I'm an outfit tracker. For each item, I log the date purchased, the price, and each date that it is worn. I put this info in a spreadsheet and then have the spreadsheet calculate the number of times I have worn each item, how many total items I have, and the cost per wear of each item.
I do this because it helps me see trends. For instance, I bought a pair of bootcut jeans (my first pair) several years ago just as something to try. When I looked at my spreadsheet numbers a year later, I discovered that I had worn the heck out of those jeans...even though I hadn't noticed on my own how much I was wearing them. That made me ask myself what it was about the jeans that I liked. Was it that they were bootcut, or was it that they were a light wash, which was not represented elsewhere in my wardrobe? If I can pinpoint why I liked the item, I can use that info to make successful purchases in the future.
Looking at my spreadsheet also helps me identify wardrobe orphans. If I see I haven't been wearing something, I ask myself why. Maybe it's because I don't have a good support act for it. If that's the case, I can start researching what kind of support act would work well for the orphaned item and shop for said pieces.
My tracking info also helps me see how many times I am likely to wear something before I get bored or have to donate/toss the item because it is too worn. I do like to get my money's worth out of most of my wardrobe items, so I don't want to pay a lot of money for something that I know I won't be able to wear a lot before it falls apart. For instance, I don't like paying more than $100 for a pair of jeans because I know that they might very well wear out before I feel that I have gotten my money's worth out of them (I like to get things down to about a dollar per wear). I also know that I tend to get bored with an item after about three years of wearing it, so I don't want to pay more than what I feel three years of wear is worth.
I did make an exception this past year and bought a pair of jeans for $128, but I did that because I knew that they were exactly what I wanted (an embroidered pair with a rise I liked, in a wash I liked, in a length I liked, and they fit great, which hardly ever happens!). It was helpful to me to reason out that these would be a special purchase because they clicked all my "happy" boxes, and I am OK if I don't ever get down to a dollar per wear on them.
