How long before you need to buy new clothes?

[Imnotarestaurant]

Standing in front of my wardrobe earlier, moaning that I’ve got nothing to wear, but realistically I think I could go a good few years without needing to buy anything.

How long could you go without buying new clothes?

Honestly- apart from underwear I don't think I would "need" to buy clothes ever again if I stayed the same weight.
I have far, far too many.
4 double ward robes and two chest of drawers and two lots of under bed storage.
By way of example
35 coats
23 blazers
>120 dresses () long, short, midaxi lately, summer/holiday, black tie
>100 pairs of shoes, 20 pairs of trainers
>20 pairs of jeans

I need to start selling really. Problem is I do need a totally separate work wardrobe (professional) and casual ward robe. i also have to go to a lot of events and functions. I also have things in two dress sizes as my weight does go up and down a bit.

Wow, Unicorn, that's such a lot! I sometimes find what I imagine might be women like you when I browse eBay or Vinted: women who are clearly selling their own wardrobes as all items are one or two adjacent sizes. Their garments and footwear are always beautifully cared for and presented well, and it is a pleasure to buy their things. You should go for it if you're considering selling some of it off, you'll make some buyers very happy.

Like you, probably years. Size hasn't changed in twenty years. But I do but the odd thing still.

...buy...

I have a dress of my grandmother's which she made when she was in her 20s. It's lovely, and I used to wear it quite often (too fat now!). DD might wear iton the right occasion which will almost certainlyoccur given another year or so. So that one's about 100+ years old!

Realistically I could go the rest of my life! I buy good quality clothes designed to last and I look after them. I have a lot of clothes. But, I enjoy buying them also so I will not stop!

Wow @GlitteringUnicorn i think you might have beaten me in the coat count I have 18.
I did have 39 pairs of black trousers until I had a giving session. Now 23 I think. My work clothes are very formal then I have cashmere and trousers, finally dog walkers and house stuff.
No need to buy anything but I have shrunk four sizes so new bras and pants are on my list. I wear bespoke suits from 2000 but I only use the jackets. The skirts look too lady who lunches.

I don’t think that I NEED to buy anything ever again apart from underwear.

In January I decided to go for quality over quantity and any purchases have been made after a lot of consideration and I’ve gone for high end items.

I do need to get rid of stuff.

There was a lovely mner that created a capsule wardrobe and recorded her finds on here. Worth looking at.

I probably have enough for the rest of my life except for underwear . Unfortunately 'need' doesn't come into it much for me as I love clothes. Thank goodness for Vinted.

I need to get everything again 😫 I don’t want to! I love my clothes but I’m far too fat to fit into them.

I currently have three skirts on rotation. It’s embarrassing I hate it.

I still love all my clothes. I am going to attempt to lose a decent amount of weight but don’t think I will get back into a lot of things even if I do. My life has changed from when I was at my smallest.

i keep putting off the clear out though. I really don’t want to buy clothes the size I am.

The Whering App tells me I have 314 items. I have all my clothes on there apart from bras, pants, socks and nightwear.

I'm sure this lot will last me for many years, especially since it is decent quality clothing in natural fabrics, mainly wool with some linen, cotton, silk and cashmere.

I've built it up over a number of years, mainly bought in the sales, and have pretty much got rid of everything else.

There's too much there really, but I try and make sure I wear everything. At the moment I'm trying to ensure all my jumpers and cardigans get a couple of weeks of wear each this winter.

This is a great thread!

I buy my clothes second hand, so I'm walking around in someone else's castoffs. The clothes I go for are classic looks in good quality fabrics or yarns, and all in the same sort of colour scheme (one DD described my look as very January shipping forecast for Malin, Rockall, Hebrides, Bailey, and South East Iceland). Because I go for quality, they tend to last for years.

@Netcam
Thanks so much for mentioning the Whering app! I'd never heard of it and it looks really useful.

I really like it when I'm trying to decide what to wear and can put an outfit together on there and make a decision. It's also nice to be able to see all my clothes of a particular type/colour etc and, in theory, stop me buying any more. Although I've not been very good at that lately, but at least I can see what I bought and when.

Unless I got a really formal job, I reckon I could last another 20 years, apart from underwear, though I've still got pants that I bought 2002-04 that I wear a lot. My boobs seem to get emptier on every minute year so they're donated yearly to my brilliant local midwife for charity.

Still wear jeans, tops and hoodies I've had since my teens.

Pyjamas would be my downfall. I typically wear them until they are threadbare or have a non repairable hole. Primark etc so maybe 5 years max wear?

Probably at least 5 bar shoes and underwear. I'm trying not to buy anything new at all as there is just so much waste from disposed of clothing.
Vinted and charity shops.

Buy Now on Netflix was an eye opener.

Reading this thread has encouraged me to think about a no spend 2025. I'm terrible for just ordering stuff I like the look of on FB. I do not need any more clothes. I need to slim into some items and then I'd have a whole new wardrobe

I tend not to buy clothes other than socks and bras. I make nearly everything else and try to mend things as they wear out.

The problem now is that I like buying fabric. I've too much fabric. And then I male clothes, so I've too many tops. And trousers.

So still the same problem really! I could definitely go at least five years without buying anything new (except bras and socks, maybe 2 years for those). I need to be more ruthless about moving on the items I don't wear any more or infrequently.

I used to have a lot, so much that I had to change over seasonal things and store out of season things. I used to shop all the time, and had loads of things that never really worked.

Many years ago i did the Marie Kondo clear out. And then I sorted out my bad shopping habit in the pandemic, at the same time as finding my style - not being seen really freed me up to think about what I really wanted to wear. I did buy a lot for a while as I built up this new way of dressing, but that's slowed down now.

For me, rather than many styles for lots of occasions, I've found narrowed down to one look that suits my whole life realistically. I'm lucky in that I don't need corporate or fancy things. I love getting dressed now, I feel like I did when I was young and enjoyed putting clothes together. I'm mid 50s, and I'm not trendy, so I think a lot of my clothes and footwear will see me through, but I expect some physical changes will be a deciding factor - perhaps mostly on the fixed waist trousers and skirts!

That said, I still find shopping fun, so I do this about 4 times a year. And I recently started selling on vinted, which seems to be a good way of moving things on.

I really value being able to see my entire wardrobe at a glance.

I buy less than I used to - being middle aged I put on weight more easily so I have to size up some things from year to year. But I've gone for a policy of spending more but on fewer things, there are some seasons that have gone by with me buying very little.

I had an absolutely huge clear out a decade ago when I had tiny children - and since then I haven’t managed to build my wardrobe back up properly. Still working on it! Though I’m in a better place than a year ago vis a vis clothes.

Probably 5 years easily and at least a couple without even needing to replace underwear. I have a reasonable amount of good quality clothes, coats etc and enough footwear probably forever. Since the pandemic instead of shift dresses etc for clinic all our consultants now wear scrubs so I can get away with the same pair of jeans and top for a week as I’m changing as soon as I get to work. I have charity shopped or Vinted a lot of old work clothes this year.
I definitely would like to do a no buy 2025 but do enjoy shopping and am forever searching for the perfect outfit.

I'm retiring next year so will not buy any more work clothes, ever.

Waves to @GlitteringUnicorn - I suspect my collection is at s similar level to yours. My big things seem to be trousers (when I find an ideal fit, I get multiples) and dresses - haven’t counted but it’s a lot! I really only need to buy underwear and tights/socks occasionally, but that doesn’t stop me buying other things, too. I shop vintage, and charity shops.