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More number crunching- how much do I need? (Long!)

Susie

Veteran

Yes this is nerdy and yes it did involve a spreadsheet But to me it was fun!

I've been giving some thought to wardrobe size and about the number of pieces that I really need, based on how much variety I want and the number of times per season I am comfortable repeating outfits. Thanks, Mo, for getting so many of us thinking!

To keep it simple, I divided a year into fall/winter and spring/summer. I focused primarily on work wear and since I work in an office and commute by car, the 2 season approach basically works for me. Also, I have a business casual dress code (including jeans but I usually save them for Fridays) so I don't have separate wardrobes for work vs weekends, except for a need for some very casual summer items like shorts.

I determined that I want 20 outfits per season, wearing each outfit once every 4 weeks and repeating each 6.5 times. So an item would get worn about 6 times per year, up to 12 times if it works in both seasons.

For me, there are several variations on what comprises an outfit. So I listed them, along with the number of that combination I want to have. I wear pants more frequently than skirts or dresses so I estimated- for fall/winter- that my 20 outfits would consist of:

-Pants and top (8)
-Pants, layering top, and topper (4)
-Dress (2)
-Dress and topper (0)
-Skirt and top (1)
-Skirt, layering top, and topper (1)
-Jeans and top (3)
-Jeans, layering top, and topper (1)

The outfits for spring/summer are slightly different but quite similar.

Then I figured out how many of each type of item I need to make my 40 outfits and that looks like this (first number is f/w and second is spring/summer):

Pants- 12/12=24
Dresses- 2/2=4
Skirts- 2/2=4
Jeans- 4/4=8
Tops- 12/14=26
Layering tops- 6/4=10
Toppers- 6/4=10

Total 86

If I add in 12 tops and 6 pairs of shorts for very casual summer wear, plus an additional 20 pieces of weekend wear, just to add a bit more variety and/or reduce the number of wearings per year, I'm still at 125.

Am I missing something? Do my assumptions sound reasonable...
Repeat an item once every 4 weeks?
Wear an item 6 - 12 times per year?

Now 110 doesn't include outerwear, shoes and accessories, lounge wear, gear, or pajamas but it is still less than what I have. For instance, this tells me that I need 26 tops and I probably have twice that many. I don't like to think that one of my new favorite tops will get worn less than 6 times in a whole year.

So...does this mean that I just have too many clothes???

Dressing

22 replies

Latest reply was from jayne

Amy

(website)

Veteran

I consider myself to be analytical, but I just don't do the number-crunching with my wardrobe.

Can I ask...not about numbers, but about how you feel? Do you feel like you have too much?

Do you have a hard time remembering everything you have and accidentally buying duplicates?

Do you lose things in the depths of your closet/dresser/storage?

Are your storage areas clean or cluttered?

Do you get bored recycling the same few pieces?

carter

Veteran

How can that sound so logical, yet the total number sound so low? I must be a hoarder;-).

cinnamon fern

Veteran

Hmmm ... for myself I wouldn't equate wearing each outfit six times with wearing each item six times. Do you prefer not to remix? (Or is that where weekend clothes come int?)

Mo

(website)

Veteran

In short, yes I think it means you have more than you need but probably an amount that you want. When I did my 'crunch' it was to figure out at what point I was over saturating any categories based on my wear patterns. I knew that many things were only getting 4 or 6 wears in a year. Many things. Having a small portion of my wardrobe getting few wears is fine, but when most of it was, I had to start figuring why.

cheryl

Veteran

I love posts like this. I think that sounds like a totally reasonable number but if you wanted to go even lower you could because i'm sure you could pair the pants with multiple tops, etc. I have a large wardrobe though so as long as you feel you have about the right amount thats all that matters.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

For me the answer is it depends. I see it being more about what you love. You can go through your tops & only keep the ones you really love & wear, if that is all of them then that's good. Or you could decide on a one in one out policy for tops. Or decide to buy x instead of tops. What do you think?

