Five months gone, and I'm still sitting at five items added to my wardrobe (see photo 1 and linked collection). Thoughts this month:
1. I'm recommitting to French 5. This was one of my goals at the start of the year, but I've been thinking about it a lot more recently and I think I have some ways to make it work even better for me. The new guidelines:
- Five new pieces for warm weather and five new pieces for cool weather.
- Accessories (scarves, belts, jewelry, bags) only count in the five if they're over $100. That's not something I intend to use as a loophole, just keeps the focus on major additions,
- Gear and sleepwear don't count in the five.
- Direct replacements of essentials don't count in the five.
- Duplicating essentials does count (even similar-but-not-identical dupes), Upgrading essentials that aren't worn out also counts. Adding new items to my essentials list can happen by purchasing them as part of the five and then transitioning them to the essentials list if they prove themselves.
2. Planning future purchases. I'm still planning to get a white dress for this summer. I'd also like to add either a white top (maybe a dupe of my Only Child one, auditioning a new essential) or possibly an open-knit sweater.
I actually ordered a sweater that Angie featured on the blog (photo 2), but I returned it. The color was a little too clear of a pink for my taste, and I think I'd prefer something a bit more cropped.
I also have some essentials replacements coming up, including directly replacing my Bed Stu sandals (the Miz Mooz sandals are great, but more of a statement for me) and my black jersey skirt, which is showing its age after 40 wears. I also may have to replace my cropped jeans (74 wears), which I recently patched, but might not survive much longer. I also could use a new pair of olive utility pants. My last pair (which were joggers) didn't hold up as well as I would have liked and I retired them with 33 wears late last year. I put items to be replaced in Finds.
3. Some stats. Look away if you hate numbers.
Not buying much has been great for wearing the heck out of my clothes. The median number of wears for my wardrobe items is 32 right now. The mean is 40.
Out of 101 pieces of clothing, gear, and accessories, 54 items now have more than 30 wears. It's always been a goal to have about half over thirty, with newer items rotating in as things wear out, but buying higher quality is starting to make a difference. I'd like to get to fewer than 100 items, with less than 25% turnover each year. With my very casual, 2-season lifestyle, that seems eminently possible.
This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.
If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.
