How often do you have to wear something to justify keeping it?

I know this is going to vary a lot based on people's personalities and size of wardrobe and how much you like to remix vs. wear repeat outfits. But I'm just trying to get a sense of how often you feel you need to wear something in order to justify keeping it in your closet. I'm not counting special occasion wear like evening dresses or ski parkas or things that might only get used once a year or so. Do you purge it if you haven't worn it at least once a month? Once a season? Once a year? What's the longest you've ever kept something without wearing it?

The things I like the most I tend to wear at least twice a month, sometimes even up to once or twice a week (especially shoes and handbags). Some of my closet items have only been worn 2-3 times in the last year but I'm waiting till fall comes around again to see if I still like them. I have been pretty good about purging old stuff, but I do admit I have a few things in my closet that haven't been worn yet or haven't been worn in over a year that I really should re-evaluate.

What about you? How aggressive are you about purging lesser-worn items?

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24 Comments

  • cheryle (Dianthus) replied 11 years ago

    It really depends on how I feel about the piece. I have things that I've worn a number of times but don't love that get purged and a few things that I rarely wear but can't give up. The example that comes to mind is a fuchsia silk BR tank with a rolled neck. I love the color but rarely wear it because it would require a bra that was close to the neck or a top layer. I've only worn it three or four times but keep it anyway. Perhaps I will wear it for my pattern mixing experiment. :)

  • Meredith1953 replied 11 years ago

    For me it really depends of the function of the piece. If it is work wear, then I want to wear it at least once every two weeks. I don't mind even once a week if it is a piece that I love a lot. Ideally I would have clothing that can function as both dressy and casual thereby decreasing the CPW on even dressy items.

  • Diana replied 11 years ago

    Um, I'm a lot more exacting with my new purchases than I am about things that have been in my closet for a while. Once something has got a hold in my closet then it stays there for years, generally, unless it breaks or doesn't fit any more. For example, something like a skirt I wore a lot last summer but don't really feel like wearing this summer will stick around for a while longer. I think I have some hoarding tendencies, LOL.

    However, with new items, I feel like I need to justify the purchase by wearing it a lot (possibly commensurate with a CPW analysis). For example, I just bought a black ponte sheath dress that fits well but I am returning it because it is too bombshelly to dress down for non-formal occasions, and I do not need another formal LBD.

  • Mo replied 11 years ago

    GOOD question! I struggle with this, since I used to keep everything until it either fell apart or I realized it was dated by, oh, a decade lol! I have plenty of things that get worn 3 or 4 times a year and I have no trouble keeping them. Certain shoes. Some dresses. I had one skirt that I hadn't worn in over 5 years, but I wore it last New Year's and loved the outfit.
    For simple tops I'm more likely to get rid of it if I didn't wear it much the year before. I have a grey tee I'm debating on right now. Got it for under $20 but only wore it 4 or 5 times. Guess I'll keep it until a better replacement comes along. Or a whole season goes by without me wearing it.
    Boots, pants, coats I'm likely to hold on to much longer even if they don't get worn for a whole season.

  • Tanya replied 11 years ago

    If it is something new and fairly trendy than I like to wear it at least twice a month. For everything else, I am pretty happy to wear items quite rarely if they make me happy every time I do.

  • rae replied 11 years ago

    Tanya hit the nail on the head for me - there are some specialty items that don't come out a lot for various reasons (lack of opportunity, impracticality), but they make me so HAPPY when I wear them that it doesn't matter.

    On the flip side, if I haven't worn something non-specialty in over a year, and if I then have to force myself to wear it because it isn't calling to me... my thinking is it doesn't belong to "me" anymore, but the person I was a year ago. A year makes sense to me because that gives me every type of season to reach for a piece.

  • Erica replied 11 years ago

    I have to wear it very often-- I am just about ready to go into college, and my wardrobe needs to be mostly casual and very well-edited, with some versatile dressy pieces. However, I am squirreling away some of my clothes in my parent's house so I don't have to get rid of all of them!

