My 2016 Wardrobe Report - the bad and the good - YouLookFab Forum

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My 2016 Wardrobe Report - the bad and the good

Sisi

Veteran

In these past days I did my 2016 final wardrobe report. It showed me that , alas ! I am still far from my goal of having a small, functional wardrobe. I still have too many clothes and I still make too many shopping mistakes and it is this, in particular, that makes me very dissatisfied at myself. But then, numbers at hand, I found out that the four pairs of shoes that I have bought during 2016 have all become huge workhorses! This means that I am becoming more clever at least in buying shoes! Better this than nothing .... Just wanted to share.

For those of you who keep wardrobe journals, are you happy with your 2016 wardobe management?

General

24 replies

Latest reply was from Sisi

Staysfit

Veteran

Sisi, I am curious about your wardrobe journal. What exactly do you record? Do you record purchases. What you wear? How you feel about what you wear? Comments people make about what you're wearing?

Style Fan

Veteran

Like Staysfit I am interested in your Wardrobe Journal and what you record.
I started last year to record my purchases. I felt pretty good about what I bought. It took me a long time to get there. I have been working on my wardrobe and my emotional shopping for 5 years. Prior to that I just shopped and bought stuff without a plan. I didn't have an amount set aside for clothing. I just spent.

Sisi

Veteran

Staysfit, I am afraid I could write a novel but I will try to keep it short.

Premise. At a certain point of my life I realized that I had a problem with my wardrobe. I had a ton of clothes, a perennial huge mess in my closet and in my bedroom but nothing to wear and I was always unhappy with my outfits. Something was clearly wrong but ... what? Then , inspired by YLF (thank your YLF!) I started to keep a journal. End of premise.

In a simple Excel sheet I write down:

- all what I wear during working days (weekends are too complicated, I can change four times in a day) - clothes, shoes, outerwear.

- happiness factor - how I feel about what I am wearing

- people's comments about my outfit /piece of clothing.

- in the first sheet of the file there is the list of the year's purchases.

At the end of the year I do sums and find out:

- how many clothes/shoes I have used during the year

- how many times I have worn a certain item (old ones and new purchases) - this shows Winners (items that are worn a lot and are repeated often) and Losers (items that have been worn very rarely)

At this point I love doing the analysis of the results. How many clothes do I have? Why are winners "winners" and why are losers "losers"? Have the new purchases done a "good job" or not? Which are the pieces of clothing that make me happy? Which are the pieces of clothing that receive more compliments?

When I first started doing this exercise I finally could realize where the problems were: I had too many clothes, I had not the right clothes for my lifestyle and I did too many impulse purchases.

Very enlightening ... but I still make mistakes !

Oh, and this has turned out a novel anyway !

Sisi

Veteran

Style Fan, I was exactly like you. I just bought what I liked, no plan. Would you believe that until a few years ago I had a dozen of sandals but not a single pair of boots? That's because I love Summer and don't like Winter, but well, I live in a four-seasons climate. Seeing the numbers "black on white" gave me a good light-bulb!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sisi, I am really grateful to you for writing out your process for the journal -- this is excellent. I have done most of these things at one time or another but I have not combined them -- this year I would like to do that, because it generates better information. My only problem? I have no idea how to use Excel. Ugh. I will have to do a tutorial! I wonder if there is an easier way for the spreadsheet challenged like me.

In any case, based on what you said above (you used to have all sandals and now your purchases this year were all workhorse footwear) I would say you have learned a great deal and should be patting yourself on the back! We all make some purchasing mistakes and it takes considerable time to reduce them. And we probably never eliminate them. Even Angie makes the odd mistake!

cindysmith

Veteran

I'm afraid to actually do something like this style journal. I don't have an overabundance of clothing, because we seriously have no room for it and I seriously am not doing seasonal changeovers. But there are pieces that I don't wear enough to justify the space they take up, and there are mistakes that come in (and go right back out)....

