Closet Inventory #6 (Fall 2019) + Wardrobe Planning Update
It’s time for my annual closet inventory! (You can catch all of my past inventories here: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.) I find it interesting to see how my closet evolves over time/with life with each new inventory. Here's how things are looking this year (last year's numbers are in parentheses for easy comparison). At I did last year, I evaluated the progress with my wardrobe plan for 2019 at the end of the post.
TOPS: 101 (94)
Sleeveless: 12 (9)
Tees (all sleeve lengths): 19 (18)
Blouses: 10 (9)
Collared button-up shirts: 20 (19)
Cardigans: 8 (10)
Sweaters: 26 (25)
Sweatshirts: 6 (4)
BOTTOMS: 41 (38)
Shorts: 8 (7)
Skirts: 12 (13)
Pants: 8 (6)
Jeans: 13 (12)
DRESSES: 10 (13)
OUTERWEAR: 21 (20)
Vests: 2 (3)
Blazers: 6 (5)
Jackets: 6 (6)
Coats: 7 (6)
SHOES: 52 (47)
Sandals: 14 (12)
Sneakers: 5 (4)
Flats: 11 (12)
Heels: 3 (4)
Boots: 19 (15)
That is a total of 225 items—13 more items than in my 2018 inventory. I generally find myself to be content around the 200 mark, so this is definitely more than usual. I think my excessive shopping from this summer is mostly to blame! This count doesn't include utilitarian coats/shoes, lounge/sleepwear, workout clothes, and anything I currently have listed on Poshmark. It’s basically a snapshot of everything in my Stylebook app right now (minus jewelry, bags, and other accessories because I don’t tend to spend too much in those categories, haha). This number also includes a few things that will be listed on Poshmark in the coming weeks so I anticipate it decreasing some.
There were a few changes over this past year. I added seven more tops overall, three of them being sleeveless tops and two being sweatshirts. I parted ways with a couple of cardigans. I also added some new bottoms and a few more pairs of shoes (boots being the big one…I have a weakness for them). My dresses decreased by quite a bit… I still haven’t found my holy grail dresses that can be worn to work as well as on the weekends!
My closet organization hasn't changed since I moved in two years ago, but feel free to read my closet inventory from 2017 if you would like to learn more about that. I still haven't fully organized my jewelry but I did find my earring organizer and use that again for the most part. My necklaces are still all over the place and I'm constantly misplacing things…when will I learn?
Anyway: style stats! I love to nerd out over the stats built into the Stylebook app. If you’re new around here, I’ve been using the Stylebook app on my iPhone to track what I wear for about four years now. My entire closet is on my phone (well, the important stuff that I wear every day is). I feel a little bit like Cher from Clueless when I’m picking out my outfit from under the covers every morning. Haha!
The above screenshots show what I've been wearing the most over all time (left) and over the past year (right). Not surprisingly, the items that can be worn in multiple seasons tend to be the items that make these lists. I’ve been wearing a lot of the same jeans and shoes in the past year. This stat is always eye-opening to me because I used to think I wore each item in my closet a lot, but it turns out that’s really not the case. The vast majority of my items are worn for less than a full month out of the year, and that’s less than once a week! I use this stat or the “not logged on calendar” stat the most when trying to decide what items need to be listed on Poshmark.
Here are my items with the best cost per wear (CPW) over all time (above left) and best CPW over the past year (above right). Once an item hits $1 CPW over all time, I remove the price so it no longer appears in this list (and make a note on the item with how much it cost; once I decide to part with an item, I recalculate the CPW and stick it in the notes). I like watching the CPW drop to $1 since that's always my target when I buy a new item, and removing the items with extremely low CPWs makes it easier for me to see at a glance which items are close to hitting that $1 mark.
Consequently, if I remove the price, then the item won’t appear in any CPW stats. There are likely a few items that would have made the list on the right if they were still above $1 CPW. However, I don’t think the CPW stats other than the all-time CPW stat are particularly useful since CPW is—obviously—based on the price of the item. For the same number of days worn, the less expensive items are always going to have a lower CPW. I tend to only use the time range feature with the worn history or not logged on calendar stats because it’s more useful in that regard.
2019 WARDROBE PLANNING UPDATE
I wrote out a wardrobe plan in 2018 and decided to continue the trend this year because it helped me stay on track with my purchases (for the most part). So far, I feel like I haven’t been paying super close attention to the wardrobe plan I wrote out for this year but let’s see how it’s going!
Don’t feel the need to shop every sale / I have been good about not shopping every sale that hits my inbox (I actually unsubscribed from a bunch of retailers). I didn’t hit any of the recent Labor Day sales. However, I’ve been bad about placing orders whenever I receive a coupon or “special” discount code. It’s hard for me to pass on “free” money (even though I realize that I am still spending money). I love a good deal so I’m trying to be better about only placing orders when I actually have my eyes on something and not just because I got a coupon.
Shop more secondhand / I’ve purchased two things on Poshmark this year. One was a tee I sleep in, and one was a pair of heels that don’t fit and will be re-listed in the coming weeks. I’ve had my eyes on some other things but have yet to pull the trigger. I’m super inspired by Elsie only shopping secondhand this year, though I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of a commitment…
Consider tailoring / I don’t recall having anything of mine tailored so far this year. There’s not anything of mine that needs to be fixed as of right now, so I guess that’s good. I do have a top that I haven’t worn in a while because it’s a little bit big, but I love the print so I’m thinking about having it made into a pillow case for a throw pillow. Would that be weird? I’m worried I may regret doing that but I’m not really enjoying it now as it is.
Seek out more small makers/ethical retailers / I don’t think I’ve done this as much as I should have, but I did place my first orders at ABLE and Nisolo this year. I plan to keep them on my radar for the future. I haven’t done any local shopping besides stopping in at a boutique (which carried a bunch of higher-end brands). One of my goals is to explore the boutiques we have in town; it’s just a matter of making the time to do that.
Focus on machine-washable materials / This one has been number one for me. I’ve passed on so many items that were rayon (the worst) or silk or that required dry-cleaning. (I do make exceptions for cashmere and most outerwear.) I’ve really been trying to buy cotton and linen as much as I can even though they aren’t wrinkle-proof. I don’t keep track of material in Stylebook (though there’s a spot for it) and maybe I should start just to get an idea of what everything is made from!
Refine my summer work style / I actually think that overall, my summer outfits were fairly easy to put together this year. I stuck with a simple uniform on most days (cardigan + tee + jeans + sandals). The hard part was coming up with outfits worthy of blogging. I did not have many outfits planned ahead of time so I would spend far too much time trying to come up with new outfits. I think that may be my biggest struggle with summer: creating new blog outfits. It felt like I was wearing the same things all season and the same things from years past in the same ways…
A PRE-FALL WISH LIST
I’ve been eyeing a few things from Everlane and Madewell recently (Madewell’s Insiders Event is happening now if you’re a fan of sales like I am—and you can use the coupon on leather and denim…!). Can you tell I’m looking for some new denim? I’m ready to branch out into more silhouettes than just my standard skinnies, but I don’t know what to try first!