but doesn't fit the season "in my mind."

What this tells me is that I have three seasons that I dress for. Each season is distinctly different and specifically designed with a goal in mind. So it no longer bothers me when clothes hang in my closet unworn. I now know that come a different season those currently unworn clothes will be in heavy rotation.

It also helps me zero in on my wardrobe goals. Because if the stores are featuring something I absolutely love, I now realize I will not wear it unless it fits in with seasonal objectives.

By the way, I did not have multiple personalities. I have two, maybe three, personalities. Here is what I think they might be: professional (makes up a huge part of my wardrobe), athlete (significantly smaller part and could really use updating), and casual around the house (weakest part of my wardrobe). Fewer personalities means I have a smaller wardrobe, but it could also suggest that less imagination.

donnat

Veteran

I like this stuff. I too yearn for a small well curated wardrobe.

AnnieMouse

Veteran

@Archer - tell me about this Stylebook! Is it on Android?

@Suz - yes, the set up is the hardest part. Once it's been initiated, it's not so bad - I just fill it in when I get my computer booted up in the morning. I need to go through and clean up the inventory sections, though, because I have gotten rid of a lot this summer in my quarterly purge (I have a lot, but I'm also relatively ruthless about culling what isn't working for me)

@Gabrielle - I'm seasonal-ish. I have certain things I just don't wear during the spring/ summer (my paprika-coloured jeans, saddle boots, boucle knit turtlenecks). They live elsewhere. I'm so glad to meet another spreadsheet keeper!

As for winnowing down, and example: I always *want* to be a sundress girl, but I just don't reach for them - I have FIVE, and while I wore them this summer, I wore them each once. I'm not convinced that's enough to justify them in my closet. I buy them thinking I will wear them in all these different ways - with t-shirts, and jackets, and scarves, and as skirts, and so on - but I just never do. They somehow, to me, feel "fussy." (Which is interesting, because I feel like a lot of women reach for them precisely beause they are not)

@donnat - I collect capsule wardrobes in my Pinterest account. I've done 33/3, even, and enjoyed it - it definitely makes things less stressful! But I'm so glad to end it and go back to my full complement of options. So is my husband (he thinks capsule dressing is "boring" - his words, not mine). Ha!

Susie

Veteran

I love this kind of stuff! I use Evernote to track a lot of wardrobe data.

I started recording what I wear- Monday through Friday- back in April. Each week is a separate note. I also have a list of all my purchases for the year. For the purchases, I add a little + if it's something that has worked well. Pieces that did not work as well get an x along with a note of WHY (style, fit, just didn't feel fab in it, etc). I also have separate lists of each category like pants, toppers, sweaters, shoes, etc.

Additionally, I keep notes about style goals, lists of likes/dislikes, a list of needs, and to do's like needed alterations.

I considered a spreadsheet to track number of wearings but I could extract that from my WIW notes. Because I do purge regularly, I THINK I am wearing everything. I should probably try the hanger trick but it would probably bother me too to not have them all the same way! I did something similar with shoes and put little stickers on some back in early spring and I've already eliminated a few that I saw I didn't wear.

My approach is different than Gabrielle's in that a lot of my clothes span the seasons. Of course there are certain pieces that are strictly fall/winter or spring/summer but many do work year round because of working in a/c, not wearing wool, favoring a lot of the same colors year round, etc.

Wardrobe nerds unite!

Archer

Veteran

Search on Pinterest for: Stylebook App: Closet Organiser
Easiest way to see. I'm using Ipad so only know that. It's fun too.

Adelfa

Veteran

I use spreadsheets a lot to track my clothing. I have one for my "33" items of work and smart casual wear. I have one each for my shoes and scarves. I have one to track daily outfits and on that one I also track how I felt in an outfit and any compliments I received.

My spreadsheets show me what I want to cull and to some extent what I want to buy (Angie helps with what I want to buy too!) They show me when to stop wearing an item/outfit because it just didn't feel right. My spreadsheets help me keep my closet full of a minimal number of items that really work for me.

For me keeping these spreadsheets is a hobby and I don't recommend them if you don't enjoy them!

