Six months of tracking - ltd appeal - YouLookFab Forum

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Six months of tracking - ltd appeal

Sal

Veteran

Hi

Please don't feel obliged to read or comment if you aren't interested in tracking wears or clothes as I know it isn't for all.

But as of today I have tracked for six months - three months of winter and three months of spring. It was a mild winter and a cool, wet spring which has been challenging. Usually I would have worn my summer dresses a lot more than I have to date, I am still wearing toppers a fair bit.

Data- 26 weeks/6 months

I didn't count bags or hats or other accessories.

Total - 151 items (clothing, shoes, gear, scarves and belts)
Shoes - 19 pairs
Gear - 40 items
Retired from the closet during this time - 6 active pieces that wore out during the six months, and 10 from the out of season closet (eg bikini, summer dress)

Most worn were my running shoes with 97 wears (they did get replaced like for like).

Outside my gear, where lots of pieces got over 15 wears, the pieces that were worn over 15 times in six months are shown below - footwear, casual pants, outerwear and two long sleeve tees. No knitwear, dresses,skirts or other shirts. A fairly standard collection of essentials except for the long wool coat.

Moving forward
- I am not going to track scarves and belts. I wear scarves a lot in winter and very rarely to never in spring and summer. I don't see that changing.
- Perceptions can be differerent to reality - I feel like I always wear my navy boots but I actually wear my Veja sneakers more. This goes for many other pieces too.
- Spending more on footwear, outerwear and jeans/pants is worthwhile but I should be much more wary with tops.
- I won't use the data to edit out anything I haven't worn, but it helps me decide where I should not be adding pieces.
- be wary of different years - a cool spring means I feel like I need more lightweight toppers - but last year and the year prior with hot springs they sat unworn.

Thanks to those who suggested tracking - tt's been fun and I hope to get to one year and then reevaluate.

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24 replies

Latest reply was from Sal

Runcarla

Veteran

You are right-on about perceptions vs reality. What a wake up call my first year of counting turned out to be! I still do wear-counting, but not so much for outerwear and accessories, or shoes.

Agreeing with you that weather is a factor, for sure. 2021 I didn’t wear trousers for 4 months, whereas this year there were many days of jeans in the summer months.

Sal

Veteran

Thanks Carla. Yes you can " feel" that you are always wearing something and it might be 5-6 times in 6 months.

It also shows me that I won't really ever have a tiny closet. But with only having about 96-100 pieces in my closet total, to have worn about 90% of them at least once means I am about right.

Unworn even once (aside from things in the holding zone) are the following pieces. The two party dresses might come out over the festive summer season. The three summer dresses will start their time "in the sun" soon as will the cream camisole. And the cream and kimono toppers are useful to have but not workhorses.

The two winter coats will be evaluated at the start of winter. I suspect I will pass on the teal and keep the faux fur.

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Suz

(website)

Veteran

Sal, this is terrific. Thank you.

How did you do your tracking? Spreadsheet? Notes? Paper & pencil?

I ask because it has been a long time since I tracked and my lifestyle and climate have changed. It might be a useful exercise for me to embark on again.

Weather is absolutely a factor and one to be taken into account! We had a wet cold spring last year, and I actually bought an additional topper! I think it will see wear in other years as well -- but only time will show whether I am right about that.

So interesting that you *thought* you wear your navy boots more than you do. I wonder what that is about. Any theories? Do they "stand out" to you more when you are wearing them, so they are memorable? I wonder.

In my first period of tracking I made some similar discoveries: footwear & jeans -- I could justify a higher price tag. Ditto for coats -- after the first two years or so, i might not wear each individual coat as much in a typical year but unless it is a total flop, I keep each coat for a decade or more and wear it a few times each year at minimum -- so they earn their keep and give me a lot of joy per wear.

I wear knitwear more, of course (in my colder climate). In 3 months of winter, I would definitely have some knits that would see more than 15 wears per item.

Sal

Veteran

Suz, I think it can be those more distinctive pieces sometimes. I don't exactly know - maybe it is that I only have one navy option - whereas I have three pairs of white sneakers. Or maybe it's that last year I wore them an awful lot, but this year I added brown practical lace ups which took some wears away....

