Mine is a bit oddball. I lived away from my current location for 10 yrs but have moved back. Recently I have bumped into several old acquaintances. I have been sorry I was wearing a couple outfits and thrilled about others. So that is my canary: if I ran into (judgy) 'X' would I be happy what I have on?

Odd but I am about to use it to clean out my closet,again

I don't have a lot of clothing items, and I add relatively few items. So usually when I do add something, I wear it right away just to get to wear something new! My canary has become, "Will I reach for this tomorrow and happily wear it?" But I've had a new skirt hanging in my closet, unworn, for two weeks now. It's apparently exactly right for me and my needs, but I haven't worn it. The canary is singing loud and clear.

Gosh I don't think I have any clear-cut canaries like you ladies, but I probably should!

In the same vein as other ones, mine is "Do I love it as soon as I put it on?" If not, then it goes back.

Fabulous thread.

My canary is the same as yours -- if I'm not itching to cut the tags (assuming it fits the season) then it's not going to be a great purchase.

But I do think it's worth digging deeper into the WHYs of that. Because they could be different for different items (and different people).

Fit is non-negotiable for me; if it doesn't fit right, I don't even seriously consider it. Colour's another -- if it isn't one of my preferred colours or neutrals or I don't just fall in love with the colour (if it's a new one to me) then I pass it by.

But let's assume those criteria have been met. For me personally, some issues that still might make me hesitate to wear an item that I like include:

1. Fabrication bothers me.
2. Too much like something I already own.
3. Can't imagine myself wearing it.

Which is basically what everybody else already said.

Suz, you are so right as usual. There's a big difference between "this won't work for me because it doesn't fit/isn't my style/gives me hives" and the more subtle item that meets all the criteria but doesn't sing to us. As always, back to the indefinable....

Carambola has a great point that is true for me as well - something that requires a lot of adjustment or is generally 'fussy' physically is not one that I will end up wearing much if at all. Sometimes that's something you can't notice until you take it home and try it, unfortunately.

Maybe it's me, but I'm not always super excited about a new item - often it's more of a quiet satisfaction than jumping around the fitting room with a grin on my face. Especially with basics - how thrilling is a plain tee or a basic pair of jeans, anyway? But they are necessary and make the flashier items in my wardrobe wearable, so they are definitely necessary. If I only bought items that got me really excited, I'd have no real outfits to wear.

Hmmm. I'm afraid that my canary has been out on sick leave indefinitely. I need a new one!

Sometimes I let a SA talk me into something that might be conventionally flattering on most people, but isn't super flattering on me (mostly shoulder issues). Also, I lead such a casual life, that I find myself buying dressier items for my dream life, and then never take the tags off to wear them. They will sit in my closet with the tags still on, until I decide I've spent too much on clothing, and return them.

I'd add onto what Suz said about cutting the tags and what Liz said about having a 'perfect' skirt and not wearing it because there is one more piece for me I'm trying to get my head around.

Sometimes I'm subconsciously 'saving' it. I don't want to cut the tags in case I 'might' take it back, even if I love it, but I also don't want to wear it where I will a) sweat in it, b) possibly get food on it, c) get cat fuzz/claws on it. So for example dropping boxes off at UPS today -- my outfit looked great with a new blazer, the temperature was perfect, but I was afraid I'd catch the buttons on the box edge or something lugging cardboard around, so I put it back on the hanger. This wasn't an expensive blazer either, and I'll do the same thing with a graphic t shirt.

So sometimes I need to give myself permission, but also recognize, even if an item of clothing is great for me, I just don't have to have it and therefore will opt to wear older clothes out instead. I'm trying to find where on the minimalist closet vs. enjoy variety spectrum I fall to try to figure this out. I'm also trying to figure out how RATE vs. polished works for me. It's all a little in flux, and what I really need to be doing right now I think is tracking wears.

My canary is definitely not whether I wear something right away. I've left things in my closet with tags on for ages, but gone on to wear them regularly once I do. Which is probably kind of weird, actually. But, anyway.

I think mine is more like Gigi's. If it's all my rational side telling me it makes sense to get it, without any emotional involvement at all (even just something small like noticing how the fabric feels soooo soft or the color is really pretty), it's probably going to sit.

I also have an anti-canary. If I like it enough to consider sizing up to a size I'm not crazy about seeing on the tag to get the right fit, that usually means I really love it and it'll get lots of wear.

Great question, and great answers!

Mine is along the same lines as yours. If I'm not excited to wear it right away (weather and circumstances permitting), it is probably better going back. If it is too much of a duplicate of something else in my closet, I shouldn't buy it -- UNLESS it's superior and therefore a replacement, so I'm willing to sell or donate the old one to make room for the new one.

This is why I am getting more cautious with retailers who don't have generous return policies. I just returned something to Nordstrom today that I bought in early January that still had the tags on, because I came home from Boston with something I was far more excited to wear. And I returned the other slip-on sneakers I tried from Zappos because I joined Team Wear and wore the snakeskin print ones immediately when I got home from Texas.

I really need to learn my canary!

I feel like I am getting better, but then some items languish. I am cutting myself a little slack given this horrific winter.

