How To Use A Wardrobe Tracker To Figure Out What You Actually Wear

Do you want to stop spending money on clothes you don’t really wear? Do you want to find your personal style?

A wardrobe tracker is a tool you can use to narrow down your personal style, help you declutter your closet and help you to avoid spending your hard earned cash on something you’ll never wear. You are a unique individual with wants and needs that are as unique as you are and you want your closet to reflect this.

Oftentimes we have a vague idea of which items in our closet we wear the most. Perhaps a few beloved favorites that we’ve had for years come to mind, but as we peer in with a magnifying glass, we might see a different story. The proof is in the pudding. A wardrobe tracker can’t hide the truth, it provides you with an honest perspective about the relationship between the clothes you own and the clothes you wear.

In this article, I’m going to focus on helping you figure out what you actually wear using a wardrobe tracker to guide you.

The Guidelines

For a minimum of two weeks I want you to keep track of everything you wear on a daily basis.

For instance: Monday, Feb 12 —Outfit 1: white pocket short sleeve (ss) t-shirt, gray blazer, black straight jeans, black Converse, black crossbody bag, gold hoop earrings. Outfit 2: teal blue hoodie, Champion sweatpants.

Tuesday, Feb 13 —Outfit 1: blue long sleeve (ls) button down shirt, gray wide leg trouser, black puffer coat, black Converse, black backpack. Outfit 2: black racerback tank top, black leggings, running shoes. Outfit 3: big ss t-shirt, Champion sweatpants.

Record this information once, every day for at least two weeks. Be specific and consistent with each item name so that when you go back after two weeks to evaluate there’s no question about which item you’re referring to. (We think we’ll remember, but we don’t.) Notice in my examples I included categories such as, pajamas, loungewear, activewear and jewelry. If you feel one or more category doesn’t apply to you, then skip it. This is your wardrobe tracker, make it specific to you.

In addition to your daily recordings, I want you to get a rough estimate of the total number of items in your current wardrobe. It doesn’t have to be exact, just get an idea of what that number is. Only count items that are part of the categories you decided to include in your tracker. Example: If you’re not planning on keeping track of jewelry, don’t include it in your total wardrobe count. Also, don’t make any judgements, don’t think about it too much, just get the number.

It doesn’t matter how you keep track—paper and pen, spreadsheet, notes app—use whatever is most convenient for you. You want to minimize the number of obstacles in your path so that you give yourself the best shot at accomplishing the project. Start today. Pick a time, maybe towards the end of your day, to record your outfit(s) and stick to that same time every day so that it becomes a habit. It will take you no more than two minutes. After the two weeks, revisit this post.

Analyzing Your Data

Once you’ve recorded your outfits for the allotted time, list out each and every item you wore according to their wardrobe category.

Examples of wardrobe categories = Tops - Bottoms - Dresses/Overalls/Jumpsuits - Blazers/Jackets - Outerwear - Loungewear/Pajamas - Activewear - Shoes - Bags - Jewelry - Hats/Belts/Scarves

Once you’ve sorted the items into their respective categories, go ahead and add up the total number of items you wore for the two weeks. How does this number compare to the total number of items in your wardrobe? If you have 100 items in your wardrobe, and you recorded wearing a total of 35 items over the course of the two weeks, that means you wore 35% of your closet. Most capsule wardrobe gurus contend that the 80/20 rule applies to our wardrobes, meaning that many of us only wear 20% of our closets on a regular basis. What’s your percentage?

When I tried a wardrobe tracker for the first time I was most amazed by how little of my closet I wore within my timeline. This realization inspired me to make big changes. I decided that I wanted to own fewer, but nicer things. I began taking steps towards using intentional shopping habits and I started getting rid of things I either hadn’t worn in quite some time and/or items that didn’t make me feel confident. I decided that my days, weeks, months are too short to spend wasted time on things that didn’t add value to my life. 

Next, count the number of times you wore each individual item and note the number next to each one. 

Within your wardrobe categories, do you notice that you wore similar type items over and over again? For example: Take a look at all of your tops listed. Did you wear tees more times than shirts or blouses? Perhaps you wore three different sweaters multiple times, but only wore one hoodie twice. Now, look at your bottoms listed. Did you wear jeans more often? Did you wear more formal pants like trousers and chinos? Examine each of your categories and make a mental note of your most worn types.

Using the info you gathered, make a list of the top 5 or 6 TYPES of items you wore the most.

Examples of clothing/accessory types: tees, shirts, hoodies, sweaters, sweatpants, leggings, jeans, trousers, blazers, winter coats, sneakers, flats, boots, crossbody bags, shoulder bags, earrings, necklaces, rings, etc…

Knowing which types of clothing/accessories you wear most often is a good indicator of how you’re spending the majority of your time and vice versa. Naturally, our lifestyles fluctuate and change, but for the most part the last two weeks should be an adequate measure of your current lifestyle. For instance, if you work in an office setting for 40 hours a week you might find that you’re wearing professional shirts, formal pants and/or skirts more often. If you’re a teacher and coach, you might find yourself wearing tees, jeans and activewear most days. This information probably isn’t much of a shock to you. It makes sense, right?

To put this into perspective, if you were to break up your typical weekday into percentages of how you spend your time it might look something like this: With 24 hours in a day, 7-8 hours of sleep would be 30%, preparing & eating meals maybe 12%, work 30%, exercise & hygiene 10%, the remaining 18% would be divided between things like hobbies, spending time with loved ones, lounging etc…

Whether we like it or not, our lifestyles often dictate what we wear on a daily basis. If you know that for a large chunk of your day you’re regularly wearing a certain type of clothing, this can help you narrow down a personal style that makes sense for you from a functional stand point. This knowledge can also help you identify where in your wardrobe adding something new would make the biggest impact.

