How many clothes do you own?

[Pigtailsandall]

I understand that this is potentially a flammable topic and I wouldn't expect everyone to feel comfortable answering. But I'm genuinely interested (nosy) what people's wardrobes look like, and what kind of a budget do you allow yourself? I'm enjoying a lot of the "what are you wearing today" threads but I don't have much to contribute as I wear quite a small rotation of clothes really...

Personally, I have 7 shelves in a small walk-in wardrobe and their total height is about 9 feet - this includes about 6 pairs of jeans, 6 pairs of joggers/casual trousers, 10 jumpers, 7 dresses, 3 skirts and a too-large a number of t-shirts, tops and sweatshirts, plus sportswear, PJs and some scarves. I also have a hanging rack which is about 4 feet long and that's rammed full. Underwear is in a small dresser by my bed. Coats and jackets are downstairs (I have 8) as are shoes apart from non-seasonal and occasion shoes which are in the loft. I have about 20 pairs of shoes. The loft also houses a 35-litre box of non-seasonal clothes.
I feel like I have a lot but I have friends who have much, much more. I used to but 2-3 items a month maybe but I'm trying to bring that down to 1 max a month as I don't need that much but I do like shopping. I used to spend £100-200 a month but I'm also trying to being that down. It's a one in, one out -policy from now on though. I donate stuff I no longer want.

S&B is a terrible influence though!

I’ve got 76 bikinis !!

Wow, and I thought I probably had more clothes than anyone!

DDIJ, are you all right? It's very very odd to have so few clothes.

Way way too many.
Think 40 jumpers etc etc
I mostly buy from eBay - and because it's cheaper and I feel more environmentally friendly I gone a bit mad in lockdown, buying a few things a week for 11 months
I need to do a cull and get some of my money back by reselling alit of it back!

I've also put on a stone in the last year which means none of my jeans/shirts fit

Forgot to mention coats - at least 20!
Plus gloves, scarves etc similar
I’m not a huge bag person so less than 10

I doubt there's anyone on this thread who loves clothes as much as I do. But even when I was at my busiest - professional life, lots of activity and travel, entertaining at home - I rarely had more than the bare minimum that I could manage with. I'm much more interested in the provenance and quality of each individual item than I am in quantity or instant outfits. Sometimes I'll own a skirt for three, four, five years before I find the perfect thing to put with it. And I begin to feel overwhelmed and poorly dressed if I have too much choice.

I do remember at the time I had the fewest clothes I felt horribly insecure and uncertain about my future - and rationalised things by saying that I could pack and leave wherever I was at a moment's notice.

My clothes fit in a chest of drawers, wardrobe and a blanket box. Hardly bought anything this year. I'd planning on wearing out what I have and ditch the blanket box.

What gives me enormous pleasure is that DH has more wardrobe space than me!!

4 pairs of sports bottoms, 5 pairs of leggings 6 bras, 3 hoodies, 14 pairs of knickers, 8T-shirt's, 3 vests, 6 dresses, 0 pair of jeans. 2 jackets 6 trousers 10 assorted woolies, 6 blouses, 2 skirts, 4 coats 0 shoes 4 boots 4 trainers 2 sandals. Roughly speaking

I've probably only got 3 trousers, 2 jeans, 10 tops, 2 skirts, and 2 dresses that actually fit me well at the moment. I've gone up a dress size in the last year so have a huge amount of clothing that doesn't fit :(

I've been looking at reducing my clothing and have been reading/watching some minimalist content, but I see myself ending up somewhere in the middle. One of the things I love about being in my 30s is that I have everything I need for most types of weather or hobby I have.

@DDIJ

I own trainers. I did keep a jacket until a few months ago but I don't need it.

Can I ask why you wouldn't just keep the jacket in case of emergencies? Even if are at home all the time, you might end up at A&E at 3 in the morning or the heating might break (two examples that made me glad I had my coat in the last year!).

I am crossing my fingers that DDIJ is in a warmer part of the world and therefore doesn't feel the absence of a coat.

A close friend of mine is now almost entirely housebound, but has at least three good coats in waiting. And is always keen to browse websites for stylish things to add to her wardrobe. She's actually the only person I've ever truly enjoyed going clothes shopping with, when she was able to do so.

