Wardrobe inventory
May 6, 2010
I finally bit the bullet and catalogued my entire wardrobe. I wanted to see what my assets were in my quest to Up My Game sartorially while staying within my ration for the year. The results were… yeesh.
Some stats:
- I own 11 dresses, only 2 of which are wearable more than once a year. (The rest are too whimsical, too costumey or too glitzy for everyday.)
- I don’t own a single short-sleeved top bought after 2006. I mostly live in a collection of Threadless tees I inherited off Freecycle.
- I own 1 (barely) presentable cardigan.
- Of my 15 pairs of shoes, I avoid wearing 7 pairs because they hurt my feet too much. The 3 which hardly hurt my feet at all are nearly destroyed because I have worn them into the ground.
- About 75% of my wardrobe fails the Team W0w test (“Could I wear this without shame to after-work drinks in one of the trendy bars my gang of friends patronize?”).
- About 60% of my wardrobe is officially crud, meaning I didn’t like it when I bought it and outright hate it now.
- About 90% of my sleepwear/loungewear is so grotty I feel like apologizing to my boyfriend.
- Cheap sweaters are always a waste of money.
My terror at the moment is being sucked into the London Style Vortex, where you stop doing things like flossing and exfoliating and just wear Uggs and black tights on all occasions. Looking at my wardrobe, I feel like I’ve been arrested on the very brink.
My wardrobe needs a transfusion, but coupons and funds are limited. So my plan of action involves:
- Sewing only street-wearable vintage and modern garments, preferably from my stash.
- Thrifting as much as possible to get clothing and fabrics coupon-free.
- Redyeing, revamping and refashioning where possible to bring old (or other people’s) clothing up to date.
- Buying only clothing and shoes I absolutely love and that work with my existing wardrobe and actual (not fantasy) lifestyle.
- Leveraging the power of accessories.
- Hinting pointedly to James about the perennial acceptability of gifts of awesome loungewear.
I am still plugging away at the Bestway dress! At least it’s reasonably wearable. Meanwhile, can anyone recommend a good pattern (or pattern source) for knit/jersey tops?
ooooh, what a fun post! I want to inventory my closet now, too. You are smart to save yourself from the Uggs and be pragmatic about what you will wear.
I agree that bedclothes are very important! My challenge is to find ones that I can be comfy sleeping in but still not mind running to the porch to pick up the paper and having someone think I look like a dowdy mother (I’m the mama of two).
You just described my closet almost exactly – if I weren’t all the way across the pond, I’d swear you snuck into my house to do your inventory
Sounds like you have a good plan though, and I’m excited to see how you progress! Perhaps it’s time to do an inventory of my own – I really need to start sewing some things that are practical and wearable in my real life. Not as much fun, but better than a slew of dresses and skirts the just hang in the closet looking adorable for each other.
Coupons? Ration book? What are we talking about? Inquiring minds would like to know!
Thanks much,
Rena
Hi Rena! In a moment of insanity and/or keen interest in daily life in the UK during World War 2, I committed to living for a year on the clothing ration for 1941 — click the “Fashion on the Ration” tab at the top of the page to find out the details.
I live in cardigans! Although I only have 4 presentable ones…and even that’s stretching it.
I’m just glad that the gap has sales on cardigans a few times a year…
I wrote about this recently, too…I have a new commitment to buying only clothes I really love that I think match my style and are what I want to wear. My dream scenario is to have a smaller wardrobe full of items I love instead of what I have now, which is a medium-sized wardrobe in which I wear about 30-40% of the items. I think that even if I spend more on individual items, I may end up spending less in the end…or at least, that’s what I tell myself.
Oh golly… you sound exactly how I felt about my wardrobe this time last year (though I am still very much weeding out/replacing/thrifting new things to get rid of the ugsome/worn out stuff I had previously!). I like your plan of action; I think its very sensible and not too overwhelming. One thing I’ve done is create a list (spreadsheet) of what I need/want to sew for about a three-month (or season-long) period, and then prioritize things. Garments that I actually will need/use are put towards the top, while fantasy pieces (like pretty afternoon dresses or accessories like hats) go at the bottom. If I get to them, great; if not, at least I’ve (hopefully) tackled some of the more practical and needed pieces to flesh out my wardrobe! One thing I have noticed is that as I’ve sewn more for myself (every day pieces), I’ve started to be able to separate the things that I think I’d wear from the ones I’d really wear. It’s been amazing to analyze a bit about my style and wearing preferences; I’ve found I’m very much a separates girl (and yet I don’t own many of those): full skirts and tshirts are my favs. If I wear a dress for day-to-day wear, I prefer it to be devoid of much ornament and made of soft, drapey fabric. It’s helping me whittle down my sewing lists even more and make them more focused!
