Tracking is new to me. I’m keeping a list in Notes on my phone.

I’m planning to track only, not try to use the data I’m gathering to change what I’m doing while still collecting.

I’m trying to gain more insights into the choices I make about what to wear. The shirts I brought were all chosen based on happiness factor, so why aren’t I wearing them all?

I want to learn more about tracking and what I can learn from it. That doesn’t seem to be something anyone can tell me in words.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if I started working this month? If I do, I’ll need to figure out what to wear stat, and will need any help I can get.

I really want to do this, my issue is right now I have pants to big and I'm trying to see how many wears can I stand before I kick them out for good. Last month I donated about half my wardrobe because they don't fit. As I continue to loose weight I am wearing dresses mostly they are very forgiving, much more than pants. I have bought a couple of sweaters to help transition. But soon I will have to have new pants, I'm trying to wait for cooler fall weather that we won't have for another 6 weeks. I'm am going to cheer from the sidelines.

Elizabeth, yes, that could very well be! This post explains why: https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....ghly-rated Since writing it, I’ve bought nice sandals, a puffer jacket, jeans, and 2 pr of dark pants, shown in the collection. When I analyze, I will have to look & make sure every top does indeed have at least one mate it could go with. Thanks for the comment!

I started by taking photos, but I might add a way of tracking that accounts for weather and what I did that day.

I have never tracked my wears before, but I have a general idea of what I am wearing, what I don't mind having for the occasional need, etc.

Being transitional weather here, it will be interesting to track, but not necessarily representative of what should stay or go. I wore many items at the peak of summer that I won't probably wear again until next summer unless I go on vacation. I might wear my maxi skirts if it warms up more. Today the high is 70 but it is way too cold, even in my house, to dress for that right now. I'm in long pants and a cotton sweater and may add an under layer. And I may change this afternoon if this is too hot. Earlier in the week I went swimming and it was probably 80.
At this time of year I'm also influenced by wanting to wear the more summer looking items a few more times. It is unseasonably cold here, after very warm weather earlier in the summer. Weather might still warm up later this month or next. But the biggest change I noted on my weather app is that the curve of the warmest part of the day has shrunk considerably.

What I've learned so far.

I don't usually wear jewelry or put on shoes until I leave the house. I've added jewelry earlier for the photo. But I've taken the photos barefoot or in slippers. But I am very aware of my shoe wears, so this is not a problem.

I am doing this partially to have cold hard numbers for how often I get dressed in something I would be comfortable being seen in. I either need to get dressed earlier in the day or I need better looking clothing for when I first get up, as I don't always get dressed right away. I think it would help my sense of well being.

On day 1 I wore my new maxi dress with a sweater over it. Necklace I wore because I was taking the photo. I was complemented as "the best dressed person on the walking path". Must admit, most people were dressed for walking their dog, but it was nice to be complimented.

Thanks for starting this challenge.

BD, I hear you on having loungewear you enjoy. One thing the tracking has showed me so far is that I need to get out more!

Barbara Diane, I have that problem of not getting dressed right away too. (I work from home.) Maybe addressing that should be my October challenge!

What tracking has been showing me this year ( have been tracking since May 2016) is that the 10s in happiness factor drop down over time as newer items get bought and worn. I can see this so clearly as wears rack up on the newer things. Prime example: much loved Steve Madden boots bought in San Francisco 2013. Until end 2017, 51 wears ( earlier wears were guessed before I started tracking). This whole year, only 11 wears so far. Because in April, the new Maria Rossi black fringed boots were bought. And they hit 65 wears today. They are even more loved, clearly! So Steve Maddens 62 wears in 5 years, Maria Rossi 65 wears in 5 months! So what do I do with Steve Maddens now ?

I'm in. Not usually a tracker, as I thought I had a good handle on how often I wear stuff, but realised I couldn't really prove it! Like Fashintern, not really trying to change my behaviour, just document it.

I had a little epiphany today that our September weather in Colorado, with highs on various days ranging from the mid-60s to the mid-90s, is almost the full spectrum of temperatures I can expect year-round in southern California. What I wear in September may very well be what I'm wearing all the time next year!

lisap -- It'll be really interesting to see what you wear for the different parts of your life and, more importantly, which items (if any) can do double or triple duty!

Janet, I think writing things down can't help but affect your mindfulness about it. It's sort of like tracking food when you're trying to change your diet. It's almost impossible to write it all down without changing, or at least noticing, your behavior.
My app includes the forecast for each day in historical logging, and I find that information really useful, so you're smart to write that down, too.

