March Shopping Challenge - YouLookFab Forum

Given my schedule for the last few days of the month, I think I can safely say that I'm done with my March shopping and ready to check in.

In our yearlong shopping challenge, I committed to buying 31 or fewer items this year (not counting undergarments).
January - 0 items
February - 5 items
March - 2 items

I added the Gap joggers in olive this month, as well as a Disney graphic tee (actually, my husband bought this for me as a gift). Both items slot into my nascent theme park capsule.

That puts me at 7 total items YTD, all shown in Finds. I've retired 10 items so far this year, so my wardrobe has actually shrunk a little.

More in-depth numbers geeking ahead. You can safely stop here if you're not into the nitty gritty stats.

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I checked to see how much my new items are getting worn. It's too early to make judgements, based on this, but some items are clearly already working hard.

Bed Stu ankle boots - 12 wears
Eileen Fisher jumpsuit - 7 wears
Elizabeth Suzann dress - 4 wears
Gap joggers - 2 wears
rust scarf - 1 wear
graphic tee - 1 wear
lounge pants - don't track, but a lot

The items I retired ranged between 13 and 124 wears. 70% were over the 30-wear threshold. My goal is to get this number over 90%. That means buying less and choosing better, which is what this whole exercise is about for me.

Custom Find

by Jenn

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Nordstrom Rack

Bed Stu 'Bonnie' Boot

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Custom Find

by Jenn

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Target

Women's Perfectly Cozy Lounge Jogger Pants - Stars Above™

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5 years ago

Synne

Veteran

Hm.. I think I need to start counting wears to. I am really impressed with your wardrobe analysis. And I am absolutely in love with your color palette! Your wardrobe seems to be very consistent in your most flattering colours. This is a personal style goal for me, so I am taking notes!

Anonymous

So 30 wears per year or over the lifespan of the item? Either way sounds like a good thing to track!

Style Fan

It looks like you are making some great choices for your wardrobe. The graphic Tee is very cute.

Jenni NZ

Hi Jenn, missed you! All looking great so far. I’m sorry the mules didn’t work.
After last year’s clear out of 42 items, 8 of which were over 10 years old, I found only 17 of the 42 had over 30 wears. A further 7 had over 20 wears. The very few wears items were mostly shoes that were too tight or too high
I didn’t used to know or think about any of this so forgive myself.
I would also like to get to a high proportion of exactly right for me items.
I have bought 7 things in 2019 so far. However I’ve only retired one!- cost $30, had 30 wears, $1 per wear.
Will have to retire more or back to my old expanding wardrobe problem...

Sal

Good work Jenn. The boots dress and jumpsuit are working hard!! All great items. It looks like you are moving in the right direction with good choices that you want to wear. I have been thinking about your dress and the pleasure it gives you - I would love to find something similar here.

I am aiming for 30 including gear, bags and shoes (not underwear sleepwear socks hosiery). I was at 5 in the morning yesterday and 9 by the end of the day. A visit to the curated charity shop - dress and blouse - and a visit to my designer friend - wide leg crops and a skirt.

Jan 3
Feb 1
Mar 5

Jenn

(website)

suntiger, 30 wears over the lifetime of an item. In my 4-season climate, I aim for items that I'll wear a minimum of 10x/year and that I'll want to keep wearing for 3 years, but I also have workhorse items that hit their 30 in a single season and go way beyond. Here's the speech that started the #30wears concept: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fa.....ll-i-wear-
And here's our YLF thread about it: https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/30wears

Synne, I tend to be conservative about colors and more experimental with silhouette, but everyone is different!

Style Fan, the tee is from Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, thus the theme park capsule!

JenniNZ, I have had NO luck with mules! I've probably tried on ten different pairs at this point. These Treasure and Bond ones were the latest. The size 10 was too small, and the 11 was too big. I'm thinking of trying a more traditional clog instead, which would still suit my need for a casual California slip-on, and seem reasonably on-trend right now.

Like you, a lot of the items I'm letting go of right now were from before I thought about sustainability and longevity as much when purchasing, especially the ones below 20 wears! I think I'm getting better.

Nordstrom

Treasure&Bond Elle Mule

Sal, I find purchases often come in chunks like that for me, too. I think that's a good thing, as it means we're concentrating our shopping and not in a constant consumption cycle, if that makes sense. I can't wait to see your new additions!

Hmm- I do write down wiw, but generally don't bother to add it up! Assuming that my transitional things never reach that 30 wears though, since theyre only useful a few days a year. Unfortunately I've had many things I've passed on much quicker: shoes later deemed uncomfortable, didn't really suit my needs, or poor quality.

suntiger, when I first started counting, I was SHOCKED at how many of my items didn't make it to 30 wears. I had always kind of assumed that clothes lasted forever.

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