how much is too much?

The more I read here, it's fairly obvious I'm basically stuck in time and not on-trend, which I'm 100% good with, because I've found a look that I enjoy and works for me and I'm happy with it. For those of you who are always on the newest trend and keep up with the changing fashion, do you just accumulate a ton of stuff over the years? My look is relatively simple and I've downsized my closet a lot over the years and the stuff I've kept are items I feel are more 'classic' or 'quality' (whatever that means) that are likely to last me a while. I'm left with probably a couple dozen pairs of jeans, about 70ish t-shirts, and maybe 80 miscellaneous shirts/sweaters/jackets/non-denim pants. Then there's my athletic stuff - probably 50 pieces altogether between tops and bottoms there. I don't live in a place with much real weather, so I can't imagine what it'd be like if there were actual seasons here. Do you guys just have massive walk-in closets for all your stuff?
46 Replies
Spuck
Spuck9mo ago
I have maybe a quarter of that much stuff and we have obnoxious seasons. Regularly selling on stuff you dont wear makes sense
mattw282
mattw2829mo ago
A lot of people resell/donate old pieces they don't wear anymore. I live somewhere with seasons and all my clothes (aside my sports gear) fits in one 5ft wardrobe and I doubt I've got more than about 100 items total, not including shoes/underwear.
Aaron 🍍
Aaron 🍍9mo ago
I can fit my entire closet other than boots in a carry on and standard checked bag. I don’t have winter.
birdplen
birdplen9mo ago
That's a ton of items to have imo, I wouldn't call that downsized at all
Nayyyyy
Nayyyyy9mo ago
Yeah that's a lot. I just sell / donate stuff I haven't worn for a while or which no longer fit. 70ish t-shirts lol
Spuck
Spuck9mo ago
I have like 20 tshirts and need to do a cull
bishopcorrigan
bishopcorrigan9mo ago
Yeah I have like a quarter of that I still have some stuff from 8+ years back that I can make work and I a couple things I keep just for nostalgia but generally my closet is pretty small
mewball
mewball9mo ago
I have around 85 items in my entire wardrobe minus athletic clothes which maybe puts it at 95 You have a massive volume of clothes! You could wear a new tee shirt for like, 1/6th of the year without ever doing laundry …
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
it's cool to have a lot of t-shirts, imo. good collectors item, like red rose tea figurines I have a pretty massive closet and i like it, but the moment it gets to be a burden, things gotta go
Electric
Electric9mo ago
I have abt 12 t-shirts and that feels like a lot, not sure what I’d do with 70ish tbh
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
i go through like 3 t shirts a day in the summer
Electric
Electric9mo ago
Fair I’m uk so we’ll have a few 30c days but that’s it
letsgosnakes
letsgosnakes9mo ago
You have a lot more clothes than I do. Sounds like you have an opportunity to downsize if you're feeling overwhelmed Regarding trends I like to stay aware of what's trending but don't feel obligated to overhaul my wardrobe continuously. I aim for at most one new item per month and try to be picky based on what works well with what I already have. For example I bought a pair of chunky sneakers because I like the way they look but I don't own any sweater vests
rej
rej9mo ago
From the last time a similar question was posted. Ive probably picked up another ~5 shirts since then, a couple pairs of pants, and a couple of t shirts. Mostly secondhand and end of season sales. I'm due for a purge/donation run of older stuff
No description
rej
rej9mo ago
My closet's very small, so I have a pretty clear indicator when I've accumulated too much
mewball
mewball9mo ago
having clothes as collectors items is cringe to me at least if we're talking 50 tee shirts that rot in ur closet i only want to own clohtes i will wear
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
you can also wear them
mewball
mewball9mo ago
when you have 70 you are not going to wear them all in a reasonable time frame unless you're specifically tracking it murakami has horrible taste in t shirts sorry
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
sorry he doesn't like the t shirts you like
mewball
mewball9mo ago
its fine its just not a valid reason to own 70 of them
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
i don't think you need a valid reason to own 70 of them
mewball
mewball9mo ago
that's true to each their own!
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
if it makes you uncomfortable to have 70, you should get rid of some
mewball
mewball9mo ago
if you are concerned about space i think it would be a good place to start
rej
rej9mo ago
No sir I do not need a book to send me on a goose chase for obscure clothing I'll never find
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
the point is that his tees are like a photo album, a point in time he can take with him. i don't think anything he owns is worth tracking down but, say, i recently mourned a nasty ass t-shirt i got in college from a competition the radio station did. it was ugly as hell and i wore it to holes
rej
rej9mo ago
Ah I figured it was like another book I'd seen that was just pages and pages of vintage 80s/90s band t's
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
i apologize for turning this into t-shirt chat but this is why i'm against designer tees, generally. totally empty of any personal meaning, which is to me the joy of t shirts. that and you can wear them to the gym.
