What's too much?

Natasha

Hey Ladies,
I'm pairing down the wardrobe- the "my closet is too small" reasoning isn't doing it anymore and I believe I'll enjoy my clothes more if I had less of them to choose from.
I know I have too much and believe if I could actually see them all, getting dressed would be a lot more fun. So aside from organizing everything better (aesthetically and space wise), I need to weed through the lot.

After years of over doing, I find myself asking myself...what's a healthy amount?
How many blouses?
How many pants?
How many sweaters? Different styles increases the numbers.... I'm a little lost, would appreciate some thoughts. Also, I live in a climate with 4 seasons.

Thank you!

Context: I've been doing my own self-therapy about my shopping problem.
http://breakingthecontract.com
(I had a profile Lady T but I seem to be having trouble starting conversations so I started a new profile)

13 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Natasha

Raisin

Veteran

Eee...that's a hard question to answer. I am doing the same thing as you, but I suspect my number would be much smaller than most. That's because I wear a uniform to work, so the actual amount of clothes I need is quite small. I haven't exactly figured it out for every piece yet, but I'm thinking along these lines:

2 - dressy pants, black and grey
2 - skinny jeans , black and blue
1 - bootcut jean
2 - blazers, black and either grey or navy
2 - cardigans, 1 longsleeved 1 short sleeved (or light material for summer)
3 - t shirts, relaxed fit, black, grey and white
2 - pullover type sweaters
2- layering tanks or camis, black and white or light grey
5-7 blouses, these are my main "topper"
2-3 dresses, 1 LBD and 2 summer dresses

I would also have some workout gear, I run almost daily, but not a set for everyday. I have 2 shorts, 1 pant, and 3 tops.

So I think that would be my bare minimum. Maybe I would throw a skirt in there, but I don't wear them often.

I think most people would need a bit more than me. Personally I would base a wardrobe on how often I clean. So maybe have a weeks worth of outfits, knowing that you do laundry probably 2-3 times a week, so that there's always enough, but not too much.

13 years ago

Natasha

Active Member

Thank you so much for giving me numbers. It makes perfect sense- hey, we only wear one pair of pants/bottoms at a time, so how many would we really need to create the variety. I'm also observing more of what I enjoy wearing. I would like to wear different color pants, but I'm realizing that I'm a blue jean/black jean kind of girl and it's the tops and blouses that I tend to change up more...so why do I need 10 pairs of jeans?!

13 years ago

cinnamon fern

Veteran

I'm impressed by Runner Rae's minimalism. I have:

27 knit tops
17 shoes
14 jackets
12 pants
12 sweaters
12 woven tops
7 dresses
3 skirts
3 coats

This is more knit tops, shoes, and jackets than necessary, but the other numbers seem more or less right to me. I wear casual most of the time and sometimes dressy business casual for work. I live in a three-season climate (ie no real winter - no boots for snow, real winter coat, heavy sweaters).

13 years ago

Inge

(website)

Moderator

Hi Natasha,

How fun that you have joined the forum!

It also depends on your lifestyle and work needs (and personal preferences of course, e.g. if you love trousers and wear skirts almost never, then you are definitely "allowed" more trousers;-), but Angie has written several blog posts that could be useful as a general guideline.

http://youlookfab.com/2006/11/.....-you-need/

http://youlookfab.com/2007/02/.....omplement/

http://youlookfab.com/2007/01/.....omplement/

http://youlookfab.com/2007/03/.....-you-need/

http://youlookfab.com/2007/06/.....omplement/

http://youlookfab.com/2006/12/.....nt-season/

http://youlookfab.com/2012/09/.....rchetypes/

http://youlookfab.com/2009/06/.....lifestyle/

http://youlookfab.com/2012/08/.....ssentials/

http://youlookfab.com/2008/02/.....ssentials/

Hope this helps.

13 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Lucky magazine has been doing recommended counts the past couple of months. I thought that was very cool. Hard numbers is distinct categories are more helpful to me than the instruction to "consider my lifestyle and needs."

Right now my mainstays are 4 office trousers, 2 skinny jeans, 2 bakery pants. I rotate in some skirts and dresses, maybe two days a week.

Since Saturday (that makes 4 days including today), I have worn:

2 different sweaters (chunky cardigan, 3/4 sleeved sweatshirt shirt)
3 coats
1 red pumps
1 cream heeled booties
1 rainboots
1 grey Converse chucks
1 bakery crocs
1 bakery pants
1 black pants
1 brown pants
1 skinny jeans
2 long sleeved tees
1 blouse
1 scarf
1 watch

That's 19 items. I wore some things twice - my bakery clothes, one of the long sleeve tees, one of the sweaters.

13 years ago

(website)

Veteran

I own plenty more than I need, but it's a good amount for me because I like variety and have never been the type to wear the same few outfits over and over. I have roughly 150 items. Now, mind you, I also keep moving from mountain snow country to hot FL beaches, and back, so I have a split personality wardrobe that makes for just as many boots as sandals. Last count was about: (see pic)

I do wear a uniform when I work, so I truly have more than I need. And if I ever stop moving back to FL, I would pare down the dresses and sandals category to maybe 12 dresses and 4 sandals.

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13 years ago

DonnaF

Veteran

I have a really hard time with "Thall shalt have *X* number of *Y*s". Have you already removed the ill-fitting, outdated, worn out clothing, and stuff that makes you feel less than fab? How about the closet orphans and stuff for an imaginary lifestyle that never get worn?

After that, I would review duplicates to determine whether both (or more) are needed because you wear that style so often. I do not consider, for example, same wash bootcuts in different lengths to be duplicates because one would be worn with flats and the other with higher heels. However, if one has decided ballet flats or other flats are too uncomfortable to wear anymore, then the shorter bootcuts no longer serve a purpose.

I do think you need more clothing for a four season environment. Can/do you store non-seasonal items?

13 years ago

Lisa

Veteran

I've been working on trimming my closet for two years now and my last check-in was here. I am also a 4 season climate and I prefer a two week rotation before repeating outfits. Oddly enough, the more I've purged, the more cohesive my closet has become. So even though I have less clothes now (I started with well over 250 items) I have many more outfits from the greater remixing I can do with my clothing. I'm currently at around 130 items, excluding footwear.

13 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

I found the Lucky Book hugely helpful for this, to be honest. You can buy it used now, because it's pretty old now, but the general principles of "you're totally covered if you have", which they detail, were very useful for me.

13 years ago

Natasha

Active Member

Wow!! Thank you so much, ladies. These suggestions are wonderful. Let me go through them all and I'll check back with you. I've reserved friday/saturday for my big clean.
Much appreciated!

13 years ago

Chic

Member

what a great question! i am also getting rid of clothes that i haven't worn for a few years...so what is enough? thanks for the question - my wheels are turning!

13 years ago

Elly

Veteran

Honestly, I too can't stand "numbers" questions because even more so than other things this varies incredibly with your lifestyle and style and you can have the perfect wardrobe in numbers and still not have zilch to wear.

I would go through and wear/pick out your favorite pieces and outfits and also outfits and pieces you need for various situations that aren't a daily thing but do come up. Beyond that, then you can sort and try to decide on what might be worth purging (of course, purging the dated stuff and things that bug you or don't fit is a great place to start too).

13 years ago

Natasha

Active Member

Hi ladies,

I've been inactive on the site for a few weeks now. School has had me completely bogged down. I wanted to share with you my latest entry on my blog as it was inspired by all the wonderful advice I received from the youlookfab.com community

http://breakingthecontract.com

Thanks again for the input and support!
Cheers,
Natasha

13 years ago

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