Step into my closet with me... please!

thimblelina

Are you curious about other people's closets? I know I sure as hell am...

I'm the self-described clothesorexic newby here. I used to love clothes, and I had a small-to-normal selection. Then, I don't know, life just happened, and I virtually never shopped and eventually I hardly owned anything at all.

I like being the person with a modest amount of basic clothes. I like being the person who can easily pack for a week away. I like being the person who once lived entirely out of a single small piece of luggage in a dozen countries for half a year. I don't like being the person who feels anxious about standing up and speaking to a group of strangers, about attending a cocktail party or funeral "appropriately" dressed, or who has nothing cute to wear on a date night with her own husband. So I am trying to change some of my bad habits. I'm not throwing out the baby with the bath water here. Lots of my habits are good habits: frugality, emphasis on inner vs. outer beauty, and a willingness to let go of old, unworkable pieces. Now I just want to step up my game.

We remodeled our home about 8 years ago, so what I have now is pretty much it for me on closet space. I have half of a regular shallow closet with an overhead shelf, 33" of a single bar and 3 built in cubbies. I have 2 additional shelves in a freestanding armoire. And I have a blank wall where I could add hooks, or a vanity or more shelving.

In the year and a half that I've been working on myself in this area I have doubled the number of hangers I use in my closet from 12 to about 25. (Yeah, I used to have 12 hangers and several of those held coats... sad...) I lost about 20lbs. last year and some of my new larger clothes had to go live with a friend. I've replaced most. But I would say I still have about half of a normal wardrobe selection. "Normal" meaning I could get myself comfortably and unselfconsciously dressed for virtually any social obligation in 3+ seasons of weather (I'm on the west coast, so the weather is mild...)

I've even created categories. I'm a freak, I know... My 12 categories are: 1) Outerwear, 2) Cocktail, 3) Jackets, 4) Day Dresses, 5) Woven Tops, 6) Knit Tops, 7) Jeans, 8) Skirts, slacks, shorts, etc., 9) Sweaters, 10) Flats 11) Heels, and 12) Boots. I just used these categories because they covered all the areas I think of as fashion basics when putting together outfits. I have three "capsule" stacks of clothes in my armoire that aren't part of my social wardrobe: Work-out, Sleep, and Gardening. The items in these stacks are not something I would necessarily choose to socialize in as you can well imagine but they get their job done...

So, I'm trying to flesh out every category I laid out above. And I think the limit for me is about 12 items max per category. That would allow me to have a nice number of choices in each without losing the collegiality of mixing and matching and wearing things multiple times. I really like that. It makes me feel like my clothes are really mine. Nothing seems sadder and more impersonal than something that hangs around for years and never gets worn. So I am gunning for above 100 but no more than 144 individual wardrobe items. And I currently have 67! (47 in the clothing category and 20 pairs of shoes. I like shoes and evidently have had no trouble making time for shoe shopping...)

I think I can do this. I'm willing to consider thrift store items, so it doesn't have to be expensive. And I'm ready to buy a few investment pieces that I will keep for years to come. I want to get this done before my 50th birthday, which gives me 2 years and 2 months.

Have any of you built up a wardrobe this way? Do you think 100 is too many individual items? How do you keep order and foster creativity and collegiality in your closets?

15 years ago

Shopping

13 replies

Latest reply was from taylor

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Gosh, although I go about work in an analytical way, my wardrobe process is intuitive. Often I will identify holes and shop to fill them. Just as often, I buy something when it strikes me. I end up returning around half of it because when I get home (or when it arrives in the mail) I realize it won't work for me or doesn't look that good on me.

Sorry I can't help you. I do think it's useful to lay out everything though. Then you see what you have enough or too much of, and what's missing. Also it's a good idea to sort through and get rid of items on a regular basis.

15 years ago

Kate

Veteran

You sound like you're completely on the right track! And don't worry about the categories, I keep a spreadsheet of all of my clothes, shoes, accessories, and jewelry, and track what I wear every day. I have also lived out of a backpack while traveling in Europe (though for me it was 4 countries in 4 months), so I really value versatile items that "play well" together.

I think 100 is a fine number. I currently have 98 everyday items (about half of which are tops), 2 fancy only items, 14 super casual items, 27 accessories, and 17 total pairs of shoes (including gear).

I think as you expand your wardrobe you will know what items you want more of and what you are happy keeping to a minimum. For me, I like having lots of options for tops, but am happy with a more sparse collection of pants and skirts. I enjoy shoes, but I play favorites. So I keep my shoe collection to a minimum, and will only keep shoes that I wear infrequently if they have a specific purpose (so I have steel toed work boots, snow boots, pool shoes, teva water sandals, and hiking boots that I don't use often, but are necessary when I do need them).