...And I remember the horror when I had to start writing, with unknown and paper, about my alcoholism. I remember, when I started seeing it I blue and white in front of me, that I could not view my life as a series of unrelated events anymore, I had to view the totality of it.

I'm still sober almost 12 year later, which is good. I just don't know if I'm ready to do the same for Clothes shopping yet LOL.

I am proud of you for being able to do this, and if you're doing better with shoe purchases, then that's real progress and you can build on that!

Sisi

Veteran

Suz, thank you for your kind words! You make me feel better about my results.

Imagine that I felt rather ashamed to tell that I use a simple excel sheet, because I think that nowadays people use apps and whatnot to do such things (I only have an old, small, essential Nokia phone that works always and everywhere). Anyway Excel is really easy and even fun to learn, so keep it in mind if you do not find a better solution (but do you really need to do this? Your wardobe seems perfect to me ...).

A wardrobe journal is a tiresome work at the beginning but in the long run it rewards you. When you have all the numbers in front of you, it's incredible the light-bulbs that come out! But yes, mistakes are hard to die!

Sisi

Veteran

Cynthia, you are too kind! Sorry I am in a hurry now, I will get back to you later !

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

I tried to journal. The list of my clothes was SOOOO LONGGGG, I gave up very soon.

I had a good 2016 style-wise. I now dress easily for my real lifestyle and love everything I wear but I still have just too many clothes. My biggest problem - if I love a style, I just overbuy. For example - tshirt dresses, denim shorts, sneakers, leggings (and so on). And then I have TOO MUCH......too many choices, and I pick favorites and some things just don't get worn at all.

In 2017, I'd like to not overbuy! (I will need to keep reminding myself this over & over!!!!')

Good job on at least figuring out your footwear needs. I believe that every small success deserves a celebration!

El Cee

Veteran

Sisi -- I think you are on a very good path. You have already identified your wardrobe shopping pitfalls and the areas where you need to implement change. This change takes time... so do not be hard on yourself. As Suz just said, you should be patting yourself on the back for everything you have accomplished and learned thus far. Just keep at it. You have a good strategy.

Anonymous

Shoe success is a major leap forward, so a big congratulations to you! I'm doing much better with shoes, thanks to YLF. Clothing is more of a process, but YLF has definitely helped there, too. Enjoy the journey, and happy 2017, Sisi!

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

This was interesting to read your method. I've started a list of what I'm buying....just to keep track.
Also- good job on the shoes! Shoes can be hard to find the right pair, so that's a major accomplishment.

Brooklyn

Veteran

Thanks for sharing. It sounds like you are on a good track. I think it takes time to change purchasing habits. I tried at the beginning of last year to track wears of my 2016 purchases but I didn't have the discipline to keep it up. In the end I just kept a list of purchases that I thought (after a few wears) were hits and purchases that I thought after a few wears (or non-wears!) were misses. With the misses, I recorded why I thought it was a miss. So hopefully I will not make the same mistakes going forward. This year, I am going to try to record more about hits - in the hope that I can use "what makes me happy about this item" as a guide to future purchases.

Sisi

Veteran

Cynthia, thank you for your kind words. First of all let me tell you that I admire you a lot. I cannot imagine the courage and the strength of character that it takes to fight a dependance. Big compliments to you! It is interesting what you say about writing down your experiences. Writing things down always makes them look more clear, isn't it? I think that your wardrobe suits well your life, so forget the journal!

Maneera, thank you ! You have a wonderful wardrobe, and if you are happy with many clothes ... be happy! I always like to see your outfits.

El Cee, thank you so much for the encouragement !

Xtabay, yes, YLF has been of great help and I will never thank enough Angie and you fabulous Fabbers. Thank you and a very Happy 2017 to you!

Chewyspaghetti, thank you! You are right, the right shoes are difficult to find. I admit that beyond being able to discipline myself, I did have some luck !

Brooklyn, thank you! I love your wardrobe. Checking the happiness factor of an item is an interesting and useful exercise.

Lyn D.

