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Info learned from tracking wears

Tania

Veteran

A few weeks ago, I was worried that my AG Nikkis were going to blow before I could find a good replacement. I bought them last October and they are at 121 wears. I did put a small patch on a tiny weak area in the thigh as a preventative measure. I almost ordered another set of relaxed skinnies, but I wanted to see if anything else would come my way.

My Current Elliot cropped straight legs arrived after the NAS and they are now at 13 wears, thus taking the heat off the Nikkis, which I probably wear once a week now.

I've enjoyed tracking my wears over the last year. I've realized that I don't need a large closet, and I appreciate having a few heavy hitters that I wear into the ground. Realizing this has allowed me to spend more on fewer items, which I resisted doing for a long time. But I am a creature of habit, and I don't mind repeating things I like.

Have you used CPW to make changes to shopping habits? If so, how?

Shopping

22 replies

Latest reply was from Joy

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What a great realization.

I wish I could say that tracking CPW helped me spend less overall, but so far, it isn't the case; if anything, a season of tracking made me spend more. I learned from tracking when and why boredom creeps in -- and resolving the boredom did involve some more shopping!

Having said that, like you, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was wearing my favourite jeans more than 100 times in a year. That absolutely made me feel vindicated in buying premium denim. The CPW is minimal in my closet.

Anonymous

I really need to get on this. I suspect I might have the same results as you, Tania. I don't care about having tons of clothes: I just want ones I like ! I never mind wearing my favourites over and over again, and have been known to wear the same thing two days in a row if I liked it enough ( don't worry, I don't work in a office or with the same peoe every day - lol )

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Tracking transformed my spending/shopping. I still have a similar budget but now I put most (around 80%) of my money into the items I wear more than 4x a week.

The other big change is that tracking also made it a lot easier to let go of clothes that I no longer wore. For example I had some flat shoes with a CPW of 80 cents; in the past I would have looked at those shoes & thought I can't give them away they are still perfectly good. Knowing that the CPW was fantastic allowed me to let them go with no regrets

Gigi

Veteran

Good job on learning from your tracking!

I don't mind repeating things, but I am also a mood dresser and have a few different fashion personas, so I need a little more variety than the average bear. That means that even though I have favorite pieces, they don't get as much wear as I would like for purposes of CPW. I have discovered through tracking CPW that I really shouldn't spend more than $100 on a pair of jeans, even a pair that will be a workhorse. I bought a pair of coated COH jeans a couple of years ago, and even though I bought them on sale and love them, they are still quite high for CPW compared to my other items. Since my mood changes so much, I simply don't have enough opportunities to wear them. This information was very helpful as I shopped at J Crew this summer: I bought two pairs of jeans, each for about $100. If they had been $150 (my COH price), I probably would have passed.

Sadie

Just curious- do people have targets for # times worn and CPW? Seems like some items are workhorses (jeans, tees) and if the # worn or CPW don't meet goals, that is a disappointment. But I just can't imagine a pair of dressy heels or silk dress will ever meet these goals, but still have a place in one's wardrobe.

Elly

Veteran

Sadie-- I don't really track my wears, only because I usually only have enough clothes for a season where every piece gets worn every week. Occasionally I will track (or go back and calculate) wears on an item I'm not sure is getting worn enough, or bites the dust earlier than I expected to see if my expectations were off or if there was another issue at play. Plus, I still have a hard time justifying pricey items like premium denim by CPW because I have gap jeans that I'm still very happy to wear that are in the 400+ wears category-- if I stopped being happy I'd venture onwards, but wears alone isn't enough for me because the GAP are comfy, durable, don't bag, fit well, etc.

I do do some calculations to try and figure out how many times a year I have opportunity to wear a dressy piece and how often I'm comfortable repeating and that helps me figure out how many I need to buy-- more of a lifestyle checkpoint, persay.

Sadie

Thanks Elly! Agree on the jeans- I have Loft jeans that were $35 a pair and still look great 1 1/2 years and 50 + wears later.

Anonymous

I don't track wears per-se, but I've been more aware lately of which items I'm reaching for more often and I couldn't agree more that it helps you to realise where you can afford to drop more cash for higher quality items, especially with a smaller wardrobe. Well done and keep up the good work!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sadie, it seems to vary from person to person. Some people do set ball park figures (I want every item to get down to $1 per wear, for instance.) For me, that would be unrealistic, for exactly the reason you mention. While I don't often need dressy items, I DO need them sometimes, and it would be silly to say they need to cost $10 each (or some arbitrary and impossible figure like that.)

Other people look at overall averages. Maybe the CPW on a pair of jeans is pennies, or even negative (i.e. for items we receive as gifts) while the CPW on a dressy item is $20 or more. If it all averages out to what's an acceptable level for you, it's okay.

For me, dressy items may have a high CPW year by year, but they last for quite a few years in my closet, so in the long run it might not be as high as it seems at first. Meanwhile, the knit that gets hard wear in a season wears out in one year. CPW may be (in the end) about the same.

I think CPW has to be married to "the happiness factor." If we are getting high happiness from everything in our closets than maybe that's intelligent economy.

Sadie

Thanks Suz!

Tania

Veteran

Thanks for the replies.

Re: dressier clothes, I used to spend more on one time use items which didn't work at all for my real life...and then end up getting rid of them years later barely worn. When I started to revamp my closet, I decided to expend most of my time/$ on my real life wear, and tried to get things that could crossover more easily and that appealed to me, things that I would find a way to use.

Gigi

Veteran

My target CPW is one to two dollars, but I don't force myself to meet it. It's more just for fun--the economical side of me likes to see how "practical" I have been with my money. That's why I look at number of times worn too, since that also is a way to account for the happiness factor (at least for everyday clothing and not special occasion wear). I like to periodically look at my spreadsheet to see what I have worn the most in pants, what I have worn the most in tops, etc., because that gives me an idea for what types of purchases would be good bets in the future.

