I was motivated after seeing Viva's post with her closet counts to start on mine. It has been two years and a fairly full closet revamp. I decided to start with my sweaters, and what I thought was going to be a quick count turned into a detailed list of the large array of sweaters I have collected. Sweaters are by far the largest wardrobe category in my closet. It is typically cold enough for a sweater of some sort where I live from mid to late September until late April and sometimes early May. In the summer, I need a sweater in the buildings I work in that have a/c because I run cold. Before my first cull two years ago, I didn't count my sweaters, but after my cull I had 83. Right now I have 87. It looks like I didn't do a good enough job of practicing one in one out!
In the category of sweaters, I did not include 6 sweater dresses. I did include 3 thin cotton turtlenecks that I layer underneath items like Blazers, or another sweater. That could account for part of the difference in the count, I'm not sure?
I'm currently debating about two NAS purchases. The Vince side Zip rib turtleneck sweater that Angie suggested I order in a size up because the sleeves look small, but I think that was a product of the picture. I had hiked up the sleeve. I am going to call Nordies to see if they can send the larger size for comparison because they have it in stock. The second is also a Vince turtle, the strangely named espresso one that is grey.
As I reviewed my sweaters I noted three that have some pilling. I have a tool to remove pills. If the pills don't come off properly, than I will cull those sweaters. I crazily purchased new sweaters during NAS in an attempt to both update my style and increase the texture of my wardrobe. The items I added included sweaters with ribbing, peplum ruffles, and tweed textures.
The color palette of my sweaters are remarkably consistent. They are mostly a continuum of grey, white, pink, blue-green. There are a few watermelon red, periwinkle, Royal blue and lavenders also but not many. I am very true to my palette, and everything in my closet mixes and matches well.
I am still looking to reduce the overall number of sweaters in my collection. I think this is going to happen over the next few years. I need to figure out what length cardigan is most useful and stick to that. I suspect I have more hip length than I need. Proportions seem to be the last frontier for me. I am still struggling to get them right. I suspect a try on session is needed.
The counts:
18 Turtlenecks - (3 thin cotton, 2 thick cotton, 3 merino wool, 10 cashmere)
5 long cardigans -(1 sweater coat, 1 cashmere, 1 silk, 1 merino vest, 1 linen)
3 tunic length open cardigans (1 merino, 2 thick cashmere)
2 zip hoodies both cashmere
3 sweater sets (2 lightweight cashmere, 1 heavy cashmere)
4 linen cardigans
4 hip length cardigans
4 boyfriend style cardigans
1 moto sweater
4 novelty arty drape sweater toppers (3 viscose, 1 cotton)
3 ballerina wrap sweaters
30 crew or v neck pullovers (16 simple cashmere, 3 heavy wool, 1 thermal knit cashmere, 1 metallic, 6 ribbed or patterned, 3 merino)
6 Summer cotton or linen pullover sweaters
6 sweater dresses
It's a lot! I have more sweaters than some people have total wardrobe items in their closet.
I am not a minimalist. The crewneck category is startling right?! My typical winter uniform is a pair of straight leg jeans, a pullover sweater, a scarf, and boots or booties. I'm sure I don't repeat wears very frequently. With a fall/winter of maybe 6 months, and extended transition seasons into 7 months, I would probably only wear each of these sweaters an average of twice, because I also wear blouses. Additionally, some sweaters get much more use than others, some hardly get any wear. Some are for specific types of weather. Some are for certain types of occasions. Finally, many of these sweaters are cardigans so they serve as toppers and form part of an outfit when worn over another swearer, knit top or blouse, It's clear that I should eliminate what if any I don't wear. Maybe I need to be more diligent with my tracking calendar! I had originally planned to eliminate sweaters by attrition but there isn't much attrition yet.
My goal is to have my closet assessment completed by September. Sweaters was a good place to start.
I think I'll do dresses next.
