Wardrobe Management

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2014 By the Numbers: The Wardrobe “All-Stars”

These year-end wrap-up posts are quite enlightening for me to write and I hope you also enjoy reading them.   If any of you were wondering what prompted me to start my 2015 wardrobe challenge (now called “Love It, Wear It” or LIWI – a big thanks to Kim for the suggestion!), you’ll better understand after reading this post and my next one.

2014 Wardrobe All-Stars

I have now been tracking my wardrobe for four years.   Ever since the beginning of 2011, I’ve recorded how often I’ve worn all of the clothing and shoes in my closet (I haven’t tracked jewelry and other accessories, but it might be time to start!).   Each year, I’ve aimed to improve upon my stats from the previous year.   Seeing that 2012’s numbers were just as abysmal as those from 2011 was what prompted me to start this blog!  And the blog has been helpful in that I did start wearing more of what I own and have pared down my wardrobe to half its previous size.

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Ending Closet Chaos: My New Book and Next Wardrobe Challenge

At the end of my “worst purchases of 2014” post last week, I mentioned that my second book is available.   In today’s post, I share more information about the book, as well as the next wardrobe challenge I’ve opted to take on for 2015.

About the Book

My second book is titled “End Closet Chaos:  Wardrobe Solutions from an Ex-Shopaholic.”  It contains the best of my wardrobe management tips and strategies from the blog, categorized into logical sections related to various closet conundrums.   The solutions in the book have all been revised and enhanced from the original versions that appeared on the blog, and some new material has also been created specifically for the book.

End Closet Chaos book cover

You do not need to be a shopaholic to benefit from “End Closet Chaos”!   The tips and suggestions I provide are intended to be helpful for anyone who struggles with “closet chaos” of any kind.  You can read the book from cover to cover or use it as a reference to tackle your individual wardrobe challenges.

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Worst Purchases of 2014 and “On the Fence” Items

Now it’s time for the bad news in regards to my 2014 shopping, my worst purchases of the year.  I wish I could say that only a few items fall into this category, but that’s not the case. Although my shopping track record has definitely improved over previous years, I clearly still have a lot to learn.  Since learning and growth are really the purposes of this blog – and all of our journeys – I feel there is merit to analyzing both the good and the bad (and we all know that I love some good analysis!).

year 2014 in review

Have you taken the time to review your 2014 purchases?

In today’s post, I share the bad purchases I made this year, as well as those items that remain in uncertain territory.   As with my best purchases post, I include lots of photos and aim to find common ground among the pieces that just weren’t good buys.  As for those unsure items, I will make educated guesses as to whether or not they will become wardrobe workhorses in the future.   It’s kind of a “mixed bag,” but I’ll do my best to predict which pieces will have staying power and which ones will likely be headed out the door in short order.

This post is a long one (perhaps I should have made this a three part series), but it’s the end of the year, so why not sit down with a nice cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa (or even a stiff drink) and think about your own purchases as I recount mine.  There is value in looking at what we bought and how our purchases have either served us well or fallen flat.   If you do this type of analysis (which I recommend), try not to beat yourself up too much for your shortcomings.  I will try to keep this review lighthearted as well, as I cannot go back and change the past.  We can only look forward and it’s useful to do so with the lessons from the past firmly in our minds.

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Best Purchases of 2014

The year is drawing to a close and for many of us, it’s a time of reflection.   As I did last year, I will publish a series of 2014 wrap-up posts, most of which will actually go live in early January.   I’m going to start my retrospective on a high note, with my best purchases of the past year.

Good purchases

What were your best purchases of the year?

In today’s post, I’ll share a brief overview of my 2014 purchases, followed by a look at what I see as my best buys in various wardrobe categories.   I’ll close out with a list of my top ten closet acquisitions of the year.   Later this week, I’ll delve into the darker side of things – my worst 2014 purchases, as well as those items for which the proverbial jury is still out.   Since over two-thirds of my purchases were made in the second half of the year and many were for the late to arrive cooler weather, I’m not yet able to appropriately classify everything as either “good” or “bad.”

2014 Purchase Overview

But that’s a subject for my next post – on to today’s topic!   Let’s start with an overview…  I have added 55 items to my closet this year.  Several gifts are included within this number.   Items that were returned for refunds don’t count, but things that were passed on for donation or consignment do.

Because I still made a fair number of returns this year, I’ve had trouble keeping track of my item number.   In fact, as I tried to round up all of the stats for this post, my head started to spin.  So let’s just say that I exceeded my initial item limit of 38 (set forth in this post) by quite a bit and either met or came close to my revised item limit of 53 (written about here).   I had too many exclusions and caveats anyway, so I definitely understand why some of you got confused by the whole thing.  Even I am confused, so let’s just look at the items and not get into semantics of limits for the sake of this discussion.

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The End of Season Wardrobe Analysis

Most people around the world switch out their wardrobes a few times each year as the seasons change.  In many instances, this involves moving items from one closet to another or packing and unpacking pieces from boxes or suitcases.   Even those of us who live in temperate climates generally have some sort of wardrobe transition as the weather shifts to either cooler or warmer.

Believe it or not, summer is only now coming to an end where I live.   The warm weather typically arrives quite late – usually in mid-July – and sticks around until early to mid-November.   Thus, I’m only now transitioning into my cooler weather clothing.   However, I’m doing things are bit differently as I make the change this time.

For one, I no longer have to pack any items away, as my entire wardrobe now fits quite comfortably in my closet.  This is great, as it will now be easier for me to seize the opportunity to wear summer clothing when unseasonably warm days come around.  But I will plan to move things around a bit and shift my cooler weather garments to a more front and center position for easier access.

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