Mo

(website)

Veteran

The analytical geek in me loves this idea but in practice I just couldn't keep up with it. That said, I have picture cataloged much of my wardrobe and find that very helpful. I do have a count and know exactly how many pants (14), skirts (12), dresses (18), etc. that I have. I take WIW pics most days. I forget here and again, like yesterday, but it's enough of a record to look back on and see what's worn and what's not.
I am keeping very close track of my purchases the last 2 years and that has been both helpful and eye opening.

AnnieMouse

Veteran

My spreadsheet is a workbook - I have page for each section of the wardrobe (trousers, denim, skirts, dresses, sweaters, blouses/ tops, shoes, costumes (I do a lot of events that encourage "non-typical attire"), jackets/ cardigans), and my WIW for this year. At the bottom of the pages, I keep a running "Items to get rid of" that I put in my donate pile (items that I've outgrown or no longer work with my style direction, that I bought thrifting but didn't fit properly when I got home, et cetera).

My capsules & 33/3s are in a seperate book.

anchie

Veteran

I manage my wardrobe with Pinterest. Whenever I buy an item, I find the picture of it in the interenet and I pin it to "My Wardrobe" board. That way I have overview of my wardrobe from almost anywhere. And picture is much better quality than it would be if I taken the picture my self. And when I purge an item, I just dele the pin.
I also have another board called "Shopping" which I use for the items I have ordered but not yet received or decided if I will keep it or not. This board helps me tracking my orders and returns. When an item deserves a place in my wardrobe, I move it to "My wardrobe", or if it gets returned I just delete it.
It is also usefull if I want to show what I bought to a friend, or ask for advice. If you are interested, you can also have a peek into "My wardrobe" Not very exciting though.

In My Joi

(website)

Veteran

Your organization speaks to my sense of detail! When my wardrobe
was larger, I too utilized a spreadsheet. Within the past 2 years or so, I have
eliminated 30+ bags of clothing/shoes/purses (yep, the huge black garbage
bags)- and I have the donation receipts to prove it I also gave away quite a
bit when moving across country, but I digress...Now, although my wardrobe is
not what most would consider "small", it is of the size where I can
visually manage it It contains all elements of my style, and I implement my
moods easily: Vintage/Bohemian/Classic/Retro. And for additional fun, I
sometimes intertwine them

Thistle

Veteran

Ahhh, how I wish I had the time to do something similar! My spreadsheet geek side loves this type of stuff. My darling toddler, however, has no time for it. Unless, of course, she is allowed to bang on my keyboard. Which really accomplishes nothing but a sticky keyboard!

Lisa

Veteran

Yes I also track my wardrobe in a spreadsheet. This has helped me cut down my 4 season wardrobe from over 300 pieces a few years ago to under 150 pieces right now. I also purged all vests and skirts from my wardrobe and really cut down on dresses (over 12 to 4 now) after seeing how little wear those items got over time. I also track the cost per wear, to get a sense of what categories I can spend more on and get a lot of use out of (I'll spend more on jeans which are worn daily for me and far less on a dress which is rarely worn).

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

Yay! I LOVE wardrobe nerding! Last year, I did similar exercises as yours, and learned quite a few things about myself and my wardrobe. Like you, I dream of a minimal wardrobe, but I also realize that a 33/3 wardrobe is far too small for me, but it doesn't need to be as big as some, either. Middle ground works for me. I don't have 50 bottoms. I don't have 50 tops, either, but perhaps 35, all in all? Thanks for getting me started again - I'm off to have a look at my evernote collection of wardrobe data

deb

Veteran

OK, I started this then fell off. I think the nice weather happened and I spend more time in the garden in the spring, summer and fall than the winter, when I started my tracking. I love the way you are able to analyze your wardrobe and have given me the incentive to get back into it.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I've been taking photos of my outfits & my current winter wardrobe. It is very enlightening, especially the outfit photos

Susie

Veteran

Next up for me is to do some planning for fall.... Choosing some key pieces that I really want to wear and creating some outfits so I can see what holes I might have, like a belt or layering tee. Plus it will force me to focus on how much I have already in case I really need to stop shopping!

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I have used Stylebook for years - I really don't use it anymore, because my closet is cohesive enough that it's pretty easy to put together an outfit.

I found it was helpful in the beginning of the "revolution" to have a track.