Way too many. My weight has fluctuated a lot over the years. I need plenty of work clothes to manage busy periods, different levels of formality, travel etc. I have outdoorsy hobbies requiring different types of clothes. I used to commute by car so a stylish woollen coat was great, but the past few years has been by train from a seaside (rainy, windy) station so good (formal) raincoat has been necessary. But I have more sailing type raincoats for weekends (1 is shorter and used on land, 2nd is longer just past my hips so better for actual sailing). But I still have the wool coat also as it was a very good one and I still use it for funerals and other formal events.

I tend to buy quality and repair things so keep them a long time. But I need to reduce what I have as I have also made some questionable purchases over the years, there are some things I will likely never slim back down to, and some are now well out of fashion even for the non-forefront of fashion styles I usually buy. (And I no longer really wear suits but a jacket over plain trousers...).

We have spent the last 5 years renovating our house, and only installed a wardrobe last summer and it made me realise how woefully inadequate my wardrobe was.

I spent ages thinking about what I needed in my ideal wardrobe, and it came to about 50 items (admittedly some were spreadsheet entries like '7 pairs pants' so not strictly 50). I read a lot of blogs about capsule wardrobes and that project 33 thing. I'm working towards getting my 50ish items (although will need to regroup for summer) and loving it. I'm also trying to make sure everything is decent quality and that I love it (not always possible when starting at zero, just because I've lost sight of what actually suits me and my life, but getting there).

I really feel like it's given me a bit of sparkle back. Correlation is not causation I know, but it seems to be a good balance between choice and minimalism for me.

I've really never thought of including underwear in my capsule wardrobe, but it is a good idea.

I colour code starting with black on the left. I also have different rails for different clothes and divide as follows:
work wear
casual
holiday
long
formalwear

Then different sets of drawers have different items, sportswear/casual knits/formal knits.

I also spread clothes around the house: a lot of outdoor wear is in the utility room. Formal handbags are in my office. Some coats in the entrance hall cupboard etc.

@Pigtailsandall I’m definitely looking forward to dressing up again. I’m currently stuck in a cycle of Sweaty Betty leggings; Ugg slippers and sweatshirts

A wardrobe full of tops, trousers, dresses, sportswear, knitwear and a drawer devoted to leggings. 2 drawers full of underwear and nightwear. Countless bags and scarves. 2 shelves in my wardrobe full of shoes and boots plus more in the shoe ottoman downstairs. Own maybe 50 or 60 pairs. 6 coats. Summer clothes currently in the loft. I've never considered whether it is more or less than other people tbh. I'm quite happy with what I have but I probably buy something new monthly.

I've actually been buying quite a few more things lately and giving away stuff I don't wear, I had a tendency to buy what fitted me then I realised that I don't actually like what I've bought, so I've now been buying what I like and paying extra for delivery from abroad.
I totally agree with what AmberIsACertainty said. She's spot on.

A regular sized wardrobe which is fairly full but not jammed. And a regular chest of drawers worth.

Plus hanging by front door
6 coats for different times of year

About 10 pairs of footwear but only 1 of each kind. Ie one pair of sandals, one pair of trainers etc.

I have 3 double wardrobes and 2 large chest of drawers, and they're bulging! But my teens often borrow my clothes and I regularly pass clothes on to friends or the charity shop when I get bored.

I counted that I have over 90 dresses, I do wear dresses a lot and apart wedding outfits I do try to make sure that they are rotated around and all get worn. I'm trying not to buy clothes this year though and I am on the non-clothes buying thread, it's been over 2 months since I bought any now.

Ninety dresses?

I can't even imagine ... I wouldn't know what to do with so much choice. Or even with so much stuff.

Do you really not find it oppressive?

But also - how long has it taken to build up such a collection. Is this several decades of clothes, or just the last season?

4 pairs of leggings, 2 pairs of trainers, 1 pair boots, 5 stroppy tops, 2 normal bras, 1 sports bra and 3 hoodies.

*strappy tops!!

I use two ikea malm drawers out of three for clothes, and a valet stand with 8 hangers.

This thread is so interesting. Some replies are so extreme. I think I have too many clothes, and need to do some culling, but they all fit into one wardrobe, 6 small drawers and two under bed drawers. Except for coats because they take up too much room.

I am reluctant to get rid of my smart work skirts because I really like them and hope to wear them again one day.

I only have two bikinis and they are about 7 years old. They usually get worn on one holiday a year, and get hand washed after every use.

@DDIJ do you never go outside at all? Your current lifestyle sounds very extreme. I hope you are OK.