As Suz noted, special occasion wear isn't ever going to get to a decent CPW. But when you wear that special dress once or twice a year and feel like a million dollars, it is worth it! And having those types of clothes is a real need, even though they are rarely worn.

Summer

Veteran

This just goes to show how useful these exercises can be. Even one small insight can be a great help with future shopping. I haven't tracked CPW up to now because my wardrobe is small, I'm happy to re-wear and repeat, and I think everything is getting is getting worn regularly, BUT I may just give it a go to see if I'm missing something glaringly obvious (happens all the time with me!).

I'm totally with you on your conclusions about dressier items. Like you, I try to find versatile things that can be dressed up, but that still have a place as less formal wear. I've also decided not to spend too much on my dressier clothes for the very reason you mention. I'd rather put my money into my smart casual capsule, which is the one I need and wear most.

Staysfit

Veteran

This has been a very interesting post to read. I am a always attracted to posts about tracking. I have set out several times to try tracking, but so far have not yet mastered it. I think I have found a way that works for me however. I am simply writing what I wear down in my calendar. Then I can go to a spreadsheet at the end of the week and enter all the information. Hopefully it will work and I will have some useful data.

I do not have a small wardrobe like so many here have described. Even so, I definitely repeat wears of favorite items, like the AG Nikki jeans. I have three pairs. When I really love something, and wear it often, I tend to purchase an extra pair or two because of laundry backup. I know that isn't doing great things for my CPW! I am always curious about people with very small wardrobes and if they have more time to do their laundry than I do?!

Tania

Veteran

One of my morning chores is to toss in a load of laundry if necessary and then I hang after breakfast. I probably do a load on most days but that includes laundry for the four of us (two small kids and two adults), and includes loads for things like napkins and towels, my husband's work shirts, or hand-washables. Our washer is energy efficient, so I don't worry about running it daily.

The washing process takes only a couple of minutes a day since I don't let it pile up. I collect all the clothes, bring it to the washer, sort, and toss the biggest load in. I leave smaller piles sorted and add over the week. Whichever pile is most pressing gets washed.

We hang dry. That process takes longer, but I prefer sun-dried clothes, clothes last longer, and it saves energy. If I am short on time, or the weather is bad, I just hang my nicer stuff and toss the rest in the dryer.

I also only wash when necessary, and I find denim can go a few wears. I have a rack where I can air out any clothes (mostly denim and woolens) that aren't dirty before I fold and store again.

Elly

Veteran

Staysfit-- IDK how much time you have to do your laundry-- usually I wash two loads of laundry (clothing) a week-- a load of jeans and washable jackets (my gear fleece from the week goes in) and a load of the 5 or so tees or tops, socks, undies, delicate workout gear-- and I hang dry most things so I can do two loads in 1 hour. I mostly wear colors that can be washed together, but occasionally have a third mini load with lights and whites or a load of things that otherwise can't be washed with one of the two main loads, but rarely. I hand wash sweaters and bras and an occasional top in the kitchen sink after cleaning it after dishes one night (10 min, max). Sometimes I save time and combine my jeans load with the SOs work uniform and pants from the week, so for a house of two we are doing a load of sheets and towels every 2 weeks, and 3 loads of clothes a week with occasional hand washing. When I have a washer and dryer I do the sheets and towels overnight, and the SOs load that goes in the dryer as an overnight load. When I don't, I go to the quiet laundromat and wash all 3 or 4 loads at the same time and am out the door within an hour.

Angie

(website)

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High five. I LOVE my cropped CE kick flare jeans too. Wear them A LOT.

Current/Elliott 'The Cropped Straight' Ankle Jeans

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Anonymous

To chime in my 2c worth re laundry - I have a small wardrobe yet still wear 20% of my things 80 % of the time. Laundry isn't an issue - there are 3 of us and two of them (not me) like to throw stuff in the laundry after every use it seems. Just gets done as it accumulates during the week. It's the least labor intensive job to do around the house in my world . I don't wash my jeans (or shorts ) until they get something spilled on them or are somehow dirty from some activity. I don't believe in washing unless it's really necessary - less work for me, plus it is less wear and tear on clothes. Yoga wear is another story though -and that is something i cannot avoid. Three pieces a day (tank, bra, tights) times 5 days a week. Each has to be washed after every practice (hot yoga) . That's the bulk of my laundry right there.

Anonymous

But I really related to the comment above about how tracking CPW and wears can help figure out where it makes sense to duplicate or invest your wardrobe money. I am going to set up a spreadsheet this week and give this whole analytics thing a go!

shedev

Veteran

I started to track wears/CPW in 2013. The first thing I learned was that I was buying way too many clothes, and they weren't getting worn as much as I thought they were. I've been buying less each year, and am starting the 5 piece French wardrobe now. I went from a large wardrobe to a medium and am getting more wears now. I'd like most of my stuff to get to the $2. mark and a good portion of my wardrobe is there. I do buy things that I know going in will not hit the mark, but they tend to have high happy per wear and will not be soon passed on.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Sadie: I don't have a target for CPW I just use the info to help me know where to put my money & to help me cull things I'm done with Yes, I agree that we need things in our wardrobes that will have higher CPWs. I try to keep these less versatile outfits to a minimum. I also track my "JPW" - Joy Per Wear - which helps to balance out the higher CPW of some items

Joy

Veteran

I don't always keep track of CPW, but even just considering it has changed my spending so that I spend more on everyday clothing. It has also helped me to let go of old favorites that I find I no longer reach for. Maybe fashion or my style has moved on but I will still think those oldies are workhorses until the numbers tell a different story.