I've just sorted my wardrobe....

[Feckinlego]

And I hate everything left. I have 27 coats, 18 long cardigans, 22 jumpers among others. That doesn't count the 7 bin bags I have for dumping or charity shop. Such a waste of money. Its all cheap throwaway items with no thought or care put into anything. I really need to change but don't know how. Any advice?

You could sell stuff on Vinted!

Stop buying things. I don't mean that flippantly, but you have A Lot of clothes and probably can't see the wood for the trees. And the temptation is to keep buying things to 'fix' the issue. Keep clearing out the things that don't fit, don't fit your lifestyle etc.
Eventually you'll be able to focus on what is good and what you do like.

Stepping away from fast fashion towards fewer, better quality, more durable items needs a shift in focus. Finding a question that works for you can help.

Ask yourself “will I still want to wear this in 2 years? 5?” or maybe “does this really deserve space in my wardrobe?”

The thing that helped me stop wasting money buying loads of cheap throwaway stuff I don’t really love is changing my mentality from just shopping for the sake of it to instead saving that money I would’ve spent and using it either for a really nice luxury item or for a nice weekend away or something. I was spending about £200-400 per month on just random things I didn’t really need but now il save up until I have about £1k and then buy something like a really nice handbag or a few luxury items of clothing like a lovely jumper/boots or whatever I need at the time. I think when you buy fewer, good quality items you’re much more likely to cherish them for longer and get more enjoyment out of wearing them. Or il book a few nights away for dh and I instead. Then the other natural upside to that is that my wardrobes aren’t clogged up with loads of cheap tat. I rarely bother going out shopping anymore as the high street doesn’t really appeal to me and I really notice and value quality nowadays ie I wouldn’t wear a pair of non-leather shoes or bag and I stopped buying from places like primark a long time ago although I will still buy basics like underwear and pyjamas from cheaper shops.

Also, look at your nice clear wardrobes now (I bet it’s so much easier to access everything?) and make a pact with yourself that you won’t go back to messiness and disorganisation! It’s so much easier to pull an outfit together when you can see everything.

27 coats?!

I have 4 and one of those is a smart one I only wear for funerals.

I don’t own a cardigan, long or otherwise, I have half a dozen sweatshirts and a couple of jumpers at most.

Is it the shopping experience you like or do you always feel you need something new so you aren’t always seen wearing the same things?

When do you do your shopping? If it’s dashing out on your lunch hour maybe start leaving your cards at home, if it’s sat mindlessly scrolling on websites in the evening can you cancel your accounts so it gives you a pause for thought as you’d need to sign up again to order?

Maybe instead of completing the purchase you could write down how much you would have spent and add it up at the end of the month so you can see how much better off you are instead of spending on rubbish. You could then put that towards a stylish quality piece.

I had to do this a while ago and here is how I did it
Find yourself a second storage space. I have a small house so I got an over door hanger. But you could use a different cupboard or clear a rail.
Pick an outfit and wear it for the day , if anything about it annoys you , at the end of the day chuck it in a donate pile. If you liked it, hang it on a hanger and put in the clear wardrobe space. Do not wash anything at this point, otherwise the clothes will go back in rotation. Choose a new outfit every day and you will kind of sort your clothes out day by day into a smaller working wardrobe.

I want to see the size of your wardrobe!

I think you still have to many clothes to actually make sense of your wardrobe. 18 long cardigans is too many! They're all doing essentially the same job, if it's a style you like, pick your three favourite and most versatile and get rid of the rest.

The same with coats, sort them into similar styles and then pick the best of each particular style.

When you've seriously pared back your wardrobe you can then begin to think about how to repopulate it.

27 coats? Wow. My OH makes jokes about how many I have but they are all different...

• Padded very very long warm winter coat
• bright, lighter spring/autumn coat
• long padded gilet
• light running jacket for summer rain etc
• heavier running jacket
• Gore-Tex anorak for walking
• padded warm winter cycling jacket (cut long at back to cover hips)
• dryrobe
• cycle jacket with reflective pattern

That's 9 and they're all used for different things - I am baffled yet impressed at 27! a) where DO you keep them?! b) are you just outdoors a lot but not in an "outdoorsy" way (estate agent, politician etc) and so the coats kind of ARE your visible "top" and so you have lots of coats where other people would have that variety in tops/blouses/jumpers/jackets?

