We all have favorite items in our wardrobes, things that we regularly reach for when getting dressed each day. In contrast, there are other pieces that languish in our closets and rarely see the light of day. Most people only wear 20% of their clothing on a regular basis, while the rest of what they own is merely taking up valuable closet space and leading to a false sense of having a large wardrobe.
It is one thing to think we aren’t wearing most of what we have, but it’s quite another situation to know this empirically. The wardrobe tracking that I’ve done over the past two years has shown me the cold, hard truth of what I do and don’t wear.
Wardrobe “All-Stars” and “Benchwarmers”
I’d like to introduce two terms which I will use regularly in future posts: “wardrobe all-stars” and “wardrobe benchwarmers.” For my purposes (and you can, of course, create your own parameters), I have defined a “wardrobe all-star” as an item that gets worn eight or more times per year. I know this is a fairly conservative distinction, and I would eventually like to be wearing my closet favorites far more often than that. But for someone with a wardrobe of over 300 pieces, I think it’s a good place to start.
I was a very shy and insecure child who grew up in the affluent community of San Carlos, California, a suburb of San Francisco. I never felt as if I could measure up to my peers in terms of how I looked and how I dressed. My parents were not as wealthy as many in the community and couldn’t afford to purchase a full wardrobe of designer clothes for me every school year.
Last Friday, I went shopping for the first time with my new purchase limitation. For the entire year of 2013 (and maybe longer), I am only allowed to buy one item of clothing and one accessory per month. The reason for this rule is so that I can learn to be more deliberate with my purchases, pare down my over-sized wardrobe, and better use what I have. I also hope to cultivate more of a “quality over quantity” attitude.
When I decided that 2013 would be the year when I would really address my compulsive shopping problem, I knew there would have to be rules. After all, I’ve tried the “loosey goosey” approach in the past where I just tried to shop less, spend less, stick to a budget, etc. I’ve tried those things and more, and have failed miserably, so I knew I would need a radically different approach if I had any hope of succeeding.
Recovering Shopaholic 