La Pedestrienne, that's a pretty fascinating observation, but it makes sense. Once something is "on your radar," so to speak, it gets more wear. I sometimes start out my week by writing two or three items I'd like to wear that week in my datebook. I don't force it, but sometimes just thinking about a certain item that way puts me in the mood to wear it.

Joha, going through a style shift like that is challenging! Have you thought about tracking "happiness factor" like some Fabbers do? That might help you figure out how your tastes are changing.

Suntiger, you're so organized! I sympathize with your feeling like a minimalist, but the numbers not matching up. That is definitely the case for me with a lot of things in my life. Alas...

JAileen, I'm laughing about your husband being annoyed at taking a photo. Those birding clothes are an important part of your wardrobe, though!

Thistle, I got my husband to do a version of turning his hangers backward recently. We put a divider in his closet, and anything that got worn and washed went in front, while everything unworn slowly moved toward the back. He would never track, but that worked for him.

Gretchen, I just used my Moleskine when I first started tracking. It provided just enough information to let me know it was useful. All i did was make tick marks next to the whatever items I wore.

Roberta, isn't it funny how easy it is to just forget about parts of your closet? We get into ruts sometimes.

(Gotta run now. I will come back and answer more later!)

Jenn, what a great insight about Sept in Colo & So Cal!

Hi Anne! Sounds like we’ve got Gretchen and Jane on our team “how does this work?” team too.

Joha, you said you’re moving away from structure to more softness. Is that a personal thing, or do you think there is more of a shift in general? A general shift would make sense, given the rise of athliesure and elasticity/stretch/give in everything.

I notice lots of people in Berlin wearing that kind of topper, even when they don’t seem to be going to/from work. I associate structured pieces with work/offices. I don’t have much of that at all, and have been adding pieces over the past year or so.

I know you’re in the South of Germany (I think more Schwabia than Pfalz), not in Berlin, and the capital has its own style. But Berlin is connected to the rest of the country and I am also looking for jobs in West Germany. So a shift away from the kind of thing I’ve been trying to add would interest me.

I could’ve asked you in a private message, and you’re welcome to reply to me that way. I wanted to put the question out here, so others who watch fashion in cental Europe could see it and maybe comment too.

I’m terrible at tracking, I did it last fall so I’m sitting out this round and I will follow to learn from everyone else.

I'm not a tracker, but I decided to join you guys, primarily because something someone in the original thread said really resonated with me.
I don't participate much in the forum, though I very much love clothes, because (to my sadness) the last four years of my life have been spent wearing scrubs, workout clothes, and sleep/loungewear almost exclusively. I am lucky if I get to wear "real clothes" once a week. Step one to feeling better about this was to stop feeling guilty about spending $$$ on gym clothes. (Here, Athleta, take my paycheck.) But $80 leggings are not an extravagance when you work out 5 or 6 days a week and your mood improves if you look cute while doing so. Step two was buying (don't laugh) some "fashionable" scrubs from Jaanuu. They're kind of ridiculous but they also kind of make me feel less dowdy 50+ hours a week, so win?

My fails, however, have been two. One, I'm still buying things I have little to no chance to wear. I have a few summer things I bought this spring that still have the tags on them. Two, I'm still resistant to spending money on loungewear/sleepwear even though in the back of my mind I *know* I wear the same items over so many times for so many years till they are unusable that cost per wear is negligible. I'm hoping tracking will force me to confront that. (And make me buy another $68 Garnet Hill nightgown instead of being scandalized over 70 bucks for something that doesn't leave my house.)

My main problem with tracking so far has been describing my clothes when I write them down. I wear a lot of old tank tops as sleep/loungewear and differentiating between the multiple gray ones I own in writing for the sake of accuracy is dicey, lol.

1. Are you already a regular tracker, or is this experiment new to you?
I've tracked in the past, though I stopped around the beginning of this year. My wardrobe is much closer to where I want it to be (thanks in large part to the insights gained from tracking) and I don't feel the need to monitor as closely on a regular basis. But an occasional check-in like this challenge is great!

2. What tracking method are you using? How's it working for you so far?
For this challenge, I set up an Excel spreadsheet with 1-30 along the top for the days of the month (columns), and clothing items listed added to a vertical list (rows) as I wear them. I put a 1 in the box for the day and clothing item when it's worn, and sum up all the columns so I can see how many times each item gets worn in the month. I've color coded by category (tops are pink, pants are blue, shoes green, etc.) so I can get a visual idea of how many of each type of thing are represented. I could do a hard count, but I don't feel like I need to... a rough idea is fine (and the colors make it prettier).

