AIBU to think we all have too many clothes?

[OceanAvenue]

I’ve come back from my holiday and done the laundry and vacuumed packed my summer clothes. I wouldn’t say I buy clothes that often but I’ve brought out my winter stuff and I am OVERWHELMED by the amount of things I own and I don’t even like most of it!!

Any advice on how to streamline this?

I agree but i think part of the problem is shit quality and finding stuff that fits properly. I have a drawer of long sleeve tops, lots from m&s, to wear und clothes jumpers in the winter or when working from home. I absolutely hate most of them because they ride up and leave my belly hanging out. I'm not particularly large or long in the torso and find it incredibly annoying

Yes same here, I just have 'clothes'!!

In fact, on holiday last week, took quite a few jumpers, 2 very thick ones and 2 jogging top types, sweatshirts or whatever they're called, plus quite a few coats. This was for the evenings or sitting on the beach when wet and cold and the sun goes in. Once the dry robe is wet on the inside, I change into warm snuggly stuff to eat my chips on the beach!

I get rid of clothes when they are no longer okay. I only replace clothes when they are worn out or too mishapen to wear.

Well I don’t really have summer and winter clothes exactly. I have T-shirts and I’ll wear them in the summer and in the winter as they’ll be the under layer in the winter.

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.

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

Were to buy interesting , good quality petite clothes ?

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!