And yes outerwear is mostly a really good investment...maybe a bit less for me than for those in Canada - but it's worthwhile.

My numbers are slightly skewed in that I got rid of a few things and added in replacements eg one sweater replaced another similar one. But it's not far off:)

Bijou

Veteran

Some great insights. Given you have a new winter coat, I can see why you would prefer to wear that to the teal coat.

I know from personal experience that there are a number of items that $/wear get very low. Reading glasses and sunglasses would have to top the list, then favourite handbags (which will get years of wear), comfy shoes and jeans, which I am often wearing at least once per week in Autumn, Winter and Spring over a number of years.

On the flipside - coats and blazers last for years for me and whilst I love buying them - I now have to be restrained, because I don't have the climate or the current work requirements to be wearing these pieces enough. Same issue with formal clothing.

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

I think most of us have too many tops. They’re appealing to buy because they can be colorful and affordable— but we really don’t need so many! I bet I have loads of tops that get worn 0 or 1 time in any given year, simply because I have toooooo many.

Sisi

Veteran

Well done, Sal ! I looooove tracking. I have become hooked. So much helpful information from tracking, so many lightbulbs! Glad that you had fun doing it.

bella

(website)

Veteran

"Perceptions can be different to reality" - this was exactly my experience when I used to track CPW. It's a beneficial exercise for certain goals.
Wearing 90% of your items at least once is a huge accomplishment I think. I am no where near that, and your post gives me motivation to start tracking again. hmmm, I need to ponder...

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I don’t track, but I like your insights. My neighbor-friend and I were chatting the other day on a hike about editing our closets. She’s really disciplined about it, and I could take a lesson or two from her! We are about to move closets for a while during some intense home renovation (we’ll start sleeping in our guest room and using the much smaller closet there), and I should really do a semi-brutal edit in the process. Those items I wear maybe once or twice a year? Sometimes it is so hard to let go!

Helena

Veteran

Excellent insights - as somewhat of a data wonk in my work, I think your learning about perception vs. reality is particularly true - as long as you (as you wisely also noted) put proper context around it, such as the variability in shoulder season weather, which means this year's data might not help with next year's decisions!

Star

Veteran

I too got quite a shock from tracking, and it has really helped avoiding wasteful purchases going forward.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sal, with toppers, you need to cover your bases. Eventually, items are worn, even if not every season because weather patterns vary greatly these days

I don't track, and enjoyed your musings!

Minaminu

Veteran

ooooooooooooh, love a bit of data!!!! It takes a lot of patience to note down all usages but at the end, it is a very helpful report and provides a good overview of what is actually needed. Interestingly that almost 1/4 of your wardrobe is gear! I guess it is because you enjoy a variety of activities and this requires different items.

I agreed with the others that lifestyle and weather are indeed major contributors to determine what pieces to add to the wardrobe, especially when one plans outwear (which seems to be last for a long time).

JAileen

Veteran

That’s interesting about boots vs sneakers. I’m sure I’m the same. I wonder why our perception isn’t aligned with reality. I wonder if you remembered your outfits with the boots because you preferred them.

Weather! It’s a huge factor. Last year we had practically no precipitation, so my things for snow got little wear.

I know that I have too many clothes. I have donated a few things that were worn and shabby. I like my nicer clothes to be pristine. I envy those with the means to track wears. I don’t have anything input into any kind of system. So I can’t do it. I suppose I could just take a picture each day, then work it out later.

Sal

Veteran

Thanks all. I use an excel
Spreadsheet and just add on each day or few days. I tally each month. I won’t bother with the scarves again or belts. Some don’t get much wear and I have learnt that small silk scarves are not for me - I will keep my two but won’t add more.

I don’t know why perception is different to reality. I do laugh a bit when influencers say how much they wear something- and it’s down to cents per wear. Even my most worn jacket which has had about 70 wears in two years. That’s still $2.50 per wear.

I have come to the conclusion that for me over editing isn’t a good idea. I like variety and am okay to have tops that only get pulled out a couple of times per year. I don’t need 20 of them but 3 or 4 adds to the variety.

