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Dressing

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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Outfit repeats

Sharon

Veteran

I have been tracking my outfits over the last couple of months and today decided to go through and give each one a "star rating" based on the happiness factor. What I discovered was that over the (admittedly short) period I have been tracking, there were only about 6 outfits that earned the full 5-star, makes-me-feel-totally-awesome award.

This dovetails in with Mo's incredibly helpful post on wardrobe numbers http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....th-numbers as it made me realise that I would probably only wear those outfits a few times in a season, unless I consciously choose to repeat them on a more regular basis. And it also made me realise that I have about enough 5-star outfits to last a week.

So I wondered how many of you do this? Do you deliberately repeat outfits you love on a weekly basis, neglecting the rest of your closet? If so, does it take some of the magic off your favourites after a few wears, or do you love them just as much? Does this lead to you developing new favourites? Do you worry that people will notice that you always wear the same clothes?

Dressing

17 replies

Latest reply was from froggiebecky

Anonymous

I really should try this, what a great idea! I'm guessing that if I did repeat the same outfits a lot that a : they may get more worn looking and b: I would perhaps get a little tired of them so maybe the trick is to identify the 'uniform' elements of said outfits and do subtle variations on a theme. Great thoughts though Sharon.

MRL

Veteran

I had not seen the original post before, this is a good idea. Have never rated my outfits and am thinking of trying it just for fun.

Lyn D.

Veteran

I think I have too many clothes to run the risk of people seeing my outfit repeats!
I sometimes worry about the opposite- that they will think I have lots of clothes- but this is true. As it is my 'hobby' I am not overly concerned though
I also happily wear the same outfit 2 days in a row if I am doing different things and seeing different people.

amiable

Veteran

What a terrific idea! I noticed just a few months ago that I'm eager to repeat an outfit that I loved (though often there's a slight tweak, making it not a true repeat). I September, I looked through last winter's outfits, and saved the ones that were worth repeating in an "inspiration" folder. I think it's time to do that again for more recent outfits. Thanks for the idea!

shedev

Veteran

I'd repeat a favorite on a bi- weekly basis. I like the idea of rating on a happy scale.

Trishalee

That is a great idea! I have enough clothes that I shouldn't be repeating as much as I do. Happiness factor makes sense to me.

Gracie

Veteran

I do have quite a few "repeaters" and don't mind not re-mixing the separate pieces. If they are a sure thing, I don't want to spend time creating other outfits because I have other pieces that lend themselves to more mixing. I do not get tired of the repeat outfits, and in my environment, where I don't see many people, nobody would notice if I wear the same thing.

Jewell

Veteran

Sharon, I've been thinking of doing something along the same lines of rating my outfits from 1-5 stars. I might begin this in the new year, and I'm thinking of having the rating relate to my overall satisfaction with the outfit, factoring in style, comfort, and happiness factor among other things.

To answer your question, yes I deliberately repeat my favorite outfits. The No-Repeat-November challenge showed me that while I have enough clothes to go a whole month without repeating outfits, I actually like to repeat outfits. I tend to repeat head-to-toe looks no more often than monthly. Many of my favorites feature "memorable" items that tend to get compliments from my coworkers, so people would definitely notice if I were wearing them too frequently. However, I do repeat favorite items within a month, and I try to vary the looks enough that it doesn't seem like I'm wearing the same things all the time.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I really like this idea. I think I will adopt it. This year I hope to do a lot of wardrobe refining, and figuring out the outfits that give highest happiness would be one path towards that. I'm pretty good at recognizing which items give high happiness, but this takes it a step further.

What were the elements of the outfits that gave you super high happiness? Could you identify them?

Sharon

Veteran

Diane, I think you are right. The uniform concept has always appealed to me, but I have never managed to make it so.

Amiable, I like the idea of an inspiration folder.

Jewell, I was concerned that if I repeat an outfit only monthly, I will only get to wear it 6 or 7 times in a season. I like your idea of small variations to avoid the focus on memorable outfits.

