Too much stuff or....

[tobee]

Just being nosey!

Are you the sort of person who has a beautiful capsule wardrobe of good quality items? One of each item of foundation, mascara, palette of lipstick etc, perfume?

Or loads of (cheaper?) products 15 pairs of jeans, loads of supermarket brands of make up etc?

I slung out loads of stuff a while ago and vowed to only buy the best of stuff in my price range, quality not quantity.

But then since then, I got loads of samples of stuff and a few cheapy versions of things have crept in. So I've got too much stuff again.

So do you have quality or quantity?

Eight times? Wow. That is so low. People must be spending a lot of money on very cheap clothes and then throwing out quickly. The only items in my wardrobe that would be in single figures are, e.g. the dress I bought for a Christmas party in December but that will be worn for years to come, it replaced an equivalent dress that was bought 9 years ago which I'm now too slim for.

When you say discarded are people throwing in the bin or charity shopping the items?

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/amp/www.msnbc.com/msnbc/analysis-fast-fashion-comes-steep-price-the-environment/amp#ampshare=www.msnbc.com/msnbc/analysis-fast-fashion-comes-steep-price-the-environment" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/amp/www.msnbc.com/msnbc/analysis-fast-fashion-comes-steep-price-the-environment/amp#ampshare=www.msnbc.com/msnbc/analysis-fast-fashion-comes-steep-price-the-environment

It's even worse only seven times, it says discarded so not sure what happens to it.

I’m gradually moving from cheap as chips to better quality high street stuff (can’t ever imagine buying high end stuff, I’m so clumsy I’d be too scared to wear it!). I got my ‘colours’ done a few months ago. It wasn’t cheap but it’s really helped me to know which colours suit me, I overhauled my wardrobe so now I basically have the rights colours and they all go together. Last time I packed for holiday was so much easier because of this.

I don’t wear a lot of makeup so I still buy cheap stuff.

I probably do have some stuff I've worn less than 8 times but they're my mistakes and eventually even I will admit as much and get rid.

But the thing is - and this is my problem with the concept of investment buys - I still loved those things when I first tried them on.

When I try something, I always have a gut feeling but that's all it is. It's only when I've worn it a few times - preferably all day, tried it on with other stuff, washed it, forgotten to hang it up, dropped food on it, that I begin to realise how good a buy it really is. And that's as true of something costing 3 figures as it is of an H&M jumper. I'm just not very good at spotting any of this before I buy. Maybe it's because I don't sew. (Must learn.)

Oh and that's without factoring in my other failing: I go off things. I have a habit of really getting into a look, wearing it to death - and then getting bored. Sometimes I'll come back to it after a break which is why I always cupboard stuff before getting rid. But I'm basically fickle with my clothes and it would be senseless for me to only buy high end.

I have shed loads of clothes, stuff going back years when I could afford to buy decent clothes, but mainly workwear which I no longer need but I want to keep in case I go back to work. Recently most of my clothes have been by necessity cheap but I tend to buy mainly end of season stuff , which oddly enough are usually right for immediate wear.

My weight had been steadily going up but I;m now lighter than I have been at any time in the last 15 years so I need a major try on session to thin my overloaded wardrobes . I did my t shirts recently and found ones I'd forgotten I had

that perfect item that will last you for ever? I’m not sure. Styles change subtly over the years and nothing is perfectly timeless in my view
That's what bothers me about buying an expensive capsule wardrobe.
When I had a clear out I found things from 5/10 years back that I've kept because they 'fit' but haven't really worn. There were also reasonably priced coats that I'd bought convinced that it would be a staple, and they were, for 5 years and then they've drifted to the back of the cupboard.
I do think style tends to evolve.

I wish i could do the capsule thing

I tend to wear a real mixture of high and low. This summer I’ve bought a lot of linen/cotton from H&M and M&S. There is no point in buying expensive silk blouses as I seem to be incapable of eating anything without spilling it down my front. I have also bought some Jigsaw in the sales. However I only buy Jigsaw when it’s reduced. Today for example I’m wearing Jigsaw navy cotton frill trim jumper with Crocus navy culottes that have all been reduced recently.
In complete contrast in Winter I live in Cashmere and expensive coats and boots. I do buy in sales and from Tk Maxx, but just wouldn’t think about buying a H&M jumper.

I'm a creature of habit. Years ago I had very little money and started buying second hand but high end. I can't now break the habit. Yesterday I went shopping with a friend and got dragged around the high street. Very mediocre quality and design for £30-50 and I just can't wrap my head around it because I know I can buy beautiful vintage and high end for that, and wear something a little bit quirky and different.

Make up is mostly Dior, Chanel and Este Lauder but I'm not adverse to buying elf or revolution to experiment with. I've been mostly disappointed in cheap cosmetics, except for bourgeois foundation which is fab. Perfume..... Poison, worn this for 20 years or more.

Jewellery is real. Mostly inheritance. I love Burmese rubies. They are an investment. I have a couple of gothic chokers that I have made, which are cheapies.

Bags tend to be second hand, I don't buy designer. I always buy leather and suede mid range.

Shoes I have far too many. But as with bags mid range good quality and never anything other than leather or suede.

