AIBU to think we all have too many clothes?

I recently changed bedroom and clothes furniture, got smaller items so had to be tough and get rid of items that wouldnt fit into the new furniture, its been good as got rid of many items i didnt wear or were worn out. And i rarely buy any new items now.

I've been the same size for 30yrs and am poor. I currently WFH but I'm not clearing out my 5 decent pairs of office trousers plus plain tops and jumpers in case I never work in an office again. I don't have the money and time to buy it again.
I have loads of gym and outdoor running kit. I walk most places so I need a few coats, sweaters, jeans and lots of cosy socks.

If I drove a lot and didn't work out (or work) I could slash my clothing down by 75%.

Where are his suits and shirts from? usually cuffs get worn, also collars, and knees go quickly on trousers. Never heard anyone able to wear for decades unless he has a huge amount so wears like a couple of times a year per item.

Im not sure I understand some of your points

I wear the same clothes year round. I dont wear shorts or t shirts to be fair. I wear trousers only and tops/shirts

I have lighter clothes for warmer weather but I feel the cold terribly and have poor temperature regulation. So I go out with thermal vests on quite a lot of the time, even when in Spain. I nearly always have a scarf with me, gloves and often a jacket

So last night, I had nice lightweight wide leg ankle length cullottes, a vest, a shirt, a smart jumper. I had gloves with me but forgot a jacket, I was cold coming home, we sat outsicde in the restaurant garden. I didnt have a scarf either and regretted that.

Yet in the day we had been swimming, with a rash vest and then my wet suit over the top so I had my loose viscose flowy trousers on the way there , and then the dry robe which I travelled home in.

In doors yesterday I wore a different pair of loose trousers and a sweatshirt as I was cold after swimming and then turned to boiling later.

I had about 4 changes of clothing yesterday

I wear mostly black although today is based around navy blue. I dont know what I'll wear tonight, I dont want to wear the same thing as last night.

Oh I know exactly what you mean! I buy long sleeve tops to layer but they almost always turn out to be crap! Im getting rid of them this autumn and starting again, I will buy three hopefully good quality well fitting ones - just need to find the right shop!

What if you play / pretend that your current wardrobe and drawers is a shop and you are shopping for stuff that reflects your needs, style and life, and pick from there and reduce the remaining stock.

Would you take the same clothes to Spain, Morocco, Dominican Republic etc in May or September, that you wear in January in the UK? Or keep a pair of shorts out in case you fancy putting them on to go out for bonfire night? There's your clue.
Don't people store summer clothes in suitcases, then swap? Or aren't the people commenting going on holidays?
I like seasonal colours, the only cross over is monochrome or brown. I have stuff I haven't worn this year because I haven't been away. But I'll wear them next time I do.
It depends on if you go out to a restaurant in the shorts you wear to garden in. Or a summer BBQ, in what you do the school run in. I occasionally go to the races. I wouldn't go to a family, summer meet up, what I go to the local pub in. Over Christmas (mid November-January), there's times I want to feel more dressed. As said by pp, it depends on your social life. However, I agree, anything you won't wear, get rid. Don't impulse buy because it's cheap. I don't do any clutter, of any type.

Well exactly which is why your first bit is contradictory

Ive started using a bag that Ive had for about 25 years I think, there abouts, I keep my things carefully. Ive been using it a lot. I have things that I bring back to life, then another item will be in favour that month and so on. Im old enough that fashions from years ago are still in my wardrobe and they come in and out of fashion.

Conversely I have only 3 pairs of work trousers, all black, and only 5 work tops, I only wear them for work and never outside of work. I dont wear my 'non work' clothes at work either. They are kept strictly separate.

If I find something that I like, is comfortable, fits well, matches a few things I'll buy more than one of the same, that includes shoes. I have had too many regrets in the past of not buying another one of "those" tops, shoes, trousers whatever, so now I have two of nearly everything I love and I feel good in, either casual or going out wear. Works well as I've narrowed down the masses of stuff now to those items (mostly!). We tend to wear the same things over and over anyway right?

I box up Summer stuff in lidded boxes and they go in the shelves of the wardrobe in the box room. One for t shirts, one for dresses, one for swimwear, cover ups, one for sandals/sliders. That's it, gone until it gets warm again or I'm going on hols.

I reverse this in the Summer, so the Winter stuff goes into the boxes.

I cull regularly to charity shop, but it's still a work in progress, getting there.

But if you have hundreds of items, some of them must not be worn for years, so does something worn every 3 years really count as being worn?

But how many clothes you need depends on your lifestyle.

Someone will always pop up on threads like these and say 'why do you need lots of different clothes you just need a few dresses and a couple of cardigans for when it's cold'.