Veteran

I recommend the STYLEBOOK app. To anyone interested in recording their wardrobe.
It calculates most worn, least worn, cost per wear and even colour numbers at the click of a button.
Whilst shopping you can look at all the items in any category and quickly see if you already have something similar- it has made me think twice about my purchases.

Sal

Veteran

Sisi, I do approximately what Brooklyn does, it works for me. I like to have a handle on what is coming in, what is working and what is not working. And it is a bit of a prompt as to what areas I am not buying in, so might need to. For example I did not add any new leather ankle boots for two years (added more casual sneakers in - which I have worn well) and I know I want to update my boots this year because my pairs are seven, four and three years old respectively.

It takes a while to break habits and it sounds as though you are making great progress. Well done!

Anonymous

Footwear is a great category to be doing well in!

I would say I'm doing ok with my journal (all stored in my head).
I did well with tops and bottoms and ok with shoes.
I didn't do well with accessories. Just didn't buy enough of them and fell back on old ones that just don't make me that happy.

Sisi

Veteran

Lyn D., that Stylebook sounds like a great tool.

Kiwigal, thank you! Yes, it is difficult to break habits. It took me years to stop buying beautiful shoes with high heels that I never wore !

Smittie, you have all in your head? Wow! It seems that you have a well functioning wardrobe.

I would like to write another post to share with you my most frequent shopping mistakes and the reasons that are behind them. I definitely should find the guts to post some pictures.

Beth Ann

Veteran

It sounds like you're on your way to a practical and beautiful wardrobe. You could:

1. Make a list of your "Top Producers": Items that are real workhorses

2. Make a list of your wardrobe by categories: pants, tops, coats, etc.
Are any categories underrepresented? Overrepresented?

3. Create a color palette to guide your purchases:
My neutrals: Black, grey, navy, chambray, white
Winter colors: burgundy, red, purple, sapphire, teal
Summer: turquoise, cobalt, raspberry, orchid

4. Identify your favorite outfit formulas.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Don't be too hard on yourself, Sisi. Getting your shoes right is a biggie. Well done.

Sisi

Veteran

Beth Ann, thank you! I do have a list of my "Winners" and "Losers" as I call them. I also have all my clothes subdivided by category and I have a vague idea of which are my favorite outfit formulas (I did not mention all this in my post fearing to bore you to death).

I still struggle with the color palette. I love colors and I would like to have many in my wardrobe, but this is difficult to reconcile with the building of a small wardrobe (my goal). Thank you for your suggestion of dividing colors by season! I had not thought of this.

Sisi

Veteran

Thank you Angie!

Aziraphale

Veteran

Sisi, I'd argue that footwear is the most important category to be doing well in! You can't get by without it, no matter what else you're wearing. The wrong footwear ruins an outfit, style-wise, and shoes that cause pain inflict misery on the wearer in a way that other wearables don't.

I do actually keep a journal of what I wear, but it's a simple mark-making journal that merely shows me how many times I've worn something in a year. I don't count loungewear; the items have to be ones I've worn outside of the house. It gives me a good idea what my workhorses are. I mentioned in another thread that I think I have too many clothes in general, since I was able to put away a bunch of pants and skirts that are -- alas! -- too tight after a holiday season of overindulging, and I still have plenty to work with. In fact, getting dressed is easier!

I've also discovered, through my mark-making journal, that I don't wear shirts with collars very often, so now I know not to buy another one -- at least until I've worn one out. I've also discovered that I wear short boots most of the time, except in summer. I can also see that the two pairs of Doc Martens I bought at the beginning of December are going to be workhorses, based on the number of wears they've had already in only a month!

Sisi

Veteran

Aziraphale, thank you for your comment. You are so right about shoes. Actually after doing my final report it struck me that during 2016 I had not had one single case of shoe-malfunction!

I see that your method is similar to mine ... and also your preferences! I also don't wear shirts but I love them! (and I am very ashamed to confess that in 2016 I did buy one ... very expensive ... never worn ... oh, I would slap myself in my face !).