So many great answers, thank you, everyone!
Donna F, interesting point about drapey vs structured. I like to wear them together--too much structure reveals too many bumps, but all drapey makes me feel like I'm hiding in a tent. But I will think about whether I have similar kinds of divides in how I wear things.
Anne, you and I have commented before on some similarities in our approaches. Like you, I don't mind repeating outfits, and I'd rather keep items at the end of my weight range than buy more each time I go up or down. But the natural set point of your wardrobe is apparently much lower than mine. Hmm.
Emily K, thank you for pointing me to your finds and capsules! Your description of very specific activities points out the problem I'm facing--I want to be ready to move back to a country I've lived in before, maybe to a city I've lived in, maybe to an entirely different region. I know generally how to dress for the weather there, and have a general idea what my life is like, but can't predict such specifics as going out to eat in a nice restaurant once a week. In that way, deciding about my wardrobe is much more difficult than deciding, say, what kitchen items to take.
Rachylou, as long as we aren't talking about huge, bulky sweaters, I can pack 50 things in a large suitcase. The last time we did this, I paid $1000 in luggage overages to take a bunch of rubbermaid-type totes and about the same to have a pallet shipped back. I don't know what we'll be doing yet--it depends in part on how many things I decide to take. I'd love to do the holding zone thing you describe--I think that's the best way to do any move--but across the ocean is too far to trek for a shirt or a frying pan. I am so with you on the style statements! I'm starting to realize that I like contrast--some structure combined with something floaty or drapey; a soft thing toughened up by something RATE. etc. That only increases the amount of things that "work" for me. It is a little easier now than it used to be, because fewer things look good on me now.
Staysfit, great point about things were I "feel an obligation to wear them, because I have them already, they are
nice, they look great, but I could easily cut them from my wardrobe and
never miss them" There are some things that don't meet Caro's 9 out of 10 requirement even among the things that are too small for me. I keep the small sizes around to encourage myself to lose the weight, but these pieces obviously don't do that job. That's probably the best place to start. Katherine, yes, yes, yes! I find it " difficult for me to part with the pieces which have passed their prime
and it takes discipline for me to keep my wardrobe size manageable". It is very hard to distinguish between those things and Approprio's "recycled fashion from previous
eras, so I typically have quite a few vintage classics alongside the
newer stuff. I tend to hang onto things if they're really good even if
I'm not wearing them this year."
La Pedestrienne, your story about the hiking and falling in love and the move cross-country still strikes me as so romantic, in the best sense. The only part I can relate to, unfortunately, is having someone else do the packing and moving, so it's easier to just have everything tossed in the truck. Doing all this culling and sorting (I've taken over half of a neighbor's garage with some things that aren't clothing) is a drag, but I'm really looking forward to the nearly-clean slate, with only things we have affirmatively chosen on it. I expect to be doing a lot of repairs and DIY where we live, so your point about needing things that aren't "outfit" components is important.
Cindysmith, we are going through almost opposite things. I line-dry nearly everything too (DS likes his towels dried in the dryer, and if I wash more than one set of sheets, I put them in it too). Actually I don't have a line--I've just learned from Sal that I have a clothes-horse. (I call it a drying rack). Suz's starting point sounds similar, but more extreme than the storage space available in a trailer. Even though I want to be rid of the excess, I don't find the idea of leaving everything behind appealing at all. I'd rather buy furniture and build household DIYs than spend money on clothes. Jenn and Meredith, I'm not sure if you built up or down to your wardrobe sizes, but you both seem to be really comfortable with your wardrobe, which is the place I hope to land.
Gigi, even though I expect to build a closet myself, I don't want it to take up that much of my living space, so storage space will certainly be a constraint. Right now I have a walk-in closet with cascading hangers. So far my feeling about them is different from what you suggest; I've always used them as part of my organization system, as far back as college, when I accused my roommate for days of not having returned a shirt she'd borrowed, until she pointed out that it had been in my closet all along--on the wrong hanger. If I were clever, I'd use them like Jane's hangers, as a way to enforce 1-in, 1-out. Maybe that's a place to start--just eliminate one multi-hanger. That would require a different categorizing system (unless I remove everything in one category), which would force me to look at everything carefully.
You all have given me much to think about, some reassurance that I'm on the right path, and a couple action items--take away 1 of each type of multi hanger (pants, shirts, skirts) worth of things that don't wow me. I don't know exactly how many things I have now, but it's over 300, across a range of sizes.
What prompted my initial post was realizing that the items I'm looking forward to after losing the weight are a lot more than I'd expected. I thought it would be around 100, but last night I counted 100 skirts, dresses, pants, and hanging shirts. Some of that culling can only take place once I'm that size, but there are others I can remove right now. I really appreciate all the comments about natural set points for wardrobe sizes, and the examples that what feels right varies from person to person.
