2019 is now definitely bye-bye, so let’s see what I wore throughout last year… in case you are new to this, in 2018 I switched from doing seasonal capsules to having all my garments available throughout the year and just tracking every time I wear something outside home. You can learn all about the underlying logic in the previous quarterly posts:
The outset post on January 2018, including a link to a Google spreadsheet you can use too,
here the 2018 January-March update,
here the 2018 January-June update,
here the 2018 January-September update,
here the 2018 January-December recap.
Then 2019 started, and here is January-March post,
here the January-June 2019 update,
and here the January-September 2019, update.
So here you have my wardrobe champions and laggards of 2019 by garment category, and thoughts on my wardrobe going into 2020:
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Layers
Most worn in 2019: Street One jacket (acquired in 2005, worn in 2019: 63 times / wears counted in total: 154).
Runner-ups: Red flea sweater (2015, 63/211) and Zara swap cardigan (2018, 59/117).
Most worn in 2018: My mom’s gray cardigan (2012-2019, 62 times).
Not worn or worn the least in 2019: the floral corduroy bolero (2011, 2/10). This is probably the most complicated case in my current wardrobe… I like it but it’s not easy to wear. But it was custom made. The stats are bad, though: 6 wears between 2016 and 2017, 2 in 2018, and 2 in 2019. Not cool. I’m not sure what to do with it if 2020 is not suddenly better. Keeping it is against all this blog is about, but…
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Dresses
Most worn in 2019: swap Zara Mucha dress – read here on my notion of a ‘Mucha dress’ – acquired in December 2018, so worn only in 2019: 29 times.
Runner-ups: my mom’s MnS black dress (2013, 23/93) and my mom’s silk dress (2016, 22/87).
Most worn in 2018: my mom’s silk dress (32 wears in 2018).
Not worn or worn the least in 2019: swap apron dress (2019, 1). It is a very relaxed summer thing I picked up at the Trueque Market swap in October. It has a stain at the front to be embroidered over, a hole in one pocket and I’m planning to make a slit in one of the side seams… but the designs is quirky and the fabric feels very nice (feels like viscose, no label). So we’ll see how it goes in summer 2020. Meanwhile, remember that some summer dresses can be worn in winter too:
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Tops
Most worn in 2019: my mom’s lace undershirt (acquired in 2012, worn in 2019: 41/108). My little trusted friend of Barcelona summers. By now it has had so many underarm patches (see here) that summer of 2020 might be its last one…
Runner-ups: Liisa black lace top (2016, 32/92), Humana Zara ruffle top (2018, 30/42), and Daniela’s Street One top (2019, 30).
Most worn in 2018: the demon t-shirt (2014-2018, 58 wears in 2018). In 2019 it became an appliqué.
Not worn or worn the least in 2019: WAG top (2017, 1/11), also my merino base layers that were my mom’s Christmas present. I got two of those, one with sleeves and the other without, I wore each of them only once in that week until the end of the year, but this is not worrisome. The WAG top does worry me… the situation is the same as with the corduroy bolero (and the shape is similar, eh!): I haven’t really domesticated it but I don’t think that anybody will do it better than I. Also, the sunken cost bias of having bought a new garment, and not being able to wear it enough. Ugh.
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Bottoms
Most worn in 2019: my mom’s white pants (acquired in late 2018, worn in 42 times in 2019 and already discarded). I loved them while they lasted but the fake elastic ‘denim’ can only take a certain number of wears and washes before definitely losing its shape.
Runner-ups: ZIB orange flower leggings (2018, 39) and blue flower leggings (2018, 38). Yep, leggings are essential to my wardrobe.
Most worn in 2018: my mom’s rayon shorts (2016-2019, 67 wears in 2018). I copied their pattern this year to make similar shorts because I just shredded the originals.
Not worn or worn the least: C’s Nudie Jeans Thinn Finn (2019, 4). I did several attempts at sturdier denims this year and failed miserably. I just don’t like them…
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Footwear
Most worn in 2019: Veja Wata Pierre sneaker was the queen of 2019 (acquired in 2018, worn in 2019: 155/276).
Runner-ups: Veja Arcade (2017, 65/230) and Veja Taua Nautico (2019, 53).
Most worn in 2018: Arcopedico wedges (2017, 132 wears in 2018). Well, I had an office life in 2018, and those were my office shoes… 7 wears in 2019.
Not worn or worn the least in 2019: Nokian Hai wellies (2016, 5/13). Still toying with the idea of bringing them to Barcelona now that I’ve swapped away the Muroexe boots.
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Adornments
Most worn: Vicky Veiga hat (acquired in 2019, worn 41 times). I spent all summer in this hat that I found at a Glow Yoga swap! And I’m looking forward to many more days without sunstrokes.
Runner-ups: the Little Bit Bijoux necklace (2019, 34) and my mom’s silver bracelet (34).
Most worn in 2018: the red wooden necklace (31 wears in 2018; 6 in 2019).
Not worn or worn the least: ‘pearl’ necklace (4/73). I keep doubting if this is the moment for getting rid of this #memade kitsch wonder… but I really like it too. See, I am very far from being immune of the typical wardrobe doubts.
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What else happened in my wardrobe during 2019? I had a big acquisition moment – as a result of cleaning out my mom’s wardrobe and several gifts and purchases – that left me confused about how to live in all that abundance. It took until October or so to feel balanced again. I have been working from home since June, so there have been days of just not leaving home or leaving it just to go to the swimming pool and back. There were several experiments with trousers that ended up confirming that having all those bulky seams in my crotch is beyond my requirements for comfort. My ears are still very sensitive, hence I mostly wear pharmacy earrings (220 wears). By the end of 2019 I had 48 pieces of wear-out-of-home primary garments + 10 pairs of footwear + 9 adornments + 6 pairs of earrings… and it still feels too much.
So life is confusing, politics are very confusing and my wardrobe refuses to be a static and easy thing. But I know that I’m not a uniform person either. Oh, constant flux, how I hate you…
How was 2019 in your wardrobe? Purging or/and acquiring? What were your wardrobe heroes? Did you do any experiments? How did that go?