mewball
mewball9mo ago
you can wear designer t shirts to the gym if you want. its a mentality thing but also generally agreed i only would get them if they have a specific cut/fabric/treatement that makes it unique not like, a gucci logo tee
Bonnacon
Bonnacon9mo ago
sorry, that sentence was confusing. i meant that one of the benefits of t-shirts generally si that you can do that, of course i wear designer tees to the gym i learned my t-shirt lesson expensively
Spuck
Spuck9mo ago
Murakami runs like 10k every day, he's gonna get through a lot of tshirts
SquillyFerrell
SquillyFerrell9mo ago
I have probably about a 150 item wardrobe all said: shirts, pants, knits, coats, etc. not including underwear. I feel like I’m right at the point where it’s just too much. I have an item for every situation. In both having fashion as a hobby and having OCD it’s given me a massive ennui since I have no frontier left to conquer with clothes— I know my style, and I have the items. I think that in that sense I do have too much, but I see no way to rectify that— selling stuff would just push the issue back until I can reacquire them, I don’t have any cheap items that need upgrading, no worn items that need replacing. Similarly pivoting to another style would not only be wasteful but would also just be kicking the can down the road. I guess having a “complete” wardrobe too much, since it kind of saps the fun of hunting and buying things. I do want an Aran though so that’s the only thing on my list, lol
Carney
Carney9mo ago
Well the thing is, I'm happy with what I have. Pretty much everything gets worn at some point and I do a purge of stuff that doesn't get touched once or twice a year. I sell/donate and then with the old stuff I pack on trips so I can wear things one last time and then I have an empty bag to fill with souvenirs on the way home. It's not an issue of me having too much stuff, just curiosity on what people are doing who regularly change up their style.
mattw282
mattw2829mo ago
Personally, sounds like I just have a must faster cycle of shuffling things out my wardrobe (and a smaller wardrobe).
bishopcorrigan
bishopcorrigan9mo ago
I just don’t need a lot of stuff/ am very picky about what I get So my wardrobe stays pretty small I did just get rid of some stuff but it was mostly old work clothes
SquillyFerrell
SquillyFerrell9mo ago
I will say that im not lamenting my wardrobe, I do wear everything I own and my wardrobe makes me very happy, but i am somewhat sad that the sense of discovery and the joy of getting new things has worn off
Scott
Scott9mo ago
I feel like I would enjoy my wardrobe more if I minimized, and yet I also dont feel any compelling need to downsize. And i still pick up cool new pieces. The duality of life
mewball
mewball9mo ago
if i dont wear something for about a year i will get rid of it
enterthelair
enterthelair9mo ago
if you really have like 200 pieces of clothes, thats more than enough to keep with all the seasons and trends. you can pick up a piece every now and then but u dont have to constantly keep up with everything people online are getting.
Carney
Carney9mo ago
oh i don't "keep up" at all. like i mentioned in the original post, i'm stuck in time lol and i'm happy with what i have. i'm at a point where i've downsized quite a bit (yes, i used to have even more stuff 😵‍💫) and if i do pick up something new, i generally sell or donate something i was really just curious to see what other people's approach was, especially for the folks who do keep up with the trends and are continuously updating their look
adaptation
adaptation9mo ago
Bossman I’m at college I’ve got whatever I can fit in three drawers and a 40 inch closet
sam
sam9mo ago
was in that situation last year, essentially had to make a fucking capsule collection to get everything to fit honestly taught me a lot about my wardrobe i guess re trends: i've noticed that the clothing trends i follow after immersing myself in the discord experimental fashion ecosystem are super localized. one person posts a really good fit with an item, 3-4 people bite it (often with permission), and boom it becomes a 'thing' in whatever community i'm in. makes spending a little more impulsive but makes it waaaaay easier to step back and realize that it absolutely does not matter outside of whatever niche little fashion discord generates it. stops me from overconsuming because in like 90% of my daily life i am in a context where the trends i pick up on have little to no meaning. very convenient to see my style more broadly
enterthelair
enterthelair9mo ago
i gradually get clothes. like 1-2 piece a month on avg. if something lifechanging happens. like if i move to a different climate, or get a job that requires different clothes, or when i lost weight. ill buy more. but then i go back to baseline.
punchouli
punchouli9mo ago
I think it’s important to have a system in mind better than just throwing things away / donating. For me graphic tees become work tees after a while and eventually are destroyed on metal and get cut up into rags for sewing and handling of etched plates. So many things cant ever compost because of the polyester in them, so being mindful of what you’re gonna have to deal with later is something I think of a lot
Carney
Carney9mo ago
great point, and really awesome that you're being mindful of that stuff - wish i could say the same for myself, but i'm working on it. it's the main reason i've made the shift from just throwing stuff away to selling or donating to places/people who can appreciate and make use of things that i no longer use