Mid-2014 Clothing Insights (A Year in the Life of a SF Wardrobe)

[archibaldleach]

I may be slightly insane or just enjoy tracking way too many things in an Excel spreadsheet, but a year ago I decided to record the jackets I ties I wear (or if I am not wearing a jacket or tie) on a daily basis and get a sense of what I actually reach for and how often I bother to dress up. I learned way more than I could possibly want to about my habits and won't bore everyone with all of the details (a few stats are spoilered, I didn't even bother typing out stats relating to ties). The reason posting about it is (1) I found it to be a really helpful exercise and something that will probably result in more discipline as far as future purchases are concerned and (2) I'm curious if anyone else has attempted something like this, even if it was less formal or done for a shorter period of time. Here is a summary of lessons for me (others are welcome to share theirs).

1. Unless I work in a place that requires suits every day again (which would require some shopping for a proper rotation), I will be adopting a 1 in 1 out plus 1 (allowing myself one suit or odd jacket that is not a replacement for something else in my closet) per annum.

2. I can live in navy blazers in various seasonal weights, a few heavy tweed jackets and maybe one non-navy odd jacket for the summer. Everything else is pretty much a bonus (and sometimes a distraction). I like all of my tailored clothing, but could be content with a bit less.

3. I am gravitating more towards darker colored ties (black, navy / midnight, brown, burgundy) in both solids and neats with the occasional stripe. I wear some others, but there has definitely been a trend to the more subtle.

4. Now that my suit and odd jacket wardrobe is in good shape (may upgrade a few things but don't really have any holes) and I've been losing weight from daily cardio, it's time to focus on nailing a good trouser fit.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I found that I dress to the following levels of formality as such:

No Jacket or Tie - 2.7x per week, 141x year annum

Odd Jacket with no Tie - 1.18x per week, 62x per annum

Odd Jacket with Tie - 1.60x per week, 83x per annum

Suit and Tie - 1.40x per week, 73x per annum

Dinner Jacket - 0.12x per week, 6x per annum

Of the times I wore an odd jacket, I wore 5 of the 12 I own 62% of the time. As far as odd jackets are concerned, I live in navy
blazers (35% of the time I wear an odd jacket) and heavy tweeds (33% of the time). The others add some variety, but if I needed to downsize my closet I could probably get rid of some of them.

I grew my tie collection by almost 50% this past year, so it's harder to make meaningful conclusions here (next year I will probably get a sense of what ties I wear 5+ times a year and which maybe it out 0-2 times).

 

[Shoeliker]

I find this very interesting, and it makes me think a bit differently about my own clothing buying. I'd never have the discipline to track such a thing myself.

 

[archibaldleach]

^ Glad you found it interesting. I admit the discipline in keeping track of this stuff borders on (oh, screw it - IS) obsessive, but I figured actually knowing what I wear would inform future purchases.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

Thank you for sharing your findings.

I can see myself tracking something like this, but with a focus on what shoes i wear, and in what formality level.

 

[Pingson]

That's why I have a tumblr - I just go back to any given day and see what I wore that day and in what combination. But the Excel-sheet is a nice touch for statistics geeks like me....

 

[archibaldleach]



Thank you for sharing your findings.

I can see myself tracking something like this, but with a focus on what shoes i wear, and in what formality level.

Damn. Something else to track for next year.