Just because we wear an item or some type of item often, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we enjoy wearing it or feel confident wearing it. Sometimes our personal tastes in clothing align with whatever life activity we’re heading into, and sometimes not so much. If you have to wear professional/office attire to work, but you prefer a more casual aesthetic, it would make sense to focus your energy on your workwear wardrobe to figure out how to make your work outfits feel a little more you. Since you spend one of your longest blocks of time at work, if you make a few changes to this aspect of your wardrobe you can make a big impact on your daily confidence.

Next, let’s focus on the individual items themselves.

Which items did you wear the most? List out the top 2-3 items in each category.

Tops- white ss pocket tee, blue ls button down shirt, gray cardigan sweater

Bottoms- black straight jeans, gray wide leg trouser, Champion sweatpants

Etc…

There’s some thing or more than one thing about these items that you like and/or that suit your lifestyle needs which explains why you keep coming back to them. Out of all the clothing in your closet—you keep choosing these items. Why? What qualities do they have that make them preferable to your other clothing? If we break down the characteristics of your most worn items using measurable criteria, we will get a clearer sense of what exactly makes these items your go-to’s.

I’ve listed several criteria and questions for you to consider. Make a few notes next to each of the individual items as you work your way through each criteria.

Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list, but I think it’s a good starting place. Also, don’t feel like you have to go crazy here, just make a couple quick notes for yourself.

  1. Fabric/material What material(s) is it made of? Is it soft to the touch? Does it have an interesting texture? Does it seem to be good quality, durable, long lasting?

  2. Color and/or pattern What color is it? Is it all one solid color or does it have a design or pattern? Does it have a graphic or logo, stripes, polka dots, florals, flamingos, etc…?

  3. Fit Is it the correct size? Is it comfortable? Does it have a more fitted, relaxed or loose silhouette? Does the item have structure to it or is it more fluid (following the contours of the body)?

  4. Functionality Does the item have a more casual or formal vibe/appearance? Does it work well only for a specific function such as work, exercise, date night, etc…? Or does it work for multiple occasions?

  5. How you feel when wearing each item Do you feel confident? Do you feel like yourself? Do you feel slightly uncomfortable or self-conscious?

Your notes might look something like this:

White pocket t-shirt- 80% cotton 30% polyester, soft with some stretch. Starting to lose it’s shape. Relaxed fit, long enough to tuck. Casual, but can wear for multiple occasions.

Blue LS button down shirt- 100% cotton, smooth and soft. Been washed several times and still looks brand new. Solid light blue color. Slightly oversized fit, comfortable and has a bit of weight & structure to it. Formal, but works for multiple occasions. Feel confident when wearing it with jeans and sneakers.

Take a few minutes to go back through your notes. Chances are your most worn items have one or more characteristics in common. What qualities keep popping up over and over again? Also, pay attention to your notes about how you feel when wearing each item. On what occasions and with what other types of items do you prefer wearing it?

If I were to use the sample notes above, I would conclude that my items tend to be soft to the touch, durable, made of cotton or cotton blend, relaxed or looser fitting, are neutral & solid colors and have a mix of casual & formal vibes, but I feel more confident in my outfit when formal items are combined with one or more casual items.

Putting It All Together

Create a wardrobe tracker worksheet for your future self. The next time you consider adding something new to your closet refer to your worksheet. Does the item seem like something you would realistically wear? Meaning does it share any characteristics of your most worn items? And/or will you be able to pair it with some of your most worn items to make it work for your personal taste and lifestyle? My hope is that once you have consolidated all of this information into one guide/worksheet you will be able to quickly discern if and how a new piece would fit in with the rest of your wardrobe.

Wardrobe Tracker Take Aways [What I Actually Wear]:

1. I wore ___% of my overall wardrobe over a period of two weeks.

2. My most worn TYPES of clothing/accessories:

  • tees

  • sweaters

  • jeans

  • trousers

  • etc…

3. My most worn individual items:

  • Tops- white ss pocket tee, blue ls button down shirt, gray cardigan sweater

  • Bottoms- black straight jeans, gray wide leg trouser, Champion sweatpants

  • Blazers/Jackets- gray blazer, Levi’s denim sherpa jacket

  • Etc…

4. Qualities of my most worn items:

  • soft fabric

  • durable and long lasting

  • cotton or cotton blend

  • relaxed or looser fitting silhouettes

  • neutral, solid colors

  • mix of casual & formal, but leans more casual. *If I wear something with formal vibes, I feel more like myself if I pair it with something casual.

  • works for multiple settings, occasions

There is a butt load of information you can learn from keeping a wardrobe tracker. Uncovering what you actually wear is just one facet and I acknowledge that there is a ton of stuff to sort through in this singular as well as lengthy blog post. In the next few weeks I plan to elaborate on how your four takeaways from today’s post can help guide you to a more satisfying wardrobe overall. Also, I’d love to discuss additional ways in which you can use a wardrobe tracker in another post.

Let me know if you try any of these exercises I’ve described in this article. Did you learn anything? Is there anything I left out?

On a side note: I apologize for no new content the last two Friday’s. I’m going to try and cut myself a little slack. I needed a lot of extra time to develop and flesh out my ideas for this post and with how busy I’ve been, it took a little more time than I expected. For those of you who don’t know, I’m a floral designer at a local shop and Wednesday 2-14 was Valentines Day. As you can probably imagine, for florists, it’s one of the busiest couple weeks of the year.

Cheers to Friday. As always, thanks for reading.

Britt

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