I happily thought that I had less than 20 items but when I started auditing my wardrobe last week .... oh no....one, two......forty......!!
Wardrobe Audit
So this is what I have (includes upcycled items as well):
20 tops (inclusive of t-shirts, work shirts, and lots of upcycled ones)
5 dresses (three upcycled, one swapped and the other just very old!)
4 casual trousers
2 pairs of jeans (one mended)
5 pairs of shorts (two mended, one upcycled)
2 yoga pants
2 jackets (one upcycled)
LOTS of corporate shirts (from previous company functions)
1 pair of trainers
1 pair of plimsolls
2 pairs of sandals
1 pair of Birkenstocks
3 pairs of formal shoes (2 x black and 1 x red)
And the most ridiculous thing is that most of the office items were from my time when I was deskbound. Well, you know what this means...they have never been worn since I left my job in 2012 .... 3 whole years untouched and in my wardrobe. In fact, I did give some away to the Clothes Swap in September. I think I am still in the "I will upcycle it" stage, but considering it has been 3 years, I don't think it will happen.
Reflection
Not only will I not be getting more stuff, but I will be clearing some of it out, and thinking about what needs to be part of my wardrobe. AND if I do upcycle, I will make sure that I wear it. Time to sort out my clothes!
Do you have too many clothes?
Wow...can I just say how your definition of too many clothes is my definition of not enough! I have to admit that I need variety and get very depressed with such a limited amount of dressings. I found this out on vacations when I'm really limited. Especially shoes...I love a bright/interesting pair of shoes and I find if I change them often, they last longer! I also see you don't have any sweaters (Singapore never gets cold?). So yes....your perspective would be to look in my closet ( http://bit.ly/18lkLPB ) and say I have way too many clothes!! Of course my mom's excuse would be that I'm much older so I've had more time to accumulate more--ha ha! I don't use this excuse---I subscribe to the theory of one in/one out! jodie
ReplyDeletewww.jtouchofstyle.com
ooh, this interesting Jodie. i'm going to pop over to your site and have a look. That's right, we don't have winter over here, just hot and maybe slightly less hot. At most I will have a thin jacket for the air-conditioned environment.
Deletethe only way I judge is if I dont have the space for more clothes, but my wardrobe is relatively simple compared to some of my friends, but not the magic number 33 (is that the 'minimal number?). I have a shared wardrobe and some storage boxes. The storage boxes are for out-of-season clothes and its only when things are going in or out of these boxes that a 'cull' generally happens,. the one thing which amazes me is I have a lot of summer shoes! seriously we dont even get a proper summer here and yet I only have 3 pairs of winter boots, a few formal shoes and about 4 pairs of flip flops and 5 pairs of summer sandals (at least)!!!
ReplyDeleteI think I have an affection for shoes too! I'm not sure what the magic number is but someone also mentioned having 10 items!
DeleteI've culled significantly since I left work. There's still a few garments that have sat there unworn for all of that time, however. I can't help the 'maybe one day I'll wear it' line of thought.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Pam. I had that same line of thought when I was culling for the clothes swap.
DeleteI know what you mean by changing your occupation and those clothes now just taking up room. I do a clean out every now and then, but I do need to ask myself questions before I add to what I have.
ReplyDeleteThanks Agy,
Kathleen
I think I may have too many t-shirts, but I live in them. On the other hand, I don't have many blouses or dressy clothes, so whenever we go out, I have to go shopping! :)
ReplyDeleteI love shoes and I am really jealous of my 9 year old's wardrobe. I think I buy her stuff because I can never find anything that I feel comfortable in lately. Or maybe it's because she can pull off anything and has the confidence to do it too.
ReplyDeleteMy closet is jam packed with clothes I haven't worn in 4 years since I left my job to be a stay at home mom. You have inspired me to do an audit of my closet to get rid of clothing I haven't worn in YEARS!!!
ReplyDeleteI so need to go through my closet! You have inspired me to finally get it done.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of doing that right now. We may be moving soon, so it's the perfect time to cull the clothes.
ReplyDeleteEver since I lost all my possessions to fire, I find myself getting anxious about accumulating too many things. This is a post I wrote about that, with a picture of my closet (2 years old): http://lifeineverylimb.com/2013/11/13/about-those-crocs/ About ten items in that picture are gone now, and I may have added about the same number of new items since. (I do have clothes in a drawer as well--a few t-shirts and sweatshirts.
ReplyDeleteI just had a baby and am doing a purge/reassessment of what goes back in my closet. Some things are already getting the boot!
ReplyDeleteCan one really have too many clothes! :)
ReplyDeleteI do go through my things and get rid of them if I don't see myself wearing them again.
Most things I hang onto though, because I have the space and I like to give my stuff new life!
I've come to realize how much clothes I have since I upcycle and make my own clothing on occasion too. It's crazy how it can pile up and I'm hesitant to give away some things, so I'm resolved I must wear it! As for the amount of fabric I have waiting to be turned into clothing, it may be time to sell it on Ebay!
ReplyDeletehttp://passportcouture.com
Wow! I love that you think you have too many clothes. Most people would think if they looked in your closet you didn't have enough clothes. But, I can understand I am one not to need or want lots of
ReplyDeleteclothing. I wear maybe 3 sets of clothes over and over again.
I experience this problem too, it is really important that we don't keep buying more clothes that we don't necessarily need. Upcycling is the way of the future. Have you watched to documentary 'The True Cost'? Keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteSo important. I have a ton of clothes, where I live we have a distinct winter and summer so I need almost two wardrobes. However there is a lot I can clean out as I do not wear it all. You are a inspirstion!
ReplyDeleteI so need to do this! I still have "work" clothes from my job 3 years ago too! Yikes.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great article. I need to downsize my cloths too. Gives me motivation!
ReplyDeleteI periodically go through my clothes and I'm surprised at what all I've ended up with. I tend to buy a sweater here and there or a pair of shoes or whatever the case may be. It definitely adds up. Lol... Have an awesome weekend!
ReplyDeleteI'm late catching up on the wardrobe progress but I am so excited to finally see! I can't believe you think 40 items (including shoes) is too many. I too have held onto my unused corporate wardrobe and if I hadn't gained weight I think I would still be holding into it. There is this 333 project thing that I saw someone ask about up above where you try to live with just 33 items for 3 months. Is that the magic number? No I don't think there is a magic number.
ReplyDeleteMinimal is so much easier to live with though. It was letting go of the old things that I used to love that I've found hardest even though I don't wear them any more.
Having lived in Queensland where the weather is the same most of the year round except for about 3 weeks where you need something warmer, and then living in Melbourne and Perth I do find that climate has a huge impact on wardrobe quantity, everything from shoes, scarfs and all the layers in between.