One of the ways that I make sure items work well together is by sticking to a color palette. It simplifies my shopping and my outfit creating in a big way. I also try on new items with things I own before cutting the tag to make sure they are as versatile with my existing wardrobe as I thought.

15 years ago

Barbara

Veteran

What a great post!

You are SO logical, just like my engineer husband! I also like to categorize and analyze my stuff, so you have inspired me to take another CLOSE look.

I probably have over 100 individual wardrobe items, not including my footwear and I WEAR ALL OF THEM!

15 years ago

Elly

Veteran

I am on a similar journey right now. I really like the way you described the place you would like to be, you sound like my kind of woman. I love fashion, but I am not a clothes horse, I would just be really happy being able to dress well and look great for all the occasions that occur regularly in my life and the handful that I don't have to dress for but for a couple times a year. I particularly like the way that you commented about life getting in the way--- that is the story of the last few years for me, no doubt about it. The only difference is I was lucky enough to have lots of extra closet space and just left everything that is no longer the right size, ect. in the closet while wearing my three pair of jeans and my handful of shirts out of my dresser drawers.

My only suggestion would not to be hung up on the numbers. Achieving the type of closet you are looking for is a continuous journey. Sure, there may be a point where you have reached "perfection" but the maintenance shopping is ongoing because fashions change and clothes wear. I forgot this the last time I was pretty happy with my closet and didn't shop for two years-- then I had to do some major rebuilding. Of course, I am not a very numbers oriented-person, so that may work better for you than it does for me : )

How many of your current clothing items do you wear regularly? Is that too few or a good number and you just find yourself scrambling for clothes that aren't your dailies? I would add or replace pieces one or two looks at a time and evaluate both the success of the outfits themselves and how they work in your current closet to see how much more you really need-- I find sometimes I overestimate the number of pieces I need, but need far fewer once I am closer to a functioning wardrobe. Then again, I also tend to decide that I need 15 tops and go out and purchase 10 to go with the 5 I already have and end up wearing about 1/2 the new ones all the time because they are my favorites! This is especially true when I am thrifting or discount shopping because when I find my size in a style/color that is ok I feel more pressure to purchase because it is a rare occurrence (I'm hard to fit) and they won't be there again/I need tops.

15 years ago

rae

(website)

Veteran

Oof, I've never counted my wardrobe items... this is one area where I don't worry too much, since I have enough space. 100 items doesn't seem too much for your space, since you've included shoes in your categories. You might decide on color schemes for your different capsules (dressy, work, casual) so that things mix and match well, and then you'll have a jumping off point for shopping.

15 years ago

Queen Mum

Veteran

I've done the same thing. Great minds think alike
I agree that 12 of any item seems good. Gives you variety, while keeping a manageable closet
My personal count is a bit lower in each category...

Dresses... 6 winter/6-8 summer
bottoms... 6 winter/5-6 summer
summer tops... 10
long sleeve tops... 6
pull over sweaters... 6
cardigans... 6
summer toppers (vests, sleeveless flowy things)... 6
winter jackets... 6
shoes... 10 winter/10 summer
cocktail dresses... 3
coats... 2

I do have a handful of layering pieces like cami's and long sleeve tees not counted in my list, and I always keep on hand a few "past their prime" pieces for days that I might be deep cleaning, painting, or not feeling well.

as far as keeping order, my closet is organized by the above categories, light to dark in each. I am constantly editing things out that don't work for me anymore. When I buy something new, I try it out with what is in my closet (as you can see in my dress thread from today) I try to keep my wardrobe on the smart casual side, but I do think I"m prepared for most anything that would come up... wedding, funeral, party, etc. The only thing I wouldn't be prepared for is going back to work, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it

15 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I believe Queen Mum said she is aiming for 10 to the power of 10 in her wardrobe I counted and listed all mine a few months back but have lost that paper somewhere . . . it did help me to see I had over 30 dresses,yet they were the category I actually wore the *least*. So I started by turning all my hangers around so that I could see, by switching them back when I wore something, what was truly being utilized. Sometimes my fantasy wardrobe and the reality of what I wear everyday in my real life are not the same at all!

Although I like the idea of even numbers - 12 of this or 10 of all those, it doesn't serve me much purpose in my closet. One thing I did start doing was buying less of the same type of item to get started, so no one area became overgrown so to speak. When I ventured to skinnies I bought army green and black only. Ballet flats - cream, black, red, done. Etcetera. In the past I would get gung ho on something and unwittingly end up with a dozen very similar items by the time I looked back in hindsight at them hanging there (floral dresses in the 90's anyone?).

