What percent of your wardrobe do you regularly wear?

[Anonymous]

I'm about to do a closet cleanout and thought about this question. I have a more than a full closet, and I do think I follow the saying of only wearing 20% of my wardrobe regularly. The tough part is how much to get rid of what I could potentially wear but very infrequently. Also, to be intentional and disciplined with future shopping to have items that would be more part of the regular wear.

[Anonymous]

5%

[Anonymous]

Like 98%. I have one dress I got for a relative's wedding I haven't worn since, a black skirt, a swimsuit, pair of gloves rarely needed, a pair of pj pants, plus the shoes for that dress.

I have very little clothing and wear almost all regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like 98%. I have one dress I got for a relative's wedding I haven't worn since, a black skirt, a swimsuit, pair of gloves rarely needed, a pair of pj pants, plus the shoes for that dress.

I have very little clothing and wear almost all regularly.

Have you always been this way or did you eliminate any excess that you weren't wearing? I need tips! I probably wear 5-10% of my wardrobe and there's nothing wrong with most of the other 90-95%; I just don't wear it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like 98%. I have one dress I got for a relative's wedding I haven't worn since, a black skirt, a swimsuit, pair of gloves rarely needed, a pair of pj pants, plus the shoes for that dress.

I have very little clothing and wear almost all regularly.

Have you always been this way or did you eliminate any excess that you weren't wearing? I need tips! I probably wear 5-10% of my wardrobe and there's nothing wrong with most of the other 90-95%; I just don't wear it.

I was not always this way. I'm 48 and probably around 25 I realized that I went to malls and shopped when I was bored or depressed. I went through my closet and pulled everything I hadn't worn in the last six months. I was embarrassed at all the clothes still with tags - so much money wasted. I kept all of it aside for another three or four months and then donated it all. I went through my dresser drawer by drawer and culled. Nobody needs 20 swimsuits. Nobody needs 15 hoodies. Nobody needs more than 20 pairs of shoes (I think I have around 9 or 10). I also did the hanger thing where you turn all your hanged clothes backwards, and as you wear them you turn the hangers forward. Then after x months you look at all the hangers you didn't touch. Give those clothes away.

I only buy to replace. I have three pairs of jeans, wear them all, and one is about to wear out so I'm going to replace that one soon. I have four sweaters. That's plenty. I don't care that people see me in the same thing more than once.

I was at a friend's house and saw she had like five or six tan/beige button down shirts. They all looked the same. Maybe she could keep two of different weights? She likes having a ton of stuff, and complaining about not having enough room. But she has plenty of room (two huge closets) and just too much for one person. She never uses umbrellas but has 6 or 7. She told me one is broken. I asked why she's keeping it and she couldn't answer so I dropped it. Some people like having stuff. I just am not that person.

[Anonymous]

Fun question, fun answer. I'm a scientist so I have fun tracking data. There's an app called Stylebook that I've used for several years now to track my clothing purchases and what I wear. It will also calculate your "cost per wear" for you if you want. You can take photos of your items and/or outfits and the price you paid for them (if you have that). Ex.; my favorite pair of shoes are my Rothy's flats "the point" - cost was $ 145.00. I've worn them for 250 days with 258 outfits. Cost per wear is 58 cents today. Heading into "free" territory. On the other hand, I have a beautiful pearl necklace from my husband ($1500) that I haven't worn at all since the pandemic. Need to find a place to wear pearls again. Anyway, you get the gist.

[Anonymous]

Wait, you don't have regular clothes, fat clothes and skinny clothes? I have like 3 sizes in my closet, depending on how much I weigh at any given moment.

[Anonymous]

Maybe 10%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, you don't have regular clothes, fat clothes and skinny clothes? I have like 3 sizes in my closet, depending on how much I weigh at any given moment.

Nope. I've weighed the same - within 5 lbs - for the past 15 years, pregnancies notwithstanding. It still surprises me when my doctor congratulates me every year for not yo-yoing on the scale. My mother and my sister are the same. I wear some of the same clothes I wore on our our honeymoon (classic sweaters, etc.)
That said, I'm no beauty. I'm on the high side of normal BMI (24-25) and wish I were more middle-normal. (22-23)
Also, I don't wear skin-tight clothes, except for my Athleta leggings for workouts. Love that spandex.

[Anonymous]

10-20%

I know the advice is to get rid of anything not worn in a year, but my daughter (at ten!) is already a clotheshorse and I want to at least give her the option of choosing some of the pieces. I don’t hold on too long to poorly made pieces, but I try to buy high quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fun question, fun answer. I'm a scientist so I have fun tracking data. There's an app called Stylebook that I've used for several years now to track my clothing purchases and what I wear. It will also calculate your "cost per wear" for you if you want. You can take photos of your items and/or outfits and the price you paid for them (if you have that). Ex.; my favorite pair of shoes are my Rothy's flats "the point" - cost was $ 145.00. I've worn them for 250 days with 258 outfits. Cost per wear is 58 cents today. Heading into "free" territory. On the other hand, I have a beautiful pearl necklace from my husband ($1500) that I haven't worn at all since the pandemic. Need to find a place to wear pearls again. Anyway, you get the gist.

That’s so cool, I love that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, you don't have regular clothes, fat clothes and skinny clothes? I have like 3 sizes in my closet, depending on how much I weigh at any given moment.

Oh no! Really?! Is this a thing ? I mean I have my home clothes, work out clothes, professional clothes and weekend clothes ...but not different sizes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, you don't have regular clothes, fat clothes and skinny clothes? I have like 3 sizes in my closet, depending on how much I weigh at any given moment.

Nope. I wear everything all the time, and my weight doesn't fluctuate too much. If I notice something fitting tighter I take it as a sign to cut back on carbs and sugar but am not wearing everything skin tight.

[Anonymous]

"you wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time."

[Anonymous]

I’ve been holding on to quite a number of nice, quality, classic pieces I haven’t worn in awhile hoping that I can fit into them. Losing the weight to fit into them hasn’t happened so I need to be realistic and put them aside. Good idea though to save for your daughter in case she would want them for the future.