What proportion of your (working) wardrobe is over a year old?

[TheOGCCL]

I'm talking about the clothes you wear day in day out. Yesterday I wore some jeans (about a month old), a cardigan (about two months old) and a top (about five months old) with some ankle boots which pre date the pandemic at least.

I just can't seem to get together a wardrobe of clothes that I feel happy to wear for years and years which I'd ideally like for environmental reasons. My head is turned by new fashions, e.g. my skinnies feel very dated, I'm buying more oversized clothes lately, whereas a couple of years ago it was smaller things. Items lose their novelty value, they shrink or fade a little. I change my mind about what sort of neckline suits, I age. So I buy new and end up with a lot of churn in my wardrobe. (I am the opposite of a hoarder and do not have a lot of space so if things aren't being worn, they go).

I think lots of others must be like that given all the talk of buying new clothes on here and other forums and the influence of, er, influencers. My weight is stable and all my clothes fit me, can't use that excuse. I tend to buy mid range stuff, Esprit, M&S, Mango.

Any ideas??

There's a lot of crossover between my work wear and other wear due to the type of work I do. 95% of my work wear is older than a year old, I can think of one long sleeved T shirt I couldn't resist that I bought for £12 and love. I try to wear skirts & tunics when not at work so I'm not wearing the same things day in, day out, but it's been so cold this winter. I find cords in particular keep me warmer. I love "going shopping in my wardrobe", meaning I look for different combinations of clothes I already own. If I find a new outfit out of older clothes it's better than buying a whole new outfit for me. Admittedly, I have the space for lots of clothes.

Most of my clothes are more than a year old with exception of jumpers - I'd say half of them are new this year..whatever I do to them they get bobbly or moths get to them!
Right now I'm wearing a Primark sweatshirt that is at least 10 years old, leggings that are about 3 months old, and slippers that are about 4 years old.

I only buy half a dozen items a year and most are replacements now.
My favourite going out jacket is at least 10 years old, worn to death but has still got that perfectly worn in look.
I have a few nice charity shop items so no idea how old they are.
Sounds like you are a bit of a magpie getting your head turned by something new and shiny because you haven't found your style or stuff you really like.

All of it. Most is probably 2+ years old.
admittedly I didn’t work much last year (I was ill), and since returning in January I’ve been trying to loose weight so won’t buy anything until I need to (not yet dropped a dress size unfortunately).

well tbh, I have 3 work jumpers that I wear each once a week (unless it’s very hot of course) that are definitely over 2 years old - possibly pre pandemic, and they are from primark. They still look great.
just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it won’t last.

All of mine is. I wear the same clothes for work all the time (I bought a few of my basic work dress, so I only need to reach for a clean one if one is in the wash) and it's pretty much a uniform which saves me ever having to think about it.

All the more time and money saved for not-work clothes 😊

Almost all of my work wardrobe. Some pieces are over a decade old. I have one new and smart dress for work because i had a job interview last year. That is it.

in my non- work wardrobe ive a few summer pieces under a year as we went abroad for the first time somewhere hot in a while last year.

my weight doesnt fluctuate so i dont need to buy new.

ive bought new shoes as they wear out.

I've just checked and I bought my work dresses (black jersey, as basic as it get) from Boohoo in 2015. They were £8 each.

Mine is over 90% over a year old, partly because I buy a lot second hand and haven't changed clothing size in about 4 years.

100% is over a year old - I decided not to buy anything new last year and instead shifted a stone so older stuff I still had fitted properly.

My response was day to day stuff. Haven't bought new work stuff since I went part time a few years ago. I'm retiring this year so won't ever be replacing any.

Most of my wardrobe, 85 percent, is at least five years old.

Most of it, much is 5 years + I prefer to pay for clothes that last even if more expensive

@SocksAndTheCity

Same here, I have 6 seasalt dresses and 3 cardigans, all suitable for most of the year (if 25+ degrees I break out the sun dresses)

All of it.

I have tried so hard to buy nearly nothing in last 10+ years, quickly get rid of anything I won't wear, and I still have an overflowing wardrobe.

I have some smart shoes I bought in 2019, I suppose. Pants or bras purchased in last 3 years.

Most everything that wasn't a cast off from DC, is > 4 years old. I also got most of it 2nd hand so in reality, median age is probably ~8 years old. Obviously I don't need to be esp. well groomed in my job. I need comfy clothes I can cycle in.

Most of it. I have bought a few new ‘warmer’ clothes (mainly jumpers) as my office at home isn’t as warm as my place-of-work office. I have ‘refreshed’ a few things by dyeing them (eg black things that had gone grey).

100%. I very rarely buy clothes, and I can’t remember the last time I bought anything apart from a couple of t shirts from Sainsburys last year and a pair of jeans from the JL sale in 2021.

At Christmas I gave away a grey flannel and black velvet shawl collared Paddy Campbell jacket to my son's girlfriend as sadly it will no longer fit. It had been part of my work wear up until Covid. I bought it as part of a suit to return to work after maternity leave. It was bought in 1990.

I buy new stuff, but I don't ditch stuff. I don't buy height of fashion. I have masses of stuff which must be at least 10 years old. For example Samantha Sung dresses are Samantha Sung - the styles don't change.

Apart from buying replacement stuff that is worn out, I haven't bought a lot of new clothes lately, so vast majority of my stuff is pre pandemic. I did buy winter snow boots and a padded jacket for winter, but have stopped buying so much stuff

I wouldn’t buy a coat if I didn’t think I’d wear it almost every day for 6 months a year for several years. Who needs multiple coats?

I have multiple coats for different weather , use and outfits. Several of them are at least 10 years old and one is at least 15 years old.

My newest is a Max Mara camel coat which is 2 years old. My Max Mara coats are winter coats. I have around half a dozen winter coats which get worn in turn or depending on what I'm wearing with them. I expect they will last for years.

I wouldn’t buy a coat if I didn’t think I’d wear it almost every day for 6 months a year for several years. Who needs multiple coats?

that should have been in bold.

I’ve recently moved to a company with a smarter dress code so I have more new work
clothes than I otherwise would have.

I keep clothes till they fall apart, so the rest of my stuff is old.

I think OP was asking about day to day "working" as in what works for you rather than strictly "work" clothes.

I buy new stuff but I don't ditch stuff. I have loads of coats, dresses, cardigans and shoes but as they get circulated in wear they don't wear out.

Most of my shoes are Pretty Ballerina or LK Bennet or Hobbs low heeled courts. That style of shoe doesn't change from year to year.

I misunderstood too then - I was talking about work clothes. I wear much nicer things than crap from Boohoo when I'm not working, although the percentage which is more than a year old would still be pretty high as I get a lot of it on eBay, charity shops and so on.

I have a LOT of coats 😀