Oh god. I duplicate a lot. Often the same item, exact same colour and everything. I think I have six of my favourite black boatneck/cap sleeve tops, all black. And two identical black silk blouses. And three identical crisp white shirts. Three identical gray tee shirts. What can I say? The perfect staple is the perfect staple. I never get tired of them because they are useful in so many outfits. They often form a base around which to work.

This is what I have duplicates of:

camis
basic tees (short sleeve)
long sleeve tees
tanks
patterned tees (identical prints in different colorways)
silk shirts
pants (all 3 of my work trousers are the same model)
jeans
skirts
summer dress
cardis (two models are duplicated)
clutch

I never duplicate in the same color, except for camis. I love to duplicate and have zero issues with it. I often have two but sometimes more. I never duplicate shoes, jackets, or outerwear. I only duplicated bags once with the clutches. I dislike shopping and have trouble finding things that work, so duplication is great as far as I'm concerned!

I do duplicate a bit. I tend to duplicate things that I really love and enjoy wearing. For example I have two oversized sweaters exactly the same, one black and one grey. I wear both equally. I have two of the same black assymetric top in black ... because it is something i love to wear and don't want to find it in the wash and unavailable.

If I REALLY 'fessed up I'd probably beat MaryK in the Duplications Dept.
When I find something that works well for me -I tend to get duplicates(triplicates.......Um.)
This year
Pedal pusher length shorts : 4 different colors
3/4 sleeve BD : 3 -1 leopard print ,1 plum,1 teal
striped tee maxi dress: 3 different colorways
3/4 sleeve cardi : 3 -aqua,beige, and flamescarlet (beige has yet to be worn...)
Dr. Scholls slide sandals 4-yellow,leopard,stripes,chambray
Easy Spirit sandal : 3 -backed up the black and added beige after I had my first pair in black and found they were kind to my feet even if I did a long shift and they were on sale for $20 each plus I had a $10 off coupon so absolutely no guilt on that score.
I'm sure there is more but listing is taking too long .

Camis and tees are a bit of a downfall ,as are anything that fits very well on a curvy pear/hourglass frame.

For mix and match basics such as you mention, I think finding the perfect style/cut/fabrication and then duplicating in different colours is actually the ideal. Last year I bought the same cardi in golden yellow *and* taupey mustard and both work really well for my wardrobe. I personally probably wouldn't buy three dresses the same, because I don't have a lot of toppers and need dresses to be more standalone items. But I would totally do blouses and skirts. And you style everything brilliantly. Go for it!

I buy exact duplicates when the fit is absolutely perfect (I'm thinking of some black trousers I have that are long enough and would have worn out by now had I not had more than one pair) . The reason why I like duplicates is I don't want to have to wait to wear an outfit because my favorite piece is being washed/cleaned. Sure it leads to more outfit duplication, but if a piece is a classic and the fit is spot on why change for the sake of change? Plus classics mixed with modern pieces tend NOT to be the star of the outfit they act the foundation. People don't notice if your classic black trousers are exactly the same as the ones you wore yesterday.
I also buy duplicates in different colors which does lead to some colors being worn more than others, but I get to wear the same flattering silhouette without wearing the exact same outfit. I've posted an example below.
The sweaters are the same (different colors), the long sleeve tees under the sweaters are the same and so are the colored khakis. Duplicates used like this help me to pull together outfits quicker because I already know the proportions work.

This makes perfect sense to me, Ingunn. I often duplicate difficult to fit items when I find the perfect choice, such as pants/jeans (I have extra long inseam that can be hard to find), shoes or boots in varying colors (painful bunions prevent a wide variety of choices for me) and special tops/t's that compliment my broad shoulders. Sometimes I wonder if I am making a mistake but I have never regretted the purchases once everything starts getting worn to death.

I'm a duplicator too. I just recently began paying attention to how many pieces I have in my wardrobe that no longer get any play time, but I am a believer in the magical balance between duplicating carefully and keeping a small-to-medium-sized wardrobe.

What do I duplicate?
Bras - it's hard to find nice 70A balconettes around here, so when I find one that fits me and that I like, I usually double it in three colours (black, white and grey).