Coats are a different story. I like designer and have a few vintage high end including a couple a couture.

I probably do have some stuff I've worn less than 8 times blush but they're my mistakes and eventually even I will admit as much and get rid.

I think we all do but for that to be the average/mean suggests there's a lot of stuff discarded without being worn to balance out my cashmere jumper that was worn until there were holes in the elbow.

I'm like you @MiniTheMinx , I used to buy a fair amount of good quality second hand clothes (Jaeger, Reiss, mint velvet, vero moda, noa noa etc) from charity shops, and now even though i do buy new, i still pick up new from those shops, I still frequent my sh shops. I still can't buy things from H& M or Zara as I am just not familiar with them enough and the one time I did buy a gift for DH the cashier made a fuss over my name on the card, that it was Dr Surname, and she couldn't tell where I was from.

Shoes are either leather or suede or tonnes of boots, all leather and long lasting, often reheeled, and polished before autumn and throughout winter.

Tops etc, I am not fussed by, but I have maybe 15 linen or cotton shirts from work and just for going out that I love getting ironed or doing so my self and wearing with a bold red lipstick and hair out.

Bags again are brown or black leather, I've even bought directly from manufacturers in South America (and had to pay import taxes!!!). But I have maybe 20 leather bags and look after them.

I buy mostly secondhand and, surprisingly, this had made me a lot pickier about brands and materials. I also hate clothes shopping, and 'throwaway fashion' so usually avoid the high street.

However, this does sometime leave me short of basic items (tshirts and vest tops) or things I really need to try on, like trousers and shoes. I really need some new jeans (only one pair left, and they're getting a hole!) but have been putting it off for months...

I too buy second hand clothes wherever I can. I like Margaret Howell, Vivienne Westwood and Joseph and this is the only way I can remotely afford them. Also Toast, Brora, John Smedley and Celtic & Co. (I'm very lucky - I live near a fantastic dress agency and I dread the day she retires.)

However it's a totally random way of shopping and I think it only works because I have a big and (in parts) quite ramshackle clothes collection. It means that if I spot something wonderful I can snap it up knowing there's a fighting chance I'll already have something to go with it. I'm not sure how I could do it with a small, carefully curated capsule wardrobe.

I have maybe 20 pairs of jeans but I wear them every day and this includes boyfriend, skinny, cropped skinny, straight leg, and light wash through to blue, grey and black. None more expensive than Topshop as they wear through at the thighs. None of my stuff is high end really apart from coats and bags. I wear New Look skinnies under a Burberry coat, for example.

Total mix.

Tends to be expensive bags, shoes and coats and cheap tops.

@MissReginaPhilange Hello, kindred spirit!

I have a lot of cheaper drugstore make up - but two gorgeous pallets of eyeshadow.
Clothing - I have a few expensive items. Designer tops, jeans, jumpers
But then I also look like I've raided primark

So I have a lot of quantity and varying qualities

@saphireseptember like my brother from another mother 😚

I have a capsule wardrobe (sort of) made up of cheap supermarket clothes/cheapish high street stores only.

I think a capsule wardrobe would bore me to death BUT I have been selling most of my clothes on eBay and buying stuff which suits my figure and my lifestyle as well as goes with each other (tops and trousers etc). Make up of my weakness and I've recently had a clear out only to go on a spending binge! I've got a foundation and 7 lipsticks arriving in the post! I could never just have a small make up bag, I've got one big vanity case, one day time essentials bag, one bag of stuff I don't wear but keep, one bag of mascaras and eyeliners that are brand new and one bag to sell on eBay! Nail polish is something I buy also to make me feel good but I hardly ever wear it as I have things to do and never seem to get time to let it set properly.
My shoes are all leather and good quality (Clarks Dune) I always get branded trainers too. I'm not fussed on jewelry and only have 2 daytime handbags and 2 evening ones.

Oh and 90% of my wardrobe is Oasis, either new or bought on eBay, I just love the look they've got going on! It sells well on eBay too so if I get bored of it I'll sell it on!

I have three wardrobes full of clothes. Sigh. But I love each and every item - both expensive stuff (including lots of vintage from the 40s and 50s: silk cocktail dresses; nipped waist suits in soft fine wool; long copper and gold lamé gowns; beautifully draped navy and red crepe dresses etc.) but also cheap stuff (Zara shift dresses in mustard and burgundy; the odd cotton dress or top from H&M).

What every item has in common is that I love it, it makes me feel good and putting it on each day (and seeing it in the mirror thereafter throughout the day) gives me a thrill. And if you love something enough, you will find the opportunity to wear it (so the copper lamé full length gown has, for instance, seen quite a few outings. Even if I just go out for a posh dinner somewhere.)

I sometimes look at the money I spend on clothes... BUT I don't do manicures or dye my hair, I don't have massages or spend money on a fancy gym. I don't buy make-up every week, I take my lunch in every single day to work, I save a hell of a lot into a SIPP and my workplace pension and my savings account... beautiful clothes are just my thing.

Many of my clothes I have loved for 15 or so years (am early 30s). In terms of timelessness though, as I love things super-nipped in at the waist, I imagine I may not be able to wear much of my wardrobe once I hit the menopause when [I hear] one's waist starts thickening?