  • jen replied 11 years ago

    If I come home in an outfit I didn't feel fab in it that day, it's on Ebay that night!

  • Jenava replied 11 years ago

    If it's a basic for me - trousers or a layering blouse, for instance, then I usually wear it about once a week, or at least every 10 days.

    I currently own 4 pair of lighter-weight trousers and have 2 long sleeve silk and 3 long sleeve cotton layering blouses. I have mostly been wearing 2 of the four pair of trousers (one pair is black and I don't much like wearing black in summer/spring; the other pair doesn't fit as well as it could), and not wearing the cotton blouses as much as I did a month ago (because I'm on a dressy kick lately).

    More statement peices that are in season I wear at least once a month, often twice. This would include dresses (I think I have around 4 day dresses currently) and patterned blouses (only have 1 or two right now) and jackets (I have 4 leather and 3 non-leather)

    If it's an item that is event-specific then I'm OK with whatever wear it needs, since it's specifically for something...this would include swimwear (it's been two years) and formalwear (three years) and very dressy high heels (which I always wear at least once a year on my birthday!)

    As far as purging, if it gets constantly overlooked it's usually because something about it is annoying - not my style (too twee, for instance), ill-fitting, pilling, etc. I also try (try!) not to buy things I can't get much wear out of...that said, ATM I have an orange J. Crew skirt I need to post a K/R for...And I have tons or skirts already, but it goes nicely with my basiscs.

  • lyn* replied 11 years ago

    If it makes me feel fat and ugly; it's gone the next day.

  • Jyoti replied 11 years ago

    I give myself a lot of leeway these days! I haven't had much opportunity to wear some of my more casual clothing recently, like jeans and skirts and dresses with shorter hems. I will not make myself get rid of these things at this point though because I don't want to! I don't want to be stuck in a spiral of cardigans and pencil skirts! xD

  • cheryl replied 11 years ago

    Once a year for me. I might keep a specialty item longer than that but I really don't think I own any specialty items at the moment. I have kept things like a prom dress or a football jersey for memories sake but not because I ever plan to wear it again.

    It doesn't bother me at all to keep something I wear only once per year because I have some things that I wear multiple times in a year and it all just balances out.

  • replied 11 years ago

    If I don't wear it at all during the season, it's gone in the end of season cull. Sometimes I just get sick of seeing something in there. I'm really trying not to purge until the end of summer, but already a few tops are getting on my nerves for reasons I can't quite articulate. If I'm not actively wearing something, I like to get it "back out there" to my thrift store or wherever so someone else can enjoy it. I have been so blessed to find great things there when I've really needed them, so I like to give back when I can spare something. It's easy for me though, because I'm not super sentimental about clothing.

  • ManidipaM replied 11 years ago

    Like Diana, I tend to hold on to the stuff I like. Sometimes it feels 'refreshed' after a break, sometimes it comes back into currency, and sometimes it fits again, hallelujah! (My weight fluctuates less than my actual size, which is pretty frustrating.)

    So yeah, every so often I manage to pull out something I haven't worn in 2-3 years but have every intention of wearing again.

    I do a post-season cull too, getting rid of the tatty and less-than-great make-do pieces that I don't regret leaving behind.... too much! But I'm also wary of purging too much till my perfectionist streak leaves me with too little to wear to avoid boredom or the dreaded laundry bottleneck.

  • Kirti replied 11 years ago

    I don't have any fancy or special occasion stuff, so either I wear it all season or it gets purged! I usually end up with unworn stuff if it doesn't fit or feel right so it always has to go!

  • harmonica replied 11 years ago

    everyday work wear and casual wear that is not worn in 1-2 seasons are purged. if I have to force myself to wear it and it doesn't make me happy = purge.

    I want a medium small wardrobe where everything is in rotation, so I see purging as a way of keeping it in control and as a way of making room for new stuff. I've realized that a lifetime wardrobe is unattainable in many ways, and that I like shopping so purging is part of wardrobe maintenance.

