Slices of real and imaginary life-pie - YouLookFab Forum

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Slices of real and imaginary life-pie

unfrumped

Veteran

There have been lots of good reminders about dressing and shopping for your real life.

Here is Bridgette Raes' pie chart of amount of time spent in different roles, to demonstrate actual lifestyle clothing needs. It made me think I may be trying to keep track just in my head and hypothetically, both the "roles" and the amount of time and so may not be coming to grips with the real picture as I might if I actually tried to calculate it.

I might doodle on a pie chart also, and would likely think in terms of "percent/number of days" as some Fabbers have done, since that is more helpful than thinking of percent time (hours) since I only need one outfit for a 12-14 hour day!

I don't think it needs to translate linearly into, amout of days = amount of outfits, since for "fun occasions" , while I would not have nearly as many days for that as for "work", those occasions may be quite varied in theme ( so I guess some might deserve separate pie slices) , and may also be a venue for experimenting, so I may want a bit of variety even there, but at least there should be some relationship to "how many opportunities" would I have to wear things, if I have them.

Always thinking of Mo when talking numbers.....

How about you-- time for pie?

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16 replies

Latest reply was from unfrumped

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

That is quite true. I find that I can dress quite casually for work so a lot of the same pieces work for office and casual. I would also tend to wear similar clothes for at home work, casual, and hanging with friends/family. I only need about three pieces of pie and one is the skinny formal piece.

Elly

Veteran

I've done this in the past and found it helpful-- mostly I made a list of all activities and made sure I had all situations covered, then broke down my major areas into a chart of sorts to help figure out how much of each type of outfit I needed. Of course, I'm moving, switching jobs and climates and probably lifestyles (to some extent) so I will be going through all of the exercises again.

I also run into a bit of what Cheryle is talking about-- technically 75% of my wardrobe is casual since I wear casual (jeans worn with flat shoes) to work and in most of the rest of my life. I have very little "formal" and a small smart casual/business casual capsule that I lovingly refer to as my gallery and interview capsules. Everything else is gear. That said, I feel a need for "degrees of casual" -- to somehow separate my work wardrobe from date nights, running errands, and sunday dinners.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I definitely need "degrees of casual." Hanging out with friends can mean so many things -- we could do very different outings, from a full scale hike or skate or cross-country ski (gear) to lunch in a relatively nice restaurant (smart casual would feel right) to a a book club meeting in someone's home (relaxed casual) to a party (date night).

But the chart is a great visual reminder to me to do this exercise again now that my roles have changed a bit -- thank you!

deb

Veteran

I think I would rather eat the pie.

Elly

Veteran

We need a like button, Deb!

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

I agree with Deb. You can keep the chart, unfrumped. I'll take a slice of pumpkin or pecan, please.
But keeping the wardrobe geared to life is a worthy pursuit, however you slice it. (tee hee). And your comment about special occasion needs is in keeping with Angie's recent blog post, too. There are good reasons to keep things around even if you don't wear them often.

Summer

Veteran

I love pie charts for their simplicity and clarity. I'm all for seeing the whole picture at a glance.
My own pie would divide neatly into two large slices - casual and smart casual - with very tiny slivers of funeral/formal and special occasion wear.
I also love Elly's "degrees of casual". That sums up my wardrobe perfectly. Thanks, Elly!

krishnidoux

Veteran

As mentioned, two things: degrees of casual and list of occasions.
I find this pie interesting but is it really helpful for dressing? I tend to wear the same things at work and at play sometimes, with small tweaks.

Just like Elly, I found basing my assessment on occasion rather than situation more useful. Thinking in terms of "Work casual - Work meeting - errands - church - lunch with MIL - night out with BF - etc." helps me build efficient reliable outfits. It considerably brings down the time I spend preparing.

Stephanie

Hahaha Deb's comment wins! I want to eat the pie too

I've tried this idea but have the same problem as you. I don't actually calculate I just end up trying to keep a running tab in my head. I think it'd work better if I actually keep a list of all my activities for a month and then assess at the end of the month to tally everything up. I agree with Elly too, I need different degrees of casual as I dress differently for date night, the movies, casual dinner with friends, walking the dog, hikes and going to the grocery store.

Dee

Veteran

My chart would be a histogram, but I'm a nerd like that!
My life is also degrees of casual, since I can wear jeans of work, with some blazers and cocktail dresses on one extreme and my few pairs of hoodies and sweats on the other for days when I don't leave the house. I really should do a more formal calculation one of these days though.

Anonymous

I think it's interesting that you brought up the question of whether there needs to be a linear relationship between activity/# of clothing pieces.

For example, if you spend 50% doing outdoor activities and 50% going to the office, then your wardrobe should have as many outdoor wear items as office wear, if you subscribe to this linear relationship.

What I'm finding is that it's really not as important for me to have a lot of activity wear/kicking with the kids wear, even though I spend as much time doing this type of thing as going to the office (in the summer at least). I think because it's not the same group of people seeing me everyday. Maybe if I had a bunch of mums that I saw everyday, it would be more important to have more casual outfits, but as it stands now, I don't mind a lot of repeats.

So I guess for me, one factor that's missing in these charts and percentages is the "who's seeing you in this?" Factor.

Elly

Veteran

Good point, Smittie! I have a high tolerance of repeats and am okay wearing the same clothes week after week to work. That said, I find myself feeling less fab about wearing the same thing to every gallery opening or on multiple date nights. Technically I only need 3 weekend outfits-- but even my no-nonsense partner gets tired of seeing me in the same 3 tee-shirts! I always feel better when I have two gallery outfits a season and a couple extra date and weekend options than I strictly "need".

Anonymous

I would have to include a piece of pie for accessories, as these are every bit as important to the look I am going for as the sweater, or the blouse, or the pants worn that day. Most of my wardrobe crosses over from work to casual to evenings out (with the exception of the truly casual stay-at-home stuff) and I use makeup shoes , bag and jewellery to make the look change from professional to a fun-sexier evening/drinks night look.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

Mmm, pie.

Lisap echoes something I've thought - a lot of pieces can cross over or work for different degrees of casual. Like I might wear a pair of jeans with a plain tee and sneakers for weekend running around, or jazz them up with a nicer top and dressier shoes for a night out or a work meeting. So it's more the outfit that fits in a certain pie slice, and the items from it can be used in a few different slices depending on how they're worn. So it makes the estimating and calculating more challenging.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Unfrumped, I always think of Mo too, when numbers are mentioned

I've been rebuilding my summer wardrobe & taking a slightly different tack. I condensed my categories as much as possible. Mine are occasion wear, dressy casual, casual/lounging & exercise. There is overlap between the categories.

Then I worked out the minimum numbers of tops & bottoms I needed based on number of wears, weekly laundry & temperature range. I use these same base items with very different toppers, footwear & accessories to make very different outfits with fewer clothes It really works for me because I put more of my money into outerwear & footwear which I love

unfrumped

Veteran

Very good points!
I haven't overlapped workwear as much as some might because I don't wear jeans and because I usualy wanted to " stretch" more for smart casual or going to theater.

But lately I've been so much more interested in how the RIGHT items make you want to wear them more, and are satisfying for that, and motivating to switch up a thing or 2, as lisap said.
That kind of opened up my eyes mord to how things might overlap more than I thought and it becomes really interesting how that could reduce wardrobe size and be wearing more things " during their prime" whilie I like them.