Layering tees - Since I never put my clothes on the dryer (bad, bad experiences...), I need at least a week worth of layering tees in white and black to survive the winter.

Leather/Pleather Jackets - Just because I like leather jackets so much. I have the same leather model with shearling in black and in dark brown, the same pleather model in navy, white and dark red (and two others in suede, in dark grey and brown, also with shearling, that are very similar ones... but are from different shops)

Boots - But shoes don't count, do they? Collectors item. Hahahaha.

You nailed it, Day Vies. Another positive aspect of duplicating is how easy it is to put together outfits in a hurry.

Since I have a very small wardrobe I don't usually duplicate but did recently. I don't usually buy button front shirts because a) they feel stiff and uncomfortable to me and b) they don't fit well on my extremely busty shape. A few weeks ago I found a button front shirt that is woven fabric on the front but knit on the back and sleeves and very comfortable. A week later I came across a similar shirt and snapped it up quickly. The details of the shirts are different enough that I don't really count them as duplicates, though. :shrug:

I'm very sorry for dropping out here. Life got to me, and I also lost my wifi connection for 24 hours. Bah!

Ingunn, I suppose I am afraid I will get tired of things too quickly.

This is a great question Ingunn! Without actually going into my closet and looking, I can think of a few items that I've duplicated, including:
* 3 pairs of Paige slouchy skinny jeans - identical in every way
* all of my bras and undies - mainly in nude and black
* 2 pink sweaters from GAP that I bought last winter - one of them is a size larger than the other so that if I want to go with an oversized look I can do that - or a more fitted look, I can do that too!
* 2 Target jersey tube skirts - one is gray and black striped and one is turquoise and black striped
* 4 pairs of S.E. Petty booties - putty, python, cognac, and black
* 3 silky tees (same brand and style) - cranberry, black, white
* 3 cropped denim jackets - white, dark denim, light denim
I have an old pair of Steve Maddon black boots that I am regretting not having bought a 2nd pair of them when I had the chance. They are my favorite and most frequently worn boots of all time - and this is probably going to be their last winter. Boo-hoo!

I also tend to duplicate colors - although not identical styles. For example, when pink (which is one of my favorite colors) was featured in so many different clothing items last spring, I grabbed up several different tops (all pink) so that I would continue to have pink items to wear, even when they were not
available in the stores anymore. I did the same thing with medium blue items. Currently, I would like to do it with ink and navy blue - but lack of funds is making it impossible at the moment!

I also duplicate layering items - tanks and camis!

A good exercise for me - thanks Ingunn!

I also think that duplicating skills improve with style skills and your "eye" for fit.
Natch. In the past I duplicated some items that I thought were good, but oh, brother it was because I hadn't seen the possibilities! Some of this was fit--not trying enough different brands to see who made clothing that "gets me". So I'm getting better at recognizing what's worth duplicating and what's not.

Still hoping to not to think the dupes are something I'll still be wearing in 5 years, but focus on wear-now-type duplicates that make life easier right now.

Ha ha ha, I just had to add that I went shopping last night, and promptly bought 3 of the same dress, in different colors. I then purchased 2 other dresses that are also nearly identical to each other. They are very simple, basic cuts that I hope to layer over all fall and winter, so I consider them almost similar to camis or layering tees.

I do this a lot, especially with pants, which are challenging for me, and more recently with footwear, which is becoming more challenging. When I find a stellar basic I love that ticks all the boxes, I'm on it. Express Columnist pants, BR Sloan pants, VS Long yoga pants, J Crew Telegraph skirts, and a couple of BR Tall blouses. Bras, too.

The older I get, the less I love to shop. But I do love looking my best, so duplication works -- to a point.

I don't think I have exact duplicates of anything. Now, if we're talking the same item in a different color, I certainly do that on occasion. T-shirts, layering tees, jeans in a couple different washes...

I used to duplicate a lot, buy every color of something I liked, but I found that I didn't wear them nearly as much as I expected. What I probably should do more often is to buy two sizes of the same exact item, one for skinnier days and one for plumper ones.