Susie

Veteran

I didn't get back to this post last night but I appreciate your thoughts. Amy, your questions are good ones...

Do you feel like you have too much? In some categories, yes, I think that I do.

Do you have a hard time remembering everything you have and accidentally buying duplicates? I do remember what I have and I don't do exact duplicates but, again, I probably have too many 'layering tanks' for instance, even if they are all different colors.

Do you lose things in the depths of your closet/dresser/storage? Never! I'm pretty compulsive about having my closet very well organized and all of my clothes are in there. The only things in my dresser are underwear, socks, bathing suits and pajamas.

Are your storage areas clean or cluttered? Organized!

Do you get bored recycling the same few pieces? I don't know that I've ever really tried it.

I think perhaps that I am attempting to apply a very logical, black and white, approach to a more emotional approach to shopping and acquiring. If I see something I love and it fits and I can afford it, I get it, without much thought to NEED. On the other hand, I know that I wear layering tees or tanks so on one level I think that I need them in every color.

Cinnamon Fern raised another good point. When I did my numbers, I didn't even add in the mix and match potential. ie Bottom A can be worn with Top A but also with Top B. That is something else that I struggle with. How much do I want to mix and match? I know Angie posted about some of her clients having set outfits that they always wear the same way. Part of me likes the idea of that and that's basically what I did with my numbers. I'm not very creative so maybe I just need to hone in on one best or at least good way to wear each item and just go with it!

Caro, that is definitely a big part of my thoughts. I want to LOVE everything that I have and wear everything that I have, more or less equally.

I think I feel another purge on the horizon

Thanks for letting me ramble!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

So interesting. It's great reading the analysis that has been going on this week. Thanks for sharing - Suz, Susie, Claire, Lisa and others too. We are always learning, aren't we?

I can be very analytical too - or not at all. I would never count the items in my wardrobe or pop them on a spreadsheet. I guess I just don't like numbers. But I am visually and emotionally analytical. It's all got to work when I stare at my wardrobe. I wonder if that makes sense to anyone but me?

That said, I have a spreadsheet for my monthly wardrobe budget, and am very strict about it.

Susie

Veteran

Angie, thank you for your support. I think your "visually analytical" does make sense. I spend a lot of time in my closet just staring!

I know too that you are in favor of discipline regarding our wardrobes so I like to think that I am following your wisdom.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks, Susie. I do believe that a little wardrobe discipline makes our style journey more fun - which at the end of the day is the point in all of this. So thanks for taking that to heart. xo

Anonymous

Angie's "visually analytical" approach makes perfect sense to me. I'm the same way. It probably does stem from a hatred of numbers and spreadsheets, lol.

I do believe in the disclipline of a budget, though.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Susie -- the number you came up with is exactly the number I own! This is after two years of building from scratch after weight loss. Of course I have purged a ton as I've gone. As in...I experimented a lot, made mistakes, etc. as I've learned at YLF.

Anyway. I think Amy's questions were excellent ones. What we technically *need* and what we *enjoy* can be two different things. Some of us derive enjoyment from boiling it down to its bare essentials; others derive it from the mix and match; others from the hunt; others from having tons of choice and variety.

So...I don't know. I do know that I also stare at my closet a lot. It has to work visually to me. I do a lot of purging after simply staring at what is there. I will look at what I LOVE and purge based on that. What doesn't fit with what I love? This is what has moved me forward fastest, I think. (I still have a long way to go.)

At the end of my own analysis I have decided that the amount of clothing I have, while strictly speaking enough to cover my needs, is not enough to make me feel completely satisfied. I am going to add to the closet to get it up to about 120 pieces (not counting outerwear, shoes, gear, sleepwear). I am already feeling bored with many of my winter choices for clothing (and we have a long season ahead). This means I need more variety.

But I want every piece in the closet to be something I truly enjoy wearing.

jayne

Veteran

I loved your approach. It hits home here as I think I also don't really want the old mix and match wardrobe, at least not within a season. I might like to mix them into new outfits for a NEW season the next year, and replace a few things. But for the one season, having a set of defined and happy outfits seems ideal.

