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Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

What's your "update frequently" category?

Helena

Veteran

Hi all,

Just pondering a few things ... Carla's thread about trends, a comment Suz made yesterday about enjoying keeping her denim capsule trendy, as well as tracking my wears using Finds.

What I noticed is that, while I have, say, jeans that are old enough I forget when I bought them or boots that are worn daily season after season, the only sweaters I have worn in December are ones purchased this season, or to a lesser extent, last season - and I'm ready to start repeating wears of these items rather than wearing older items that haven't been touched yet this month. Aha - I like to keep my sweaters fairly new and refreshed. I think this is because this is one area where I like to play with different colours, fits and textures (whereas, e.g. my jeans are all dark blue and on the slimmer side - with minor variations - and that's how I like them).

Given the looooong sweater season, and my happiness in wearing the same items once every week or two (sometimes more!), I think that having a sweater for 2 seasons almost certainly gets me to the 30 wears mark or close (wearing an item about every 1.5 weeks for a single fall/winter season of about 20-24 weeks would get me to 30 or more in 1 season - and this is not unreasonable for a favourite piece.)

This is really helpful, since now I can have more fun purchasing a smaller collection of sweaters that I like/wear more, and worry less about 'timeless' sweaters (which, given my simple style, just end up being flat boring) - and then feel okay about potentially turning them over in a relatively shorter period of time.

This is probably repetitive to other conversations, but it was a "click" moment for me. Which category do you like to refresh early and often?!?

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38 replies

Latest reply was from MsMaven

Bijou

Veteran

This is such an interesting question. Sweaters and tops generally need to be refreshed more regularly that other items, simply because they tend to not stay as fresh and pristine as I would like.

I tend to refresh my dresses regularly too. This is because my dresses work really hard in my wardrobe and are where I enjoy having variety.

On the converse, I always lament the death of favourite shoes and the need to break in a new pair and the literal pain that involves.

Helena

Veteran

Me too Bijou ... I wear the same shoes every day, and am so sad when they start looking worn ... such a process to replace, not to mention an expense; it pains me!!

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Great question and interesting reflections. I would have to say my category for higher refreshment need is summer tops. This is partly because they do show wear more, both because of wearing during higher activity days, and that the fabrications are lighter/more delicate. Also, there are no layers under or over, so I want to look fresh, current and interesting in my stand alone tops.

Synne

Veteran

Interesting.. I havent thought about this before. I'm guessing it is probably shoes for me? Fairly easy to fit and come by, and it instantly makes an outfit current or makes it look dated.

RobinF

Veteran

Interesting question. I think it would have to be shoes for me, although I also tend to wear a favorite to death. I have always said the shoes can make the outfit.

Vildy

Veteran

I suppose the only refresh I do is in terms of adding colors.

nemosmom

Veteran

Interesting question! I would have to say the category where I have most turnover is plain solid colored tee shirts. I keep a fairly small number of them and wear them year-round, so they wear out quickly. But I wouldn't say that I replace them with the intention of "updating" them. I have played with things like twist front and split hem versions, but ended up passing them on because they didn't feel like me...

I'll have to think about this one! Thanks for the brain food today!

Bonnie

Veteran

When I lived in the desert, my most refreshed category would be tees and now that I've moved to the coast, it is sweaters. Pants seem made to last longer and tops not so much.

Runcarla

Veteran

Knitted cotton tops - t-shirts and sweaters. They just fail or look shabby around 2 years of wear. Provides an opportunity to experiment with different colours, patterns and cuts.

This summer I started wearing button downs more, and this winter I’m reaching for my flannel button downs as much as sweaters and long sleeved t-shirts.

taylor

Veteran

Well, I have plenty of everything , so I would say that I refresh my winter boot collection .

I wear boots or booties daily and they take a beating. I recently found a perfect higher shaft bootie (I prefer no skin show , I want No break between my pant line and bootie ). Anyway I decided to duplicate because they are so perfect .

Suz

(website)

Veteran

This is a really important insight. I remember the moment when it came to me as a revelation, too, and it has, in fact, helped a lot with wardrobe planning.

It makes sense you would want frequent sweater updates. First, for the reasons you say, and second, because they stop looking pristine pretty quickly if one wears them often. I know this too, although with a larger sweater collection, I replace/ upgrade less often.

My most frequent replace/ upgrade items are essentials, by which I mean undies, socks, and sometimes PJs. I do a big overhaul of these every year.

Another item that gets a lot of upgrading is footwear and especially sandals. Sandals because I wear them out in a year quite often and it's a real need to replace. Other footwear because keeping the footwear current is the way to make me feel current.

Denim, as you know. I don't upgrade every year, but I wear it enough that I do wear out a pair of jeans a year (more or less) and when silhouettes change, I like to change my capsule up.

Summer tops -- they wear out.

I tend to hang onto winter shirts/ blouses (mostly classic styles for me), knitwear (the stuff that doesn't self-destruct in a season or two, at least), dresses, and non-denim trousers for much longer. Also blazers -- it's hard for me to let them go and it takes quite a while for me to wear them out. Coats for longer still (they take ages to date and wear pretty well).