3. What do you hope to get our of the exercise?
I hope to get a little extra mindfulness out of the month, and evaluate what in my closet is or isn't working for me. Now that I've stopped regularly tracking, a temporary return to it should be useful for seeing how the year has been working out so far.

Insights So Far
For the first week, I've only re-worn a few things (since I lay out a week's worth of work outfits in advance to save time in the mornings, work pieces don't tend to reappear within the week unless I do a last-minute switch for weather, change of plans, or whim). Weekend clothes often get repeated.

My Rothys are shaping up to be workhorses; they're my most comfortable non-sneakers and non-boots, so that's not surprising. I realized that I only have one pair of shorts, which is fine since I rarely wear them, but I'd like to get a slightly higher-rise and better-fitting pair... maybe next year, since hot summer is hopefully just about over. I also realized that my olive cargo skinnies are a favorite, but are just about ready to be retired; they've already been patched twice and are showing significant wear in other spots. I'm planning to reduce my casual pants/jeans collection by attrition over time because I have more than I need, but the olive cargos are an essential of my casual style that I'll really miss, and I should look for a replacement soon.

And yay, it's in the low 70s today, after a couple weeks of feels-like-100 degrees Fahrenreit. I happily grabbed skinnies (the new Kut from the Kloth gray & black plaid) and boots. Hoping for more of these days, because I feel the most like myself in this silhouette.

Reporting in on Week 1. I am not usually a tracker but have already learned that I repeat pieces during the week. I often put " worn once" items in one basket and draw from that. After a second wear, they go into the laundry basket.
Since transitional weather has been rather new to me, I am interested in what I reach for and can easily be adapted to chilly mornings and evenings and warmer mid days. I am seeing that light weight toppers are golden. They are worn best over something sleeveless, so short sleeves, that I thought I needed, are not really a good investment. The high-altitude sun can be brutal and feel so hot compared to shade, so I'm finding that breezy long sleeved coverage works best.

Nomad I just saw your post.
1. Not a normal tracker. Have tried some before. This time I am listing accessories as well as clothing items.
2. Tracking method: pencil and paper ( a tiny notebook).
3. I hope to get a handle on what I want for planning a transitional wardrobe going forward. I have mostly super hot and cold weather garments. How can they be used?

Joy, where are you these days?

Fashiontern. I am in the Boulder Colorado area. Still four seasons but very different.

I’ve been tracking for a year and a half, in a Numbers spreadsheet. It also includes an inventory of what I own. One of my main realizations has been that big ticket items don’t get worn often enough.

I’ll post about what I wore the first week of September. I noted the same thing as La Ped: once something is in rotation, I wear it often for a while and then my attention shifts to something else.

Thanks Joy!

I do the clothing rotation thing too, usually with a row of hooks. Since we are subletting for our first couple months here, I couldn’t put any up and got a little valet stand from ikea, which does the job well. The only problem I have with this system is that I don’t always get back to everything, so some items stay there long out of season (that’s part of how I got the strange selection I have here—realized at the last minute that i needed to do something with the clothes hanging there, and stuffed them in the bag I checked.).

1. Yes a regular tracker, since May 2016.
2. Tally marks on A4 pad of paper, kept by my bed. This month also a separate list of what the outfit was each day.
3. Trying to figure what to do with older things I think I still like but am not wearing, if not worn out. Do I keep, or give up as a bad job? Am doing both.
Also, try to recognise what NOT to buy, from the data. Answers so far: Skirts! High heels of any kind!

Although it's already the 8th I'm going to try and join this effort. I'll take a picture daily, because that is a quick solution.

My reasons for joining are that I want to refresh my fall wardrobe but I don't know where to go yet, aside from the 3 items I got from NAS (I'm not going to include the black bottoms as it's part of my uniform).

Also my wardrobe is too large right now, I need to edit and cull, so maybe tracking will help?

I'm also curious if there is some general consensus about what to cull this season. For example, my white Kut Catherines from 5 years ago are pretty long and low rise, and they need updating. Does anyone else have a sense of what must go this year?

I tracked for 3 years, then stopped because I had all that data to refer back to.

And now, I don't (thanks, Evernote and Windows phone). I like referring to a list of outfits that have worked before, especially in my four (or six) season climate and poor imagination. Also I've gained some new items, fallen out of love with others, and suspect my tastes and usage patterns are changing.

I am hoping to again build up a stable of FFBOs. Also, I will play closer attention to footwear, and plan to document the mid-day changes as well. I seem to be opting for pure comfort more (read: sneakers) but is that just a summer thing?