While thrifting, if I am pretty sure I couldn't get the consignment store to take it, I put it back unless I love it beyond measure. This is a serious canary! I do keep some things I thrift but I would otherwise be stuck with a lot more.

My weakness is retail, specifically Zara you evil temptress! Because I could supposedly return things, and things sometimes disappear quickly, I can go overboard. And have.

Finding a perfect item is a big deal. Often I will go out for a shop and return empty handed. BUT on that rare occasion that I find something that I feel is worthy of my wardrobe, I will sometimes get this urge to go nuts and buy about five other coordinating (or not coordinating) items, like I used to in the old days. A real live shopping haul. I shop at a lot of places where all sales are final and this can be catastrophic. Now when I am all aglow with the flush finding a "right" item that I intend to buy, I listen for that canary so that I don't scoop up a bunch of "wrong" things to throw in my basket. I have to steel myself to quit while I'm ahead!

What Jules said and also Gigi in reverse. I don't want to feel too out there for work, not just too trendy but too much anything. So there is a kind of, if this makes me fel self- conscious or like I feel people will first notice the clothes or I feel i would want to explain
Something, then it is not right. I'm finally learning my style is also about what I don't wear. Some of that is akin to the imaginary lifestyle. So there could be some items I'd wear for an evening out, and then the calculus is more about what percent of resources should go there.
I agree with the too much rationalizing test. I kept a blazer awhile because it matched 2 pairs of pants and was on a seldom- sale, but it didn't wow me and I was stuck, didn't cut tags not take back. Finally realized, I don't like it! and returned , to find current price half what I paid. Took it back home in a huff( not really!) and tried it on again. Nope-- don't even want to wear it. I don't do e- bay soooooo.....returned to store and ate the loss, and am trying to learn the lesson.

Hmm. Good questions!
I guess I have four canaries.
1. I'm one team wear. If I'm not happily wearing it around the house the day I get it, it's probably not a keeper.
2. If it's really unflattering when I'm seated, it's not a keeper.
3. I'm busy and active and a mom; if it's too fussy to handle lots of motion, it's not a keeper.
4. If it doesn't work with the proportions and colors of other favorite workhorses, it's not a keeper...generally.

My problem is too many canaries. My main inclination is not to buy anything EVER! Anything and everything can set off warning signs, including most of what has been mentioned above!

@Aubergine, if you're weird, then I am too. When I was a girl, I'd be all about wearing new items right away, but that changed. If an item is great, it can marinate quite a while and jump into rotation at any point. (This may have something to do with me being very, very visual mentally. Imagining wearing something is almost as good as actually wearing it. Am I on Team Virtual Wear? Heh.)

One of my canaries only works when I'm in-store: I'll realize that I like the clothes I rode in on, once I put them back on, better than anything new I tried. Then the decision is easy...NEXT!

Fascinating thread! Wanting to wear something right away isn't the most reliable "canary" for me, because sometimes I don't realize till partway through wearing something that I feel self-conscious or awkward in it. Similarly, obsessing over something isn't a canary, because sometimes I purchase it, and that seems to scratch the itch and make me realize I don't really want it and enables me to return it. I guess the closest things to canaries that I have are the following:

1. I have trouble matching it to anything in the closet. No, this is not a good excuse to buy things to match it.
2. It's high-maintenance (e.g., wrinkles if you so much as look at it).
3. It's on final sale. I almost always change my mind later.
4. It's outside my comfort zone in fit or color. This one is a tough one because there's part of me that thinks I ought to push myself. But even if I love the item on the hanger (and in some cases, on me), I still shy away from wearing it if it's too different or what I worry may be unflattering on me (and keep in mind that "too different" and "unflattering" have included, even as recently as the last month, cropped boyfriend jeans, white jeans, skinny pants, ankle pants, anything but the most subdued pattern, skirts...you get the idea).

ask self
"where am I wearing this"?

OK, so am I the only one who is going to own up to Angie &YLF as my canary?

I've loved reading this thread! Such good ideas here.

My biggest struggle is compromising on fit, so lately I've been trying to employ a new 'canary' there: would I be happy showing this item at all angles to the forum/Angie? If a part of me starts making excuses in reply, I know I should probably put it back.

My thrift store recently changed it policies from 14 day exchanges to 7 day ones, so now when I bring a new item home I try it in a few combos right away. If I'm not super excited about it, I know it wasn't meant to be. I try to be as sure as I can in the store though, because exchanges only (vs refunds) means that either way the money's gone. I always try something on at least 3 times before I buy it: if I'm not willing to go through the hassle of changing that 2nd or 3rd time, I know I don't love it enough to wear it! So I suppose that's my other canary.

This is really interesting to read. Like many others, I find that if I tend to debate or make excuses in the dressing room (eg, if I wore this in exactly this way, or if this actually lays flat...) or if I get something home and don't want to wear it right away, there's a good chance it will end up an orphan or in the goodwill pile. That said, even being aware of these issues in hindsight, why is so hard to actually keep that in mind in the store?? I'm getting better but still have room for improvement here.

If I spend too long trying on the item when I'm in the store. All the purchases I've loved I've bought right away (and then admired myself in the mirror for hours at home), but if I start analyzing a purchase to death to determine if it is worth buying, it probably isn't.