LaPed

Veteran

Huh, I'm in a minority here, but for me it is definitely pants and jeans. My pants are way more prone to holes and stains than my tops are, and my tolerance for wearing dated/ill-fitting pants is very low. For instance, I ditched my lower rises almost immediately once a good selection of high rise was available at retail.

It's a matter of fit as well as trendiness. For my body type, tops and toppers are way easier to wear through weight fluctuations, pants not so much. I have an easy time finding tops I like and generally have a larger array of tops than bottoms so they last longer. Tops also tend to be more seasonally specific, whereas pants often get worn for 6+ months of the year which leads to more rapid turnover.

Christina F.

Veteran

It used to be tops, but I ended up with too many. So I've been decreasing the numbers over time rather than adding too many. Now it's jeans (which wear out eventually, and because current lookshave changed) and also shoes, partly because I had an injury that necessitated more shock absorbing shoes, and the final twinges of that injury are still an issue for me.

Joy

Veteran

Reading the title I immediately thought of jeans but now need to give this interesting question more thought. Knits come to mind.

Toban

Veteran

I find that I seem to add approximately proportionally across all categories twice a year, wanting a small refresh across everything to incorporate into my wardrobe.

Kari

Veteran

Bras, both for size/fit fluctuations as well as the importance of having impeccable support.

After that, jeans because they are the least forgiving throughout body/size fluctuations (my body fluctuates a lot, sometimes even through the same month, and right now I have a couple different sizes that I can wear during high and low volume times.)

Irina

Veteran

If we are talking about "update" - jeans and pants. I replace them well before they are worn out. I like to keep bottoms current, also like La Ped said, sometimes there are fit issues. I still have one pair of Joe's slim jeans but it's been more that a year since I wore them. All my pants and jeans are high or regular rise now.Most of my pants last about 2 years.
My sweaters are in the category of classic, simple design, they don't "age", I replace them after 3 years or more. Unfortunately, I have to replace my white shirts or tops after 2 years since they loose their brightness fast. Cotton knits don't last either, I generally avoid them for this reason.

Kari

Veteran

Oh. I may have answered this wrong, talking about replacing critical items.

If we are talking about refreshing and trying trends: the category I will try or refresh first is tops and blouses. And I have to be careful about that because I have many, so I try to just get a few per year and cull those that I’m no longer using.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

High Five, LaPed -- same here.

Anonymous

Since my wardrobe is small, and my size fluctuates, everything gets updated frequently! Between wearing out and fit, most things I keep 2-3 years. I am more likely to go out of my way to update the easy categories- skirts, dresses, blouses, gear, jewelry. Pants inc jeans and shoes are problematic, so update when absolutely needed. Bags and coats too, cause they cost a lot.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I think having a small wardrobe makes it easier to stay up to date. A percentage of every category gets turned over for wear every year. If I had to pick one category, though, it'd be shoes.

slim cat

Veteran

Jeans - since it's part of my job to wear current styles.
Sandals - I wear them to the ground ( two seasons and they almost die).
Button down shirts - I wear them year around ( open, like dusters/light jackets in summer ).
Graphic tees - because I love them .
Wishful thinking - all kinds of shoes and bags if I could afford it .

rachylou

Veteran

Fashion-wise, it’s definitely sweaters... but I’ve really hit overload this year...

Helena

Veteran

Thanks for chiming in everyone; so interesting to hear everyone's perspective!

I wonder too if the category itself is a bit fluid ... maybe some years I get more out of updating all my bottoms, shoes, or whatever ... but maybe the cycles on those items are longer ... hmmm ...

Jenn, I often think that if I had smaller and updated more frequently, that would be better for me than having more and updating less frequently - but I seem to be stunted at the wardrobe number I'm at ... I'm a big outfit repeater, so one to two laundry cycles worth of items is genuinely enough for me ... hmmm again ...

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Those are indeed interesting sweaters!

I have not yet learned how to remove anything that doesn’t have holes in it from my wardrobe.

Kate

Veteran

Probably summer tops and tees. They wear out more frequently than any other category of clothing in my wardrobe.

I also refresh my winter sweaters every year whether I need to or not because I love wool sweaters. Since they really don’t wear out quickly, I have a very large collection. But I can’t resist buying them.

deb

Veteran

Tops are the most updated for me. I have jeans in multiple styles and the same with shoes, but tops get worn out and outdated (to my eye) the most.

The Cat

Veteran

Hosiery!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Hmm, I think I am most often on the look out for new lower half silhouettes. Update is not quite the thing because I rotate more than I update. Tops are more tricky - the color and neckline has to look pleasing (to me) near my face, the buttons have to close nicely and my mid-section must be skimming rather than clinging. In the winter I do like to play with jackets though.
But I do think you are on to something with your need for variety in color and texture in your sweaters - you have a long sweater season and anyway sweaters wear out relatively quickly.

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