But that wouldn't work for me because my work can be anywhere from down a mine to presenting at international conferences or in a smart casual office that is usually freezing cold. I need hot and cold weather casual clothes that often aren't smart enough for office wear, hiking clothes for a variety of weathers and swimming gear, lounge clothes for home because we have velcro cats so their claws ruin anything nice.

None of mine is gathering dust Emerald 😊 I don’t have ANY clothes unworn. I wear everything in my wardrobe, I just don’t wear them frequently.

I get rid of anything I don’t wear. I’ve got a (cheap) Mosquino jacket I haven’t worn this summer (it’s white cotton) so it’s going now. I didn’t like it enough to wear it.

It used to be more, much more but I have thrown ones away

Once I find a comfy pair of shoes, I buy them in a myriad of colours. I have shoes for walking, for going out, for cycling (not cycling shoes), cold walking, hot walking, nice but not posh, posh and not walkable, I have shoes to go with specific outfits.

I have no heels at all.

I have funny feet, finding shoes that are right for me is difficult.

90 pairs of shoes. Omg. Are you Carrie Bradshaw?

I don’t understand how people don’t have enough summer clothes to ‘put away’

I’m sort of wondering if you live somewhere else in the country? I’m in London and it’s so incredibly hot in summer I could only wear a top/bottom once as I was pouring with sweat - so that’s 14 pieces of clothing a fortnight (I only do the washing fortnightly). All linen for me again in summer - and linen looks ‘wrong’ in autumn/winter. I’ve put away about 20 linen outfits in a bag for next year.

That is excessive. Probably 80% of it is gathering dust. Do you have an issue with letting things go.
Keep in mind that it’ll be left behind after you go. My mother had a lot of stuff, not that amount of clothing but a decent unnecessary amount that went to the charity shop. I have two rails, 3 drawers, they include pyjama and underwear.

I recently lost a lot of weight so had to sell a lot of clothes and buy a complete new wardrobe.

i was shocked by how many items of clothes i had, most of which i hated and never wore!

I have a much reduced wardrobe now, in colors that compliment so I always have something to wear. It has been life changing. I no longer stress about finding something to wear in an over packed wardrobe.

There’s a lady on instagram, whatclareloves, who has just done a couple of weeks where she has dramatically shrunk her wardrobe. I’ve been following along as she does start as someone said earlier, by sorting into trousers, short sleeved tops etc, to better see how many of each she has.
If I were you though surely your obvious place to start is by getting rid of anything you haven’t worn this summer just gone.

Some do, lots don't.

All my clothes, literally ALL, fit into a standard double door wardrobe, that includes nightwear, underwear, casual wear, etc as well as work wear, "going out" wear. DH has the other double door wardrobe and his clothes fill about 2/3rds of it, the rest is general household storage.

We just buy clothes when we actually need something, we never go shopping as a recreational pursuit. And we put old clothes in a charity bag if good condition, or the garage for DIY/gardening if damaged/worn/faded.

DH is still wearing his "work" suits, shirts and trousers that were originally bought before we married 29 years ago!!

Neither of us has ever been too bothered about image and clothing. It must have saved us a small fortune over the years. We both had similar childhoods of not having much!

I have a small wardrobe so everything earns its place there. Winter stuff gets stored in the attic in summer and vice versa.

I'm also stupidly sensitive to temperatures so an approach of having mid weight stuff year round wouldn't work.

Very difficult. Im not even petite but petite ranges fit me better, im 5'6/5'5 on a bad day. Marks I find too long. Next isnt bad.

Where to buy interesting, good quality , petite clothes????!!! Anyone ?

I definitely need a radical purge, I have an embarrassingly massive number of clothes, most of which aren’t worn. So, there’s a massive clearance coming up in the next couple of weeks here.

Were to buy interesting , good quality petite clothes ?

Why ashamed?

I must have about 6 white shirts, 20 pairs of black trousers (all different), I wont go into the jeans or smart trousers, I have chinos, I have nearing about 90 pairs of shoes

Name change for this. Spending this weekend changing S/S over to A/W . I am ashamed to say i have too much
17 coats and jackets
24 pairs of Jeggings/jeans
13 pairs of cropped jeans
7 pairs of summer trouser
9 Pairs of winter trousers
12 pairs of pyjamas
9 Nighties
32 pairs of leggings
10 pairs of fitflops and over 2 dozen other pairs of shoes.
As for tops/jumpers etc i haven't even counted.
It is bloody ridiculous as this is only what i have at my home, i have other clothes scattered throughout the country. It really is shameful. Every season crossover i say i will get rid of half but i never do.