Suz, that's a really good question. My list of 6 favourites were:
1.Black A-line Mod-style dress, black booties
2.Black wide leg pant, white faux-snakeskin top, black booties
3.White slim pants, black cacoon top, black flat sandal booties
4.Black full skirt, checked peplum top, black booties
5.White wide leg pants, white faux-snakeskin top, sandal booties
6.Grey shorts, patterned loose pleated front top, sandal booties

So I think the common threads are dressy neutrals with either at least one "trendy" element, but also with a strong classic, feminine vibe. I may have to compare my 5's with my 4's and see if I can work out what the vital difference is. Thanks for giving me some food for thought!

carolbee

Veteran

This sounds like a great idea, I might try it. I have been thinking of taking a photo any day that I am going out so this would not be too much more effort. I am certainly a repeater. I'm retired and a casual dresser, don't really care if my friends realise they have seen the outfit before.

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

I would love for all my outfits to be 5 start ones but I don't think it really happens. I do save outfits I was the happiest in into a special folder for a year. I like Suz's idea to review them to see what made them stellar for me.
I think it would be an ideal wardrobe where 100% of clothes can be combined in 5 start outfits, doesn't it? Actually this is my main criteria for purging: if this item cannot be a part of a winning outfit it has to go...
Now I am off to peruse my picture folders to see what made the winners and what made the losers (or just so-so outfits) - thanks for the inspiration!

Deborah

Veteran

Sharon this is interesting and I am glad that you have listed your faves. I was keen to know which outfits you were talking about. It would be great if you could add pics here for visual reference.

With respect to your first question, I am working hard to minimise my closet so that i love everything in it and want to wear everything in it. I no longer need or want a huge wardrobe. So I starting to simply wear my clothes over and over with very little thought of how often I have worn them or if people have seen me in them before. My wardrobe is at the smallest it has every been and I am the happiest I have every been with it.

I would love to be one of those women that others see and think "Oh I love it when she wears that!" So, ideally people might be thinking how much they like the outfit rather than oh here she is wearing 'that' again. Does that make sense?

I am also doing my best to ensure that the majority of my clothes can be mixed and matched so to speak. I don't feel the need to remix (I used to. Once upon a time you would be lucky to see me in the same combo twice.. which I now find a bit silly) and am often happy to simply repeat something that I think works well, however the ability to remix does alleviate the odd day when wardrobe boredom hits.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I love repeating and even when I don't exactly repeat I tend to go back to the same idea and more importantly stay away from the unhappy combinations. Truthfully I would feel more self conscious if I constantly wore something new. The star system sounds like a good plan.

krishnidoux

Veteran

Yes, I do repeats on a weekly basis.

I write down my high happiness outfits at the end of the day. I also write the ones that didn't work out, so I don't repeat a mistake. It helps identifying items to eliminate if need be.

But winners deserve to be worn more than once or twice! I don't care what other people think, anyway they most likely don't even notice. It's true! People are too self conscious to notice it's the third time you are wearing the exact same outfit. And if the outfit flatters you and makes you fell like a hundred bucks, then you should wear it. I often will vary one small detail.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

For my everyday clothes which tend to be on the dressier side of casual I have a "uniform" that I am happy to wear often. I also have a few other pieces that work with my uniform but that I don't want to wear everyday.

For example in winter I wear mostly straight leg jeans/pants, a top, a jacket & booties. If I find that I want a change I will swap the jeans for a skirt or the jacket for a coat. It works well for me because I get my variety through my collection of jackets/coats & booties.

I would much rather repeat an outfit I felt great in than have more choice with a lower satisfaction rating.

froggiebecky

Veteran

I have a small wardrobe, so repeating is frequent for me. While I'm not bothered by people seeing the same thing over and over again, I get bored and crave more variety.

I'm currently visiting my family, and have access to the wardrobe I left in storage. I'm having a lot of fun going through it, because I can get rid of what doesn't fit (most of it), or pull out pieces I loved too much to let go of, even though they were too small. They now fit.