@crochetmonkey74 thats a really good idea, I have loads of clothes I like the idea off but in reality the fabric bunches and creases, or the trousers cut me in an uncomfortable place when I’m sitting down or the knees get baggy from sitting or (insert random irritation) so I don’t wear them, I KNOW this but can’t face chucking them out because they were expensive or I love the colour or whatever other hullshit reason. But I really could do with a cull

OP that's a lot of clothes! My advice on strategies would be:

1. Sell what you don't want on vinted or ebay and put the money in a savings account so you see it mount up (Moneybox app is what I use as you can transfer a little amount easily but it soon grows)..
2. Stop buying stuff now! Have a "no spend on clothes/shoes February" or don't buy any more until you have sold everything you are trying to get rid of.
3. No more fast fashion. When you do allow yourself to buy something again only buy it if you need to replace something - not because you want to buy something and make it something that you can re-wear a lot.
4. In a few months if you do need something make it something that goes with a lot of things. A really good black t shirt or a quality navy shirt goes with many things and can be dressed up/down as needed.
5. Keep off all the clothes sites on line - they will only put ads in your other pages so you keep seeing clothes.
6. Pay yourself every time you go out without buying anything new. So if you go out for a night out or to an events (wedding/similar) and buy zero new clothes/shoes then put a fiver in your savings (or whatever suits you).
7. If you go to buy something you like have a "cooling off period". Tell yourself I can buy it - provided I walk away now and come back next week and then if I still want it and I can see how it will work with my wardrobe, then I can buy it.
8. Make sure your wardrobe is organised so you can see anything, and choose from it - rather than reverting to not finding something and buying something else.

Some of the above may help - good luck!

I'm the opposite and don't buy much so always struggle to look current or even vaguely fashionable. I saw a tip that said if you buy something it should make 3 outfits. So if you buy a dress, can it be worn with heals and jewellery to dress it up, boots for Sunday lunch or flats for work etc. It has really helped me work it which basics to keep and build on. It also helps me decide if something is worth buying.

I use an app called Stylebook:

www.stylebookapp.com

Basically you add pictures and details of all your clothes to it, then record which you wear each day. Now, I have a record in one place of everything I have, and know what I wear most and what I've barely worn. I've now got a 450 day history and it's very interesting to know what I wear the most and the least.

I don't have as many coats as you, but I do have quite a lot of clothes, all of which I like. I had tried doing 'one in, one out' but that didn't work as I didn't want to throw anything away.

With Stylebook it's so easy to see what I have, as it's all laid out. I now know that I really only need to buy either one good skirt for work, or a dress, for the summer, to fill gaps, and look for some replacement beige work trousers in the sales as my current ones are getting a bit old, but I really do not need anything else. I quite like shopping so may buy a couple more things if I love them. Basically I am now much more focused, and won't buy much that I don't need.

It was a big task uploading everything - you can download pictures from websites which is good for more recently bought things, or take photos of older stuff, and edit so you have a picture just of the garment. But it reminded me of what I had, and what condition it was in, so was useful from that perspective. Anyway it's done now and I'm keeping it up to date. It took me a while to get into making the record each day, but I do it automatically now.

The catalyst for my clothes sorting was that I wanted to make the room that had been my husband's walk in wardrobe into my office to work from home. In order to do that he had to have a major sort out.... (He had retired and did not need 27 suits) and I couldn't expect him to do it unless I did. I had 'too big' clothes and 'diet into' clothes, plus clothes I had bought because they were in the sales or because they were bargains. It does feel much better now to know exactly what I have and where it is. I sold about £300 worth on vinted, gave a load to charity, and threw some away. I have still kept a few things I haven't worn for years, like my funeral outfit and the dress I was married in, but otherwise everything is things I know I will wear and I don't buy anything new without getting rid of something old.

27 coats!

Wow great advice. I'll definitely try these tips, it all sounds so easy. I shop for something to do really, and my area has just the cheap stores, new look etc. I think I buy what I like and what's on sale rather than what I need. Its knowing what I need is the problem! I wouldn't mind I wear a bloody uniform for work !

If you hate everything in your wardrobe , I think you need to chuck a bit more out!

Just keep what you like and build up again from there.

I love the idea of the style book app but it's only for apple phones, any good ones for android?

@Bigteamug Over on the no/low buy thread people have mentioned Whering. Not tried it myself.

