Another 3 months have passed and here is an update on my big spreadsheet. If you are new to this, between 2014 and 2017 I was doing season capsules of stashing away the ‘unseasonal’ items and doing the whole ritual of ‘seasonal change’ every couple of months while tracking the number of wears. And then it felt like too much fuss… So I stuck with tracking without doing the ‘now you go away’ ritual and having all my wardrobe hanging in my wardrobe throughout the year. Here is the outset post, here the 3-month update and here the 6-month update.
The point is that the pieces I won’t have worn that much by next January will need a serious meditation about their role in my wardrobe. The biggest issue is my Riga mini-capsule of stuff I keep there for when I visit, so that I wouldn’t have to throw my hard-earned euros at checked-in luggages. It’s already streamlined down to formalwear, loungewear and winterwear, but still feels wastefulll as the frequency of my visits fluctuate and in 2018 they have been very scarce: only January and February and then nothing until December. Items of special doubt: the Nokian Hai rainboots (2016) that I’ve worn so little and Blanco harem pants (2010) that I use mostly as loungewear in Riga. Oh, will see in January… and whatever life will be after defending my thesis.
So here you have the wardrobe heroes by categories in 2018 so far with the number of wears January through September in parenthesis:
Layers
Most worn: my mom’s gray hand-me-down cardigan (47) because in summer it’s my AC saver in the office.
Runner-ups: Julie’s cardigan (45) and the red flea sweater (41).
Worn the least (unchanged since July): The floral courduroy bolero (2) – it’s fancy and in Rīga, works very well (although takes it slightly over the top) with the HnM sweetheart dress, but not casual enough for every day even by my very lax standards.
Dresses
Most worn: my mom’s dark blue silk dress (31).
Runner-ups: The second-hand kaftan (21) and my mom’s hand-me-down MnS dress (19).
Worn the least (unchanged since July): The HnM sweetheart dress (3) – again, it’s a party garment and lives in Rīga so that I would have a mainstay for all family celebrations and opera. Feels like a bit of a waste but I’ve had it since 2008, so it has to be somewhere in vicinity of those #30wears. Also, this February I finally found a nice way to dress it down a bit, this.
Tops
Most worn (still): The demon t-shirt (48). I can only repeat that: “This is weird, because I don’t have a feeling that I’ve worn it that much. Here, a proof that my memory and perception of frequency of wear cannot be trusted!”
Runner-ups: The swap Forever 21 t-shirt (37) and my mom’s hand-me-down little white zipper blouse (33) that was so worn out that we had to part ways.
Worn the least: The second-hand Zara lace top. I bought it (!) on September 19, so this is a statistical artifact, we’ll see how it goes from now on.
Bottoms
Most worn: My mom’s hand-mw down shorts (57). The secret here is that I wear them as shorts and as underwear/chub-rub prevention under skirts or dresses, so these shorts get a lot of summer wears. Also, they are very comfy.
Runner-ups: ZIB black leave leggings (46) and Liisa’s velvet skater skirt (32).
Worn the least: The swap HnM striped mini (15) because they were in Riga during the spring for a fix and then were left unworn because summer is not their season: very short for bicycling without tights, too chaffing for summer walks.
Footwear
Most worn: Birks (107).
Runner-ups: Arcopedico wedges (93) and Veja Wata (81).
Worn the least (unchanged since July): Nokian Hai wellingtons (1) – they live in Rīga and are rainboots. I keep wondering if bringing them to Barcelona could be a good idea…
Adornments
This summer was hard for adornments: everything felt choking and too much. And my ears keep inflaming with any other earrings but the little farmacy studs. Let’s see if autumn brings back some joy of adorning!
Most worn: The red wooden necklace (26).
Runner-ups: Jēkabs necklace (25) and Ban.do headband (15).
Worn the least: The flower ball headband (7) – I rescued it from the Rīga wardrobe and we had a great time together in London, but then in Barcelona I find it hard to wear. And the bicycle-headband incompatibility (the wind!) doesn’t help.
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Have has your wardrobe fared in these nine months of 2018? Do you think you have worn all that you have? Have you tried any kind of wardrobe tracking? Are you anywhere close the optimal wardrobe?