  • replied 11 years ago

    If I haven't worn an item in a year or so, it's purged, UNLESS it's for special occasions and I still love it. If it doesn't fit, it's purged. If it makes me look fat, it's purged. If it doesn't flatter and I can live without it, it's purged. If it's damaged and can't be fixed, it's purged.

    I donate all clothing that's in good shape to charity.

  • Echo replied 11 years ago

    It depends on the item. If it was something I truly loved when I bought it, I am apt to keep it even if I don't wear it often. Some pieces (specifically bags, scarves, shoes, and an occasional jacket or dress) I purchase because I love the ITEM, not necessarily because I intend to wear it a lot. Maybe that doesn't make sense to some people, but I have a number of things I rarely wear and I'm not at all sorry I invested in them.

    For everyday clothes, however, it has to "work" or it is gone. I don't have the patience to keep around things I cannot figure out how to wear well or easily. I go through my closet twice a year and donate items I don't like.

  • jayne replied 11 years ago

    Hmmm, I have a silver shirt that I bought over 18 years ago, probably 20. it was used for dressy occasions back then and stayed for that reason. I didn't use it for 15 years. Then the metallic trend came in hard last spring so I started using it again. I have one peasant blouse in nearly the same category, because I loved it back then and found it irreplaceable. The other things that nearly lasted that long were finally purged this winter with a big push from YLF. SO now I am much more critical, looking for high quality in my purchases now and expecting to wear them regulary if they make it into my closet!

  • Suz replied 11 years ago

    For a while, I was like Mo in her old days. I'd keep stuff forever, whether I wore it or not! But now I am a constant editor. I edit my closet as often as I edit my prose!

    But it does vary by the item. There are shoes, jackets, and dresses in my closet that I probably only wear a couple of times per season...but I love them when I do wear them. Those I will keep.

    If it doesn't make me feel great, out it goes - off to a friend who will love it or consignment.

    I guess I'm saying that it's not really a rational calculated process for me. I go with my gut.

  • Jjsloane replied 11 years ago

    I have space so I keep if in doubt that I will wear/need/want again. I love variety and have trouble wearing the exact same combination more than once, but pieces I love get worn a lot. Now I am able to edit based on whether it makes me feel good (if not -bye), is flattering (to me and/or in posts) and is in good shape. I do not ever spend much on a single item (although together I have an expensive wardrobe). I've made mistakes with cheap and expensive things. It happens. Move on. Many more items to try.

  • Keix replied 11 years ago

    I am definitely sentimental about my clothes... I have some dresses that are rarely worn but were miracles to track down and in a to-die-for print or style, which will probably never leave my closet because they make me happy just to admire and pet. I also have skirts and cardigans that are clearly worn OUT, but which I still wear because they're so easy and still garner compliments. But with new purchases, I edit pretty harshly.

  • fern replied 11 years ago

    I have been doing constant (ok, maybe seasonal) editing. If it's weather-appropriate, it's in the bedroom closet, and it will go away if I haven't wanted to wear it in 2 months or so. OK, it goes into a holding zone for a while, so I can bring it back if I miss it.
    But special occasion clothes & shoes get a special pass to stay around. I keep them in a hall closet, so they also are stored differently.
    This is all new since YLF. I donated some older and sentimental items of clothing recently, streamlining.
    Simultaneously, I'm trying not keep things I don't love in other areas of the house too (books, kitchen, etc).

  • christieanne replied 11 years ago

    I have enough options in the closet that this is how I am purging at this point:

    Pick out something to wear. If I take it off because i don't like fit, style, color and won't wear it, I will try again with it. But if it goes that route again, it has to go away. I realize that there are things I just don't like on me even if I like something about the.

    My example is a soft, lightweight, elbow sleeve sweater in light teal. Loved everything about this in theory BUT it had these three built in pink tucks at neckline and band bottom and the front of the top never laid right on me after the first wash. It just had to go away as it frustrated me every time I wanted to wear it.

    I made a "note" to look for a replacement in same color though.

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