My take on it is a little different, because you say you hate all your clothes even the ones left. What I say is this. It's the end of January, one month more until spring starts. Put up with what you already have until then. Spend that month selling on eBay, vinted, depop. Weed out the things that are too worn to sell and recycle them. At the end of the month anything not sold gets donated to charity. This deals with the stress of having things you don't like in your home. It also stops you shopping for a month because you'll be too busy listing, answering questions, packaging up things sold. At the end of it you hopefully have some money for new clothes.

So now it's spring. Buy 7 outfits suitable for spring and your lifestyle. This is your new wardrobe. Get rid of the remainder of the old things you don't like but were putting up with. Whatever your budget I wouldn't agonise over it too much but whatever you do buy you must commit to wearing for the entire season, at least.

In June, take stock, jettison anything you dislike. What's left that can be used for summer? Set it aside while you pack away the spring things which aren't also suitable for summer. What gaps to you have in your summer wardrobe now? You need 7 outfits again. Buy what you need.

September and autumn has arrived. Take stock again, jettison anything you dislike. Take out the spring clothes which weren't suitable for summer that you packed away. Add them to your summer wardrobe. Now see how many outfits you can make for autumn, you need 7 again. Pack away anything unsuitable for autumn. What are the gaps? Go shopping.

December is here and you need a winter wardrobe, possibly from scratch as it's the coldest season, but look at what you have first in case there's anything you can make suitable by layering it together. Pack away anything unsuitable for winter and shop to fill in your gaps to ensure you've 7 winter outfits.

Now you've done a year. You should have a better idea of whether cheap clothes works for you or if you end up hating them all/they wear out too quickly etc, or if you can't be bothered with the extra care often necessary for more expensive clothes, so now you can decide your price point going forwards. You also have an entire years worth of clothes, for each season, so you're at the point of making replacement purchases only. You hopefully also have a better idea of what you like, what suits you and your lifestyle. No more panic buying or shopping for a hobby, considered purchases from now on and you have plenty of money to start another hobby because you didn't spend it all on clothes.

Thanks I'll give it a try x

I had a big sort out last year. I had no idea what I liked or disliked. Some items of clothing were easy to part company with, others less so. I stored all the clothes I wasn’t sure about out of sight under the bed in big zip storage bags. Over time it became much clearer what I liked and wanted to hang onto. I would only part company with a clothing item when I was sure. I’ve now made 70 sales on eBay with no regrets. I looked at what I really liked in my wardrobe and gave used eBay £ to fill the gaps - basic pieces - for me that was T shirts, crewe neck jumpers etc, best quality I can afford. Now I’m at the more exciting stage of trying to ‘elevate’ my style with a few more exciting bits. It’s fun seeing my sense of style emerge. It’s a work in progress, not to be rushed and I’m not saying I’ve nailed it but I’m in a far better place compared to last year. I have a list of more wardrobe gaps to be filled over the next 12 months, I can see everything in my wardrobe easily and have filled it with lovely dried flowers/herb bags. It’s a happy place. Temptation to shop without intent or in sales has disappeared. Good luck . If I can do it so can you !

I was greatly inspired by a thread stored in classics - search ‘in pursuit of elegance’ to find it. Sorry I haven’t worked out how to post a link !

I was in a similar situation & had a big, ruthless clear out.

• Step 1 - I went through item by item & asked myself do I love it and is it appropriate for my current lifestyle and does it fit.
• Step 2 - I then went through wearing everything I had kept. Anything that I didn’t feel great in, or stuff that annoyed me went.
• Step 3 - A few months later anything I just never found myself reaching for also went.

I had to really change my attitude. Instead of looking at a dress I never wore and saying “but that was £100, I can’t throw it out” I would say “that dress is taking up valuable physical space and valuable headspace, as I have to sift past it every time I open my wardrobe, I will rehome it to someone who will enjoy it”

Also re shopping, I can now only buy something I love and will wear (it needs to work with my other clothes & suit my current lifestyle).

I buy a lot on Vinted, and if something doesn’t instantly work for me, I have it re-listed for sale within the week.

Having a smaller wardrobe makes getting dressed so much easier!

In all honesty what stopped me buying crap was realising that the problem isn’t my clothes. I was buying and buying because I wasn’t happy with how I looked in what I already owned. What worked for me was actually dressing in nothing other then leggings and T-shirts and getting really fit again so I was happier with myself. No magic easy answer so sorry about that but genuinely you have to look at why you are buying so much. You obviously aren’t buying pieces because you love them so must be something else! Good luck to you Xxxxx