Guide To A Wardrobe Tracker
Imagine a fulfilling wardrobe designed and curated by you and for you, using information you’ve gathered from a simple spreadsheet.
I first encountered the idea of recording a wardrobe journal when I was looking for more information to help me reach my wardrobe goals. (A Small Wardrobe mentions this idea on her Youtube channel). As previously noted in New Wardrobe, New Me I wrote down some wardrobe goals for 2021 and one of them was to complete a 30 day wardrobe tracker during the month of January. I successfully worked my way through the month, keeping inventory of each item of clothing I wore on a daily basis. In November of 2020 I attempted to keep tally with old fashioned pen and paper, but I found I was having a difficult time motivating myself to update it. I would be forced to try and remember outfits from three days prior, with not great success. This time around I experimented instead with monitoring my outfits on my phone. I found that it was a very convenient way for me to organize my outfits and I enjoyed updating the simple spreadsheet I had created.
Why keep record of what you wear? A wardrobe journal or tracker can be a useful tool to help you reach your wardrobe goals whatever those may be. I’m using my tracker to help me recognize three facets of wardrobe wisdom, #1 noticing the number of times each individual item is worn. From this experience of tallying up the number of times I wore each item I learned that I do not wear several of my pieces as often as I thought. I figured out that sometimes an item I thought was one of my “best pieces” didn’t always translate to more wear time. I also learned that because I still have so many options in my closet, I was feeling compelled to try and give wear time to items that aren’t necessarily my preferred choice. Can you relate to this? Please tell me I’m not the only one treating their clothes like pets who deserve equal attention.
Uncovering the number of times your clothes actually occupy space on your body tremendously eases the pain of decluttering. With some items it will be quite apparent whether they should stay or go during the decluttering process, but others may be more difficult. Before attempting to declutter I’ve found that it helps to first ask yourself the why questions. Why am I wearing these pants that I hate with a burning passion ten plus times during the course of a month? In my case, it was function. I needed acceptable business casual pants for work and these fit the bill. Note to self: perhaps I should think about finding a replacement that fits both function AND my personal style. Why is it I’m not wearing my lovely cropped cardigan sweater more than three times? I found that because it is a looser knit cotton sweater I wasn’t reaching for it in the middle of winter. (The three times I wore it I was in Florida). Asking these types of questions can help you determine what your needs are which will then make the decluttering process much more beneficial to you. Instead of getting rid of pieces based on a set of criteria designed by someone else, you will have gathered information custom-fit for you so you’ll be able to make more efficient and well-informed decisions.
After identifying the number of times individual items are worn I can then use this information to #2 discover meaningful patterns. What are my most worn items? What are my least worn items? What do these items have in common? I consider ideas such as color, fabric, silhouette, function and most importantly how I feel wearing it. I love the way a linen t-shirt drapes on me, I love that it feels soft and lightweight and presents a casual cool vibe. I wore some form of a linen shirt six times during the month. It has become a staple in my wardrobe because I feel great when I wear it. Another element that can be discerned from studying my wardrobe patterns is figuring out how individual items work together to create multiple outfit options. What outfits did I wear that I would feel excited about wearing again? Which ones were forgettable? (And why?) How can I recreate the stand-out outfits with other pieces in my wardrobe?
I am using my newly acquired wardrobe knowledge to not only bring attention to the clothes I wear most often, but also to gain insight into the types of clothing I don’t tend to reach for. For example, many pieces of clothing I like the look of, but simply aren’t practical for me or don’t match my preferred style aesthetic. Feminine silk midi skirts are so beautiful, they easily transition from season to season and they have the power to make an outfit look so effortlessly chic. I’ve tried several times to make one work for me and it just does not! I feel like an alien in my own skin. I ultimately want to wear items that make me feel like the best version of myself, and sometimes that means saying no to pretty things. Noticing these patterns will help me make better shopping decisions so that I’m more likely to purchase items that suit my needs and individual style. Remember that skirt you bought that hung in the closet for a couple years with tags still attached? Just walk away. I want to stop wasting money and space on clothes I’ll never wear and maintain a more consistent personal style profile.