Anyway, ’nuff rambling! I’m interested to hear if you find any great knitwear sources. I’ve got the Wendy Mullin book “Sew U: Home Stretch”, but still haven’t made a proper tshirt from it (made another top–but it wasn’t the classic tshirt). Now that I’ve got a serger I really need to get cracking at perfecting a pattern so I have the “perfect” tshirt customized to me!
Best of luck with this new closet direction and revamp!!!!
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
Why is it so diffucult to throw away the things that fits and are in good shape but that one just doesn’t like wearing? Strange… I realised just this weekend that I have somewhere around 20 skirts I don’t wear even once a year! And it’s not even fancy dress-skirts.
Since I also tend to shop and plan for a lifestyle I don’t have (esp a climate I don’t live in) my advice would be to start by writing a SWAP as purpleshoes suggests, but write the one you’d like to do, your fantasy-list, with no regard to money, time, coupons or skill level (but still coordinating the wardrobe as a whole). To get it out of the system. A girl has the right to dream, right? =)
Then to sit down and write a second list, that’s actually do-able.
Good luck, however you decide to go!
Thanks for the SWAP tips! I remember having seen Sewing With A Plan before, but couldn’t recall where or what it was called. I particularly like the idea of starting with a fantasy wardrobe list to get it all out there before whittling it down to the doable essentials. I’m not sure I want to follow the SWAP parameters exactly, but it’s a incredibly well-thought-out system.
A parallel problem I have to the “fantasy wardrobe” is a childlike passion for the kind of bright, mostly unwearable prints you get on quilters’ cotton. Adele Margolis understood this weakness, like so many others, and advised sewing accent pieces or gifts for others “to get the whimsy out of your system”.
About using up the flashy, unwearable cloth; my family makes gift bags and gift wrappings (like furoshiki) out of them. Saves fuss when wrapping; they travel about in the fam and are a pleasant surprise when they come back; and it fixes the problem of expecting someone else to use cloth I couldn’t face daily myself.
This is I’m sure no help at all, unless you are up for sewing without instructions, but I’m thinking about getting this pattern to make some knit tops. I really like the more open neckline and the raglan instead of set-in sleeves. It looks a little more “special” than regular tees.
http://www.stof2000.dk/show_article.php?catid=641&articleid=17822
The real vs. fantasy lifestyle made me flinch.
I think that’s the problem with my stash. I’ve got fabric I’ve bought because it was pretty but which is completely unsuitable for actual garments for a 29+ woman, because it is just too twee. Not to mention doesn’t coordinate At All. Argh.
You sound like me last year, my clothes had gotten so gross and I found shopping to be upsetting to the point I hated doing it. (high prices, horrible fabrics, shotty construction)
I did exactly what Purple shoes suggested, except I joined a wardrobe contest at PR. Ten garments in three months, and I almost completely use stashed fabrics/ upcycled clothes. I planned everything to coordinate, and it was the best thing I ever did clothes-wise. I have now a huge number of (modern/vintage/nice) outfits that go well together. I’m doing a similar thing for the wardrobe contest that starts in june, except I’m trying to make a more casual “modern/vintage” collection. I’m making a Jalie sweetheart neck top (probably) and I intend to try making some vintage cut blouses in knit tops. Some are just perfect for it. My first two experiments applying knits to old patterns worked very well.
Your diligence is admirable! I must profit by the example of the “capsule wardrobe” seamstresses.
After having a kid at (nearly) forty and keeping two sets of clothes (pre-mom and post-mom) I feel like maybe the ration book is a great way to face this head on and solve my closet problem. Doesn’t help you, but thanks anyway. You’re right about cheap sweaters.
It was fun getting a glimpse into another lady’s wardrobe. I like PurpleShoe’s suggestion to think about what garments you’d like to fill in your wardrobe and make a list to keep yourself on track.
Have you considered sitting down and drawing out a Sewing With A Plan-style storyboard? I just did this (though I didn’t quite follow the SWAP rules – I’m not a big fan of neutrals!) and while at my skill level it’s more of a wishlist of sewing skills I’d like to acquire this summer, I found it to be really edifying. I tend to flit from project to project, so thinking about what I’d want to have at the end of four or five projects was useful.
I like Ottobre as well. Jalie (a Canadian indie pattern co) also has a selection of really cute knit top patterns. I have to adjust them a fair bit myself, but you’re more slender so you would probably be perfect for them, and their instructions are quite good. For basics and some more trendy items, Burda is always helpful.
I sew all my knit tops from the Ottobre Woman magazines now, great fit and most of their designs are flattering too. There’s the odd one where you wonder what they were thinking, but not many.
Sounds like you caught yourself just in time!! congrats on facing your wardrobe deficiencies. I on the other hand, refuse to face mine since my sewing room is covered in junk and facing my wardrobe would require non stop sewing which is physically impossible without a major dejunking. LOL good luck on your upgrade.