I like this in principle so I try to keep a really small wardrobe and wear what I like over and over again. I do change my mind about whether I would purchase something again. I gave my mother a mustard cardigan that I no longer wanted and then I found it in her cast offs. I wore it twice last week, got complimented by colleagues on it and thought to myself, "why did I give that away?". Changing size often hasn't helped either. I have a lot of things I wish I hadn't thrown out but maybe that is nostalgia.

I do think about this when I am reviewing my wardrobe, but I am not always sure of my answer. Lots of interesting thoughts on this thread!

I went through my wardrobe list with this thought and had 20/91 (not including my active wear/gear which is close to 50 alone) that I would not buy again. And there are a variety of reasons why..mostly for the sorts of reasons below.

- the black EF sandals have been wonderful but I am sick of them so I wouldn't buy again, but I am happy I did buy them and have had great wear from them. I haven't got rid of them but expect they will get less wear next season. Reason I wouldn't buy again - I have tired of the style.

- the tangerine dress I wouldn't buy again has I have worn about four times in four years..... and I can't see it ever getting past 10 wears. I do like it, won't get rid of it yet. Reason - won't get close to 30 wears

- the black wide leg crops. I wear them and have had about 20 wears from them. I plan to keep them. But they can look a little bit too casual and saggy. I could have held out and got a better fit. Reason - could have done better.

Interesting thoughts Everyone!

It is a thought provoking method, isn't it Sal.

JenniNZ, I want a number of about 120, excluding shoes, bags, scarves, sleepwear. I also only purge when I am 100% sure, and often try various alterations first.

Cat2, agreed about being on Team Wear, I am definitely not a purger and binger, that is why my wardrobe feels too large. I go through phases too, and may not wear an item for 2 summers and then wear the heck out of it. I will be using this method mostly for identifying where my style is going more than purging.

I am up too early for some reason and found myself revisiting this discussion. I like Sal’s thought exercise of going through the current wardrobe with this question in mind. I may try that after this cup of coffee. Not with the goal of ditching stuff right now, because I did recently do an edit and we’re in a transitional season, but to look at the whys and whens.

I’m an emotional shopper and am emotional dresser. In the past I have also varied widely in body-dressing mood from one week to another — for instance I would feel fairly body confident one week and wear more fitted styles and then have a period where I felt more comfortable covering up. It occurs to me that more recently I am feeling increasingly over any bodycon styles, but that may also be because I’m a little larger now than I feel most comfortable. Is this emotional shift permanent, now that I’m “of a certain age,” or might it shift again if I drop 7 lbs, which has happened in the past? So, for example, right now I would not buy the fitted midi dress that I wore a lot 2-3 years ago, but I’m not sure I’m ready to give it up. It’s in the holding zone, with several other pieces that I feel similarly about. So mood and size fluctuations definitely come into play.

I can relate to the falling in and out and in love again with an item or style thing too. I have three pairs of cowboy boots that have seen almost no wear in the past few years, when I wore them a ton 5-10 years ago. They kind of got pushed aside in the era of ankle booties which are easier to style and less specific — I know a lot of people think it’s weird to wear cowboy boots if you’re not in that ranching/cowboy world (which oddly enough, I am sometimes, but I don’t wear those boots on the ranch — I wear muck boots there!). Truth is, the cowboy boots were a good match for the bit of rocker vibe I enjoy, which I seem to get more now from other styles. And at the moment, I can’t say I would choose to buy cowboy boots. However, they are 1) nicely broken in and comfortable, 2) sort of classic in a rather specific way, 3) styles that I carefully chose and/or stalked for a year because I loved them. Shoes are harder to let go of for me when they are still comfortable. And I know that as soon as I let them go, they’re gonna trend. LOL.

Now I need a heated steering wheel
The velvet skirt makes me think of the short sleeve velvet tops I used to have some years ago. There's only a couple weeks of the year that they work in my climate, but velvet feels wrong in spring. Out they went.
Most of my wardrobe I'd say yes, I would buy again. I've done a lot of work identifying what's best on me, and tried to match my wardrobe to it's PUPY value. The exception is most often shoes, cause it's hard to really know without actually going out and wearing them for a day.

LOL at the heated steering wheel. That is the ONE item I sacrificed on my current vehicle when I got it. The choice was either wait 3-4 months to get the car I wanted in the (at the time) rather unique color with all the options I wanted, or to get the same car within a week with all the options except one: the heated steering wheel. Well, obviously I am a creature more prone to instant gratification, LOL. I remember that it had to be delivered to us from Albuquerque, and an Albuquerque destination is still saved as the first one in the navigation system.

Star, I really like this question very much and think it will be very useful for editing going forward. I am a slow editor for a number of reasons:
1. I tend to have a reasonably consistent style, so I don't dislike what I own;
2. I have changed jobs and roles and so whilst I have more formal clothing that worked for my previous job, I would not rebuy them because they are not what I mainly wear now. I do have to dress formally from time to time and so love popping on a formal suit (even though I would not buy it simply for the occasional wear);
3. As for heels, I don't want to buy any more in the future, my current selection that have been broken in and are reasonably comfy are great to keep and use as and when required;
4. I tend to wear clothes between two sizes and so keep my favourite items if they are either too big or too small, because it does not take much for me to creep up to a larger size or back down again, depending upon how seriously I am training for my sport.

Had to laugh at the heated steering wheel, not something I would ever want or use in Australia.

Janet, let us know if you do the WIBIN? as it will be interesting to hear your outcome considering you just recently did an edit. Totally get about the cowboy boots not being edited even if not worn often.

Bijou, I also never edit out because of size as I tend to fluctuate between two from time to time. In fact at the end of last winter I was thinking of editing a slightly bigger pair of jeans and this winter they have been my most worn! That is why I am a very slow editor, a bit like JenniNZ, I think. I have never heard of a heated steering wheel coming from South Africa

Suntiger, what is PUPY value? So you let the velvet tops go... I am hanging on to my skirt, but I do have a few velvet tops that I may let go fairly soon, they are a bit tired anyway - or I am a bit tired of them more likely.