The most eye-opening revelation for me was #3 learning the total number of items that received wear time in comparison to total number of wardrobe items. Before I started my tracker I made a list of every piece of clothing I owned, excluding shoes, jackets and undergarments. I listed everything by category, tops - sweaters - bottoms - pajamas - activewear etc... because I wanted to be able to clearly see how many items I had in my wardrobe. When I listed everything out I was shocked by how many items I owned even after my big declutter. My total wardrobe count was around 85 items or so. The results of my tracker concluded that I wore about 45-49% of my wardrobe during the month of January. I wore less than half of my wardrobe over the course of a whole month! This information was crucial in helping me to realize that I don’t need a lot of pieces to have a satisfying wardrobe, nor do I want an abundance of items that aren’t being used.
At my current stage I’ve decluttered, I’m not joking, literally hundreds of items of clothing and I’m mostly satisfied with the majority of items I own at this point. I have no doubt a wardrobe tracker completed prior to my 6-8 month big declutter would have shown me that I was wearing about 20% or less of my total wardrobe. Moving forward I would like to outfit experiment with my current closet to continue refining my style and in the meantime attempt to declutter a few more pieces. I don’t have a specific number goal in mind, rather I feel that my current total is still a bit overwhelming for me and would like to consistently be wearing closer to 70-80% of my wardrobe over the course of a year.
In my experience it has been so fulfilling being able to quantify the results of each phase I find myself in during this process. Taking into account this statistic can be a good measurement of your overall progress. Comparing the number of items in your closet to the number of items another person may own isn’t a practical way to gauge your personal progress and may even leave you feeling discouraged. Use this percentage to help you declutter in a way that encourages you to continue making strides towards your wardrobe goals and understand that it may take time to get to a place where you feel more comfortable with your results.
I want to share an example of what your wardrobe tracker might look like in spreadsheet form so I took some screenshots of the tracker I created for myself and posted them below. I also made a PDF version available for you to download here if you so choose! I used Numbers to create my own and I chose to add in a couple formulas to do some of the work for me, but beyond simple formulas my spreadsheet expertise is pretty limited. You may choose to make this process as simple or complex as you’d like. Feel free to rename, add or remove categories, brighten it up with bold colors—make this wardrobe tracker relevant to you and your specific wants/needs. If you’re not into spreadsheets this can easily be accomplished with a notebook or calendar and your favorite utensil.
I created three separate sheets within my wardrobe tracker: Current Wardrobe, January 2021 and January 2021 Tally. I like to think of them as three pieces to the wardrobe tracker puzzle. The first sheet, Current Wardrobe, is highlighted below and is meant to show a complete list of all wardrobe items currently owned. In addition, it measures the total number of items owned in each individual category as well as figures an overall total wardrobe count. I completed this list prior to completing the month’s wardrobe tracker so I had a better understanding of just how much clothing I had to choose from.
The second sheet, highlighted here as January 2021, depicts the outfits worn for each day of the month. This is the sheet you will update on a daily basis over the course of the month and where you will see duplicates listed. After the month has passed, we will then take this information and enter it into our third and final sheet.
Almost there…this is the most exciting part of the entire process! Noted below as January 2021 Tally, this is our last step to gaining insight into our wardrobe. In each respective category or column, enter in each item you wore over the course of the month from the previous sheet, listing them only once. To the right of each item I created a tally column that you see as a small box in which to enter in the number of times that individual item was worn. Any surprises? Now count up the total number of items worn for the month and compare it to your total wardrobe count. What percentage of your wardrobe did you wear? Does this align with your wardrobe goals?
Remember that there are several ways in which to do a wardrobe journal and this is just one of them. If a different method works better for you, go with it! The goal is to learn information that is most useful to us. You and I are unique individuals and ultimately what we gain from this exercise will be different also. If you have any questions about my process or have suggestions for what has worked well for you, please share with me! I think there is a lot of information to unpack here and hopefully over the coming months we can discover more together.
Looking back on my process I think it would have benefitted me greatly to complete a wardrobe journal prior to my big declutter. Decluttering becomes much easier when you have a clearer understanding of which items you actually wear on your body and which pieces stay hanging in your closet as part of the “museum collection”. (You can look, but don’t touch!) A wardrobe tracker would have helped me to avoid making more shopping mistakes after the initial thrill of getting rid of so many things. I immediately purchased items to replace what I had removed without any intention whatsoever. I am choosing to learn from my mistakes, just as you can too. This journey doesn’t have to be linear, it’s an up and downhill ride. Be kind to yourself and keep at it. I’m with you.
Thanks for reading.
Chance of Showers