Repeating outfits -how often? - YouLookFab Forum

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Repeating outfits -how often?

Tammyb

I'm curious how often you repeat outfits. This is especially to those of you who work 5 days a week and see the same people every day. For me, I prefer to skip a week before a repeat at work. (At home/casual I only see my hubby and kids every weekend, and they don't notice what I'm wearing, so I repeat like crazy.)
Thanks!

Dressing

21 replies

Latest reply was from Meredith

Anonymous

For work, I try not to repeat within a two cycle. So I would say I repeat every two - three weeks.

Windchime

Veteran

Great question, because it's directly related to how many clothes we need, isn't it?

When I put my seasonal work wardrobes together, I plan on a two-week rotation for tops and dresses. That is, I plan on having enough tops and dresses to not have to repeat any for at least two weeks. For me, this means I need a minimum of eight tops and two dresses per season.

That being said, I like to challenge myself to seldom repeat exact outfits. I enjoy mixing--combining my shirts with different bottoms and/or toppers, or switching out a necklace for a scarf, changing footwear, etc.

And I have to also confess that I have quite a bit more than my minimum number of tops for each season, which means in reality I'm only repeating them every three or four weeks!

rachylou

Veteran

Honestly, I have a lot of clothes. I repeat items, but not outfits. I feel tho, it's fine to repeat every week - but I'd change up the day. Like I don't think I'd want anyone to be able to tell what day of the week it is by my outfit, lol!

kkards

Veteran

great question--and i really have no idea…i tend to dress in a uniform, so the generally outline of what i wear is very similar most days, but it also makes it easier to switch out the particulars of each outfit….someday, i will actually log everyday and find out.

Anonymous

I have navy, charcoal, taupe and white pants that get repeated ad nauseum. However, I switch up the tops, which don't get repeated within a 2- or 3-week period. Shoes get repeated within a week.

Staysfit

Veteran

I go for a minimum of 3 weeks.

El Cee

Veteran

Like Windchime, I seldom (if ever) repeat entire outfits. My wardrobe is kind of like one giant mix-and-match capsule, so I can easily repeat specific pieces within a week but combine them differently each time I wear them. I also have a lot of accessories (jewelry, scarves) to help to mix things up even more.

Sally

Veteran

My wardrobe is quite neutral so repeat a lot....funny I have more pants now but have 3 black merino tops so the pants are giving the variety.

Gaylene

Veteran

When I was teaching 5 days a week, I'd repeat every week--more or less. My working wardrobe consisted of 5-6 bottoms in neutral colors, 10-12 tops, and 5-6 jackets that I'd remix into various combos, but, I'd definitely repeat my favourites each week if I felt so inclined. I'd also keep items for several seasons so the CPW was pretty reasonable for most of my items.

I wanted to look fashionable and professional in front of my classes, but I didn't want my clothing to take center stage. As a senior prof, I made sure my working wardrobe came from shops I knew my students weren't likely to patronize. Quality fabrics, and impeccable tailoring and fit, were my first priority. I left the variety and the fashion forwardness to my students.

Sal

Veteran

I am not in that situation as I work from home and attend meetings once or twice a week.

When I was in that situation I aimed for about eight work outfits. I am a happy rotater though and do laundry regularly, if not every day then most days. I have an outdoor line, a drying rack and a clothes dryer. And I live near a dry cleaner if I need quick turnaround.

Even now I am surprised how rarely some outfits get worn, because of a mix of weather and situation. I have a jacket, dress, sneaker look that I really loved and have worn twice in total this year because I need bare legs but not too warm a day. In summer I noticed the same thing - one of my favourite looks got worn three times in total!! So I guess we do need less often than we think.

Gigi

Veteran

Hmm, I would probably wear a given outfit only once a week, but I"d be comfortable repeating it the following week. I would wear an individual *item* twice a week, sometimes only a couple of days apart.

I don't work outside my home, but I do go to dance class M-Th, so I do see the same people a lot during the week.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

I don't mind wearing the same things/outfits often. Unlike rachylou, I don't care if someone can tell the day of the week by the clothes I'm wearing. One place where I worked had a casual Friday policy that basically amounted to must-wear-blue-jeans. So I did. Same jeans every Friday, with the same T-shirt (never seen) and same black jacket. Same shoes, too. I mean, it was my Friday outfit I rotated scarves depending on what I felt like wearing that morning.

rachylou

Veteran

Lol, Alexandra. Does casual Friday count?

Anna

Every 3 to 4 weeks. I wear the same base pants and skirts every week if they are in a solid color, just different tops and jackets. Any print skirts or dresses, once per month. So for instance, navy ankle pants with a floral top. Next week, same pants with a solid color top and print scarf. Week after that, same pants with geo print top and matching solid jacket. Any dresses I wear are once per month, print or solids.

Staysfit

Veteran

I need to clarify what I said. I am not really sure if I ever repeat in a season unless it's an outfit I truly love so much I want to repeatitively wear it, or if for some weather related issue I decide to wear it. For example, in the summer, I have a limited collection of linen dresses and tops but I work in a building without a/c one to two days a week so depending on the temp./humidity I could chose to repeat.

I have enough in my closet that I would not have to repeat in a given season. This is because of the number of shoes and other accessories I own. It is easy to mix and match an outfit differently each time. I am in a position where people look at me. In fact, they probably scrutinize me, so I do my best to look nice - not overdone, but not ever sloppy in comparison to the rest of the people around me.

shedev

Veteran

I may repeat items once a week, but I may only repeat entire outfits 2 or 3 times a season. My wardrobe is pretty mix and match though.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I rarely repeat full outfits because I have a fairly consistent mix and match palette.

Bijou

Veteran

I like to repeat work outfits if I find it is one that makes me feel fab and will happily wear it the following week or fortnight. I aim for my work dresses to work with 2-3 jackets/coats and skirts and pants to have at least one jacket/coat to work with. Given I like to wear jackets to work (except in high summer) my tops that I wear under jackets are often a light knit or sleeveless style, so they tend to not be the key statement pieces as usually the topper is more visible.

Sisi

Veteran

I work in an office 5 days a week, and generally I repeat the same outfit every 7-10 working days. But I can also repeat the same outfit twice in a week. This does not bother me, since I prefer to have a moderate number of clothes, and anyway also my coworkers repeat a lot. I only wish all my few clothes were "killer". At the moment it is not so.

plonkee

I like to have enough clothes that I can go for three weeks without doing laundry. I wouldn't want to wear the same outfit twice in a week, but am relaxed about wearing it twice in a fortnight. I tend to vary the details so I may only wear some complete outfits a few times in a season, but might wear each individual piece a lot.

Meredith

Veteran

When I worked in an office, I did not hesitate to repeat at items Or entire outfits weekly. Now that I teach and only see students twice a week, I am more conscious of repeating (at least when statement pieces are involved).