I do have a lot of gear- and it mostly gets a lot of use. Mostly it’s for walking, biking and the gym, but there were a couple of ski jackets in the mix too. I use a one in one out system for gear now after consciously increasing the collection in 2021. I am tempted with active wear although the trends here now are not quite me.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Maybe the influencers wear 12 outfits a day for their photos and count each 10 minute try-on as a "wear."

I was thinking for my next tracking -- since I loathe spreadsheets -- I might just use Finds and tick each time I wear an item. Most of my items are in Finds and I could add the others. I'd probably not bother with belts or bags or jewellery.

I feel the same as you do about the tops -- they don't take too much space in the closet and I do like the options. I have a few for occasions that I have not worn in many years, but I hang onto them in case.

I have a lot of gear, too, and wear it a LOT. I have just ordered some replacement items. Some have crossover use in the regular closet.

Anonymous

Snort at Suz' influencer comment
I'm still deciding whether to track next year. It definitely looks useful, but life changes a lot from year to year too.
I can definitely see how perceptions can be way different from reality!

Helena

Veteran

Suz lol!!! And probably not far off the truth (they may also get some items at deep discount, too).

Sal

Veteran

I do have items that would be cents per wear. My gold bomber at four years of age cost me $12 and would be about 40-50 wears in total. For most pieces they need to be very affordable to be cents per wear.

Even my running shoes which would be close to 200 wears a year, if not more, would still be over a dollar as they only last one year and they cost over $200.

Okay NZ is expensive, and I have upped my spending per item overall as I am buying better quality pieces (I still thrift, shop at consignment and buy some chain/mall stores, but I have purchased more at a higher price point from NZ designers or shops like Veronika Maine.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Excellent data! I am still hooked on tracking after over 6 years. It’s because I have made better decisions on purchases since doing it, I think. I am not doing as well as you with wearing a percentage of my wardrobe, just checked, 28 unworn this year out of 144, just under 20% not worn. So 80% worn, I am sure that’s way better than before!
I don’t track scarves or bags- hardly wear any scarves and mostly use the same handbag.
Glad you haven’t hated doing it!

Sal

Veteran

That's the right trend Jenni!! I know tracking has worked for yourself, Jenn and others which helped inspire me.

I have about 80 items of clothing, 20 pairs of shoes, 40 pieces of activewear and gear, and accessories etc.. The shoes pretty much all get worn although there are one or two that only get a couple of wears a year. But I have to be careful not to add more, it's tempting isn't it!!

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rachylou

Veteran

The pieces that got a lot of wear - do you think it would be useful to get more of the like? Or do those items really nail it? I mean, for example, I basically like extremely long coats - I have my puffy and a light weight ankle length coat jacket for high summer, but I don’t think I need a long wool coat (but I used to wear them all the time).

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I have the same experience with pants/shoes vs. tops. Interestingly, my outerwear is rather neglected now, but one vacation in the right climate or one chilly week can still rack up enough wears that it's worth having it.

I wonder if my tracking suffers a bit because I don't really differentiate by season/year. I'm sure I have some items sitting around that haven't been worn recently, but I keep because they were stalwarts in the past. My perception is that I still wear most everything, but as you rightly pointed out, perception isn't reality.

ETA: Just out of curiosity, I went into my spreadsheet to see which items I had that were less than $1/wear. There were 13. The biggest commonalities were that they were generally affordable (under $100) purchases and they have mostly been in my wardrobe for several years.

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Sal

Veteran

Rachy - I have decided to not duplicate - or rarely. I’d rather wear something out and replace more quickly. I have regretted it on occasions but it mostly works for me.

Jenn, I tally monthly so I can see in June I wore sweaters 15 times etc. Some days have two outfits - one being gear- and more rarely one or three. I may stop tracking gear although I realise how the right gear item gets a lot of wear.

I will have a handful under a dollar I think. And they would have to be under $100 at purchase. The pieces below might be close - the only things over $100 are the birks and the Lululemon pants. The rest were $15-$60. I don’t have enough data to tell exactly.

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