So, wearing those orphans has fortunately been thwarted by the continuation of summer weather. But non the less, here's what I've worn:

1 Running errands and visiting a medieval festival until midnight with no time to change. This is kind of classic "Me" but added softness with a flowy blouse and a bow.
2 Mums birthday party (brunch in an upscale cafe) then back to festival for a continuation of the party followed by a 4 hour car ride. I LOVE this dress. Kind of Body skimming but not body con, stretchy and perfect when the weather is kind of between seasons. So comfy.

3 coolest day of the week. Got up too late and there this is one of my fall back outfits. Blouse is old Boden (6 years?) & cardigan from Uniqlo.

4 Summer is back. Bought this jersey dress for a laid back wedding back in June. Has a small trail in the back. Work outfit + dinner in the evening. Maybe slightly overdressed but loved it.

5 blue wrinkle free jersey dress and an old Boden bag. I really love this bag but it's sooo difficult to style. I think this has been only the 2nd time I've worn since I bought it two years ago. Maybe I should continue with the combination with navy and cream...

6 this dress is quite short but it's one of the few patterned ones I own and it's got a nice movement

7 Friday has been a bit cooler with some rain so the cardigan came in handy. The top is quite thin but not see through and I like the big colourful pattern and the ruffles as sleeves. Makes me look slightly broad on top but this time I don't care

Ps: still trying to find a way for actual WIWs. In the meantime these pics from Stylebook.

Joha, You’ve got great accessories. Love the black belt, the rugged black belt, the leopard scarf, and that leather bag you carry nearly every day. The dress in 6 is super too. I hope you can figure out how to do photos of yourself.

A few more responses before I go start a discussion thread for week 2!

Katerina, I'm curious what you think might be different than what you thought. I can already tell by your first week that you wear the heck out of your scarves! Do you think you might be using a smaller percentage of your wardrobe than you'd like?

binkle, I have noticed that people who have to (or have had to) dress differently for work than the rest of life seem to value work clothing more highly. It's interesting to me, because I've never had a job that required me to dress differently than the rest of my life. I do have a spectrum of clothing ranging from uber-casual to smart casual to cocktail, though.

Style Fan, I think your wardrobe is fab, and well-suited to your life. I hope tracking bears that out for you.

Jane, I'm curious what you'll find with regards to your balance of casual and work clothing, and how much you wear each as compared to how much of each in your wardrobe!

Sterling, my fellow incorrigible tracker! I'm hoping for similar things to you. It will be fun to see what others choose to track and how helpful it is.

Pree, I have found similar things from my tracking. I will have to check out the Closet app. I love the one I'm using, but I'm terrified they will stop supporting it and I'll have to figure out a backup.

bonnie, same here with the tops! I also have found I get more wears/item with my bottoms before they wear out, though, so it makes sense to have some greater number of tops...I think it would be about 10x/year each if I wore mine evenly, though.

SarahD8, I love your response! Especially this:

Joy, you've nailed why I have so many toppers! I have no idea if I'll have a similar need for them in California as here in Colorado.

Greyscale, that's pretty interesting about the big ticket items. I wonder why that is. Are they too statement-y?

Fashintern (again), just read your comment about the "wear again" hooks. I have those too. I've gotten in the habit of checking over mine every month or so and just washing everything, regardless. Especially at the end of a season, it's worth it to just have everything clean and put away.

JenniNZ, I think we use tracking in a similar way, to reinforce our values while still finding a way to justify our love of fashion.

K.M., yay! Excited to have you!

CocoLion, I'm finding myself wanting to be done with lower rises, too. I never really liked them, though.

L'Abeille, oh no! I can only imagine losing all that data! Heartbreaking!

Joha, I LOVE your outfits! You are really showcasing what a transitional month this is, with everything from a leather jacket and skinnies, to an easy summer dress with sandals.

Barbara Diane, I'm so glad you're getting insights already! You are the opposite of me in wanting to wear summer items one more time. I'm ready to be done with them, and fighting the still-hot afternoons.

I'm sorry if I missed replying to anyone. I'm going to start a week 2 group discussion thread now, but feel free to start your own weekly thread, as many have already done. I love seeing those details and visuals!

Jenn, exactly. I am pretty good at rotating scarves, but would like to wear my other pieces more regularly, to rotate them better. I have a wardrobe which is on the larger side, in particular a lot of blazers, trousers and blouses. It is not an editing problem, because they all fit and I like them. I just get stuck, especially when I am busy, and I wear the same things over and over. Although I might think I use more variation. A matter of planning and discipline I guess and I think the tracking exercise will help.