'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH' - clothes acquisition, hysteria and the perfect wardrobe

[Kora]

Over the last few years I have shopped til I dropped (literally) any day that I was off from work all I did was shopping. Last week I was organizing my clothes,Bills, Credit cards Statements etc. I 've realized that about 80% of my clothes is not worn (some have tags on them) and the ones I wear are the classics, basics. Am I the only one, let me know what your thoughts are.

 

[PrinceOfCats]

I can't help you here - I would wear different clothes every day if I could.

 

[Alejandro]

I have tons of clothes. Most of them are nice basic clothes that I buy either at Gap, Zara, Diesel and vintage or thrift finds. Then, my budget goes bananas with designer stuff, that again, I either spend $500+ on a piece that I will wear a lot, or stuff that I find on vintage stores for less than $200. Again, these are all nice basic clothing, nothing too trendy, because this allows me to wear it over and over mixed with some hot trends that I normally don't spend too much money in. Im still hurting though for my silver Prada shoes ...

 

[chanel_girl]

I have gucci coat that I spent $5000 on and I only wore it ONCE but that was like 5 years ago but I have tons of clothes usualy the things that still have the tags on and are unworn are the thrift or cheap stuff all my designer stuff though usualy is worn alot

 

[mikeijames]

there is an actual named disorder for chronic shoppers...they are trying to get it to be an acknowledged thing so that you can get prescriptions for it...bc for a lot of people (self included) there's a definite high associated with shopping (and specifically purchasing)...

but there are so many clothes i could not live without that totally broke the bank, that i can never justify wearing...completely runway stuff. i mean every now and again when i get dressed after a few cocktails i'll throw them on and totally make a splash

 

[strawberry daiquiri]

Depends on if you like I replace the word 'want' with 'need'

I'm quite sure I would wear everything I owned at some stage if I could remember everything, but it seems I can't

 

[Lena]

i do buy things i never wear, or i 'lose' items in wardrobes etc
its a joy when i 'find' a long lost and maybe unworn item
i dont spend much for a single piece of clothing/shoes/bag
apart from the occasional unique vintage item
(soft point Japanese kimonos & old couture )

 

[tealady]

It's hard to say how much clothing one needs. Well, maybe it's easy: one needs enough clothing to cover one's body and protect it from the elements.

Now, how many clothes do we want? That's something else. Each of us needs to find her own way. If you are consistently spending money you don't have, that's not good. If you are trying to buy happiness in the form of clothing to fix a problem that clothing can not fix, that's not good.

IMHO.

 

[freshstyle]

i have LOTS of clotes with the tags still on them, yet i still never have anything to wear. i think its because i LOVE summer clothes so when i go shopping i always get drawn to nice tanks to go out it, yet i live in NY so i dont really get to wear them till summer. Also if i get something really nice, i dont wanna waste it, if that makes scence so it kinda just sits there till the right occasion comes along. i think thats what the problem is, i'm just a very unfocused shopper, i like spending my money on fun stuff. if i spend it on sweats i almost feel like its been wasted, although i wear them all the time.

 

[travolta]

i wish all my clothes were convertable...kinda like a-poc..but continously so. also i would live in pleats please...so practical.

 

[adorefaith]

I agree with most people so far.....I have far more than I "need" (come on.....we don't have half of what we do because we NEED it)....but I do think I want it all, at least at the moment of purchase anyway lol There aren't too many things that I regret buying, and I try to remind myself that at the end of the day I would be happy and fulfilled as a person WITHOUT these things, but it's nice to have the luxury to shop and enjoy fashion....and I'm thankful for that.....and I have to admit I do hope I have many more years of shopping and incredible, good quality, beautiful clothes ahead of me!

 

[Aida.Sevan]

For me there cant be much of two things: money and clothes

Clothes get boring for me fast, thats why when they are new, I like them more, wear them more. But of coarse there are some which I love forever, like some pullovers and tops.

I wear all my clothes, true that some more , some less, but there is no fresh-unpacked piece in my wardrobe. It's just me, I want to wear new clothes just after I buy them.

 

[AlexN]

I don't need any of my designer clothes. I probably have about a week's worth of crappy old clothes that I could wash and wear over and over and over. I would look like a completely hideous, slovenly wreck, but it's all I'd really "need".

 

[enak]

I would just need a roll of black fabric and a roll of white fabric and get Yohji to make me all the clothes I need!

 

[snowqueen]

in my opinion i can never have to amny clothes

 

[fash ho']

At the change of seasons, like most people, I do a few rounds of the shops and internet and pick up some new bits and pieces to augment my wardrobe and make the weather transition.

Sounds sensible, but the truth is that sometimes I get on a shopping roll and can't seem stop. I keep seeing more and more nice stuff and although my wardrobe is crammed, too much is not enough . . .

That's when shopping and clothes acquisition has become about other things; boredom or some desire to reinvent myself or something. These purchases (often repeats of things I already have) can make me feel more nauseous. I look at all my stuff and think "Do I really need more" and I look at my credit card bill and feel anxious.

Now I know how to reign myself in, and for months can live vicariously through others purchases (Secret Shopoholics - thanks! although everything is way out of my financial league).

In there, SoftGrey made a comment recently:

" I think I'm done for a while - I need to look at what I have and understand how it all works together."

which made me think about purchasing hysteria versus acquiring the perfect wardrobe.


Anybody else wonder about these issues?


apologies if the title sounds like a Sixth form english essay . . .

and mods, should this go somewhere else?

 

[Hanne]

In there, SoftGrey made a comment recently:

" I think I'm done for a while - I need to look at what I have and understand how it all works together."

..and then you try.. having the styled images from fashion editorials in the back of your head (atleast that's how it often happens with me).. and you notice that the new sweater, the new pants and the new tee..just doesn't cut it with your old shoes.. any scarf in your collection or any of your bags that worked perfectly well with what you were try to do last winter...or your belts, your stockings, your hair, your jewelry.. because of the texture, the fabric, the shade, the length the overall picture is not how you envisioned you'd look... it's done, boring and unsatisfying..
Hopefully at some point while you stare hopelessly at the pile of clothes that you have just discarded in your effort to make your new wardrobe acquisitions work... you realize that to closely an interpretation of that style fashion editorial you have in your head is a creative prison that will only render you frustrated...sometimes I move on.. somtimes I stay frustrated.. and regardless of whether its the one or the other.. I keep scanning the stores..

 

[voodoo_mary]

thats how i am every morning when i'm dressing for work - frustrated, late for work and totally defeated by the piles of clothes and accessories that jus dont make any sense to me. on bad days i can get mired by indecision, lack of creativity and a half-baked understanding of my own personal style. everything i have ever cobbled together is inspired by editorial spreads. (cough cough marie claire and lucky are my faves..) so my search is based on outfits that i've seen in editorials. BUT wat actually ends up in my closet is v different from the "target" must-haves. e.g. the illusive, "perfect vest", the elusive " perfect white t-shirt"- the right length, the right tightness and the right neckline and sleeves!!, also, i've been hunting for the perfect shade of brown for my peeptoes. still havent found it.

 

[fash ho']

I just feel like i have been in a shopping frenzy recently and i haven't even brought my autumn winter clothes down from the attic yet.

its like some kind of insatiable urge . . .

and then when i do realise how much i have, i feel a bit sickened and want to throw away all the half-loved stuff and just buy things that i really really love.

 

[Hanne]

I think that urge sometimes makes it so hard to tell if the item your wanting to buy is going to be a 'half-loved' closet hanger or an item that hardly leaves your body..