And to answer (finally, oops!) your question, I'm sure I have over 100 items when you count the shoes but probably less than 150. I feel I have a fine working wardrobe and that it just needs tweaks and some updating but I'm happy overall with it!

ETA: I see Kim and I were posting at the same time! I got curious, so had to count lol. 120 with no shoes involved. Mind you, I have half a dozen more each of jeans, sweaters, and jackets back home in my Tahoe closet. Not to mention a dozen pair of winter shoes and boots. No need to bring all that to the FL climate!

Pants-6
Jeans-6
Skirts-13 (2 mini, 3 maxi)
Sweaters of all kinds-7
Dresses-17
Sweaterdress/tunics-2

Shirts: 48
tanks-14
short slv-11
long slv-12
layering tanks-10
turtlenecks-2

Shorts-7
Jackets-13 (3 hoodies, 2 short slv jackets,1 trench)

15 years ago

rute

Veteran

I have about 75 pieces I love and wear everything (counting with shoes and bags).
I don't have lot of clothes I prefer to work with less but I know that they all mix and match and I can do tons of outfits!

15 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I am definitely curious to see everyone's closets! I'm impressed with how organized you all are, and that you know how much you own. My closet is embarrassingly full. I have no idea how many items I have, but it's a lot. I definitely need to continue assessing and purging as I update with some new pieces.

My mom was a therapy shopper -- meaning that she would regularly go out any buy herself a little something to cheer herself up. As someone who struggled with lifelong depression and anxiety issues, I certainly can't blame her, and she never spent beyond her means. It was her only vice.

Suffice to say I do a little of the same thing. I wear a lot of what I buy, but I'm trying to be more thoughtful and less acquisitive in my clothes shopping.

15 years ago

Kristine

Veteran

I like your approach. I also came from a clothesorexic background as you called it. I didn't like to shop but I got tired of feeling embarrassed about my clothes. So I'm aiming for a small but functional wardrobe. I don't have counts, but it's probably 5-10 in each category. It's interesting how people choose to break things out, my woven and knit tops would just be tops while I'd break out pants into dress pants versus jeans/capris/casual.

If you're looking to stay small, don't forget to make the most out of multi-taskers. A black sheath dress can be a day dress or a cocktail dress for example. That's one reason I stick mostly with neutrals and solids and then add color and pattern with scarves and accessories.

15 years ago

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

Thanks everybody! This is so interesting... Lots of great observations... I feel encouraged to hear there are others who have been in this sort of ditch and found their way out. L.

15 years ago

Vix

Veteran

Hi Thimblelina --

I agree you're on the right path with being logical about your needs.

As someone who pretty much started building a (mostly multi-season) wardrobe from scratch ~ 5 years ago, I echo thoughts that the numbers should be a rough guide; lifestyle is maybe more important.

[So for me, 12 cocktail items would be complete overkill, but having 1 summer party dress, 1 winter party dress, and a 3-season satin skirt work...but if you need 12, you need 12!]

I also found that while a do wear a lot of my work items during nicer "play" time, I really neglected my casual wear for several years. I've fixed that now, but due to the 5/2 day split, I don't need as many casual items (and I did try to find some pieces that bridged work-casual by being on the more casual side when alone, but "upped" when worn with a blazer).

Again depending on lifestyle/preferences, you may want to skew more towards casual skirts, pants tops etc; "nicer biz casual" ones, or "classic work."

[FWIW, I do find that in winter I end up with more work-appropriate skirts and in summer more fun ones, so even though your weather doesn't swing a lot, keep your seasonal preferences in mind.]

For me a huge part of having a more flexible and interesting-to-me closet is figuring out what colors were highly flattering -- and, within the last year or so, limiting what I buy for a new season to certain shades. [So winter was blues/greens/purples/peeenks.]

Since you are buying ALL new, it may help to purchase in "chunks" of limited colors so you have a top that has the right colors, length, and weight to (say) go with pants #1, skirt #3, and jacket #2. Nothing worse than being stuck with a great item but having nothing with which to wear it and no budget left to find it a mate!

Good luck and keep us posted!

15 years ago

taylor

Veteran

I am quite obviously a cloths aholic/closet aholic..
i am in awe of your dissection in each of your categories...and how you all seem to know and have limits on each item in each category...amazing and inspiring. I have some homework to do

15 years ago

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