I think your numbers are pretty right for me also even though i do 4 seasons. My number are in excel so I could so a comparison later. (got to leave to pick up a kid from practice soon). But it seems just about right from what I remember.

I must admit, I am doing 23 outfits right now (fall) and struggling a bit to not rewear one of the key pieces in the same week. My 23 are made up from items re-used (mixed and matched) instead of your method. I thought 23 would be enough, but because of the reusing items issue, it is feeling too few outfits. With your numbers, I should see what I need to add to make 23 non mixed outfits and maybe I would struggle a bit less. Thanks for the inspiration.

Susie

Veteran

Suz, that is too funny! Have you determined what categories of items you want to add? I believe you are still looking for jackets? Do you feel like you need more tops/bottoms equally?

I'm going to work with this a bit more and start a list of outfits, starting first with my favorite pieces and just one or two ways to wear each one. I want to see how quickly I can build my 20 and determine if that is a reasonable number of "love" outfits or if there are too many "meh" ones.

jayne

Veteran

I have to go the other direction, from my outfits to how many pieces there are...
I have 36 items in the fall capsule. and I have 23 outfits.

so to your categories for fall:
4 dresses
7 toppers
4 sweaters
4 layering tops
8 shirts
4 skirts
8 slacks/jeans

Pants- I have 1 (goal 12)
Dresses- I have 4 (goal 2)
Skirts- I have 4 (goal 2)
Jeans- I have 5 (goal 8)
Tops- I have 6 (goal 12)
Layering tops- I have 6 (goal 6)
Toppers- I have 7 (goal 6)
I have more dresses/skirts and alot less pants. This may why I feel I run out of unique bottoms every week.
And slightly too few tops

This is great. Most of my items are hero types, so when I wear them they are memorable and I feel I should not reuse them too often. Looks like, with your plan, I could add another 4-6 bottoms and mix and match less. I would need stand alone tops too it seems.

FUN! Cannot seem to make the budget fit the new numbers though! tee hee hee

Lisa

Veteran

86 items in a season sounds like a reasonable number. I think a few things will affect your number; how often you like to remix and repeat items and how many layers you need at one time. I have a thread I plan to start later about some wardrobe sizing information I've recently realized since doing DH's closet challenge. Apparently how many items one needs, how many items one needs to be happy and how many items one wants, can be three very different numbers.

Anonymous

Interesting- my wardrobe of is 139 items- but I have some duplicates and way too many black sweaters, so 120 may be a good target (the Mama Bear of closet sizes).

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Susie, I definitely want a few more jackets. A suit, actually.

I could use more tops/ sweaters AND more bottoms in winter. I am okay for the summer season in bottoms but need more tops. I am craving more variety in tone/ colour intensity.

Susie

Veteran

Now I am eager to spend some time in my closet again! Thanks for your input, everyone. I am glad I am not alone in thinking about a wardrobe inventory!

Anonymous

Well all these posts (Lisa, Susie, Suz) have inspired me to look further at my closet and to get rid of some of my safety nets and items that were guilting me into keeping them (like the many black cardigans that I can't remember ever wearing but am afraid to let go- because you never know?)
So now I am down to 105 clothing items plus 25 shoes and 12 items in holding (not sure if they make me look good??). This feels calming. I am intrigued though by Lisa's challenge and would love to try that. Any way we can make this a group challenge so we can all offer support/feedback?

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Hey Pam, those are my numbers! Actually my goal numbers. I also have about 12 over right now. Mostly dresses (4), and shirts that I don't wear but still can't purge, argh. And a jacket or two over.

30 shirts
15 sweaters
15 pants
15 dresses
10 skirts
5 shorts

10 jackets
5 coats

25 shoes

jayne

Veteran

Mo, your numbers are pretty close to the goal. I did some end of fall analysis now. WIll have to make a new post!