Maria xxx

I think a lot of it depends on the reason why you are culling your wardrobe. If the purpose is to get rid of the mistaken pieces (which after the first two culls should be very few) so that you can have a full wardrobe of core pieces then I think it’s the right direction. When I first started culling, I had over 300 items, which is a LOT. Now I keep a total of around 80 – 100 or so, and I’ve barely added a thing to my wardrobe this year (I think I’ve bought about 4 pieces…?).

I think if the purpose is to sell things or get rid of things to fill it up again, then you have the wrong intentions. I don’t like the idea of throwing things away, and if you look at a lot of what I wear, I’m spending more on ‘designer’ pieces so I tend to resell what I’ve bought (rather than giving it to the Salvation Army or throwing it away) so that it can go to a new home where I hope that it will be loved more than it was hanging in my own wardrobe. I admit that I’ve made the occasional impulse purchase, although I’ve been trying to put a lot more thought into what I buy, which I’m hoping comes through with my experience with the 5PFW Challenge. Personally, I stopped giving in to a lot of fast fashion buys a few years back after reading Lucy Seigl’s To Die For, which really opened my eyes to the garment industry. I’ve read a few other books since (and watched countless docos), so I find it hard to even set foot in those types of stores these days.

Wardrobe culling has become pretty popular over the last two years, and I see a lot of people doing it only to fill their wardrobes back up – which isn’t really the point. I think even Dead Fleurette would cull her (teeny) wardrobe when she realised a well thought out purchase didn’t fit her lifestyle or needs.

Have you come across the Daily Connoisseur? I always liked her thoughts about keeping a core wardrobe with some ‘extras’ thrown in. There’s definitely no reason to need a huge wardrobe and I think you can look a lot more pulled together with less rather than with more.

I completely get where you are coming from though – and how it could be used to fuel shopping binges and the like, and honestly, I’ve never really thought of it that way so it’s always great to get a fresh perspective x

It’s a really good way to quickly identify what has and hasn’t been getting worn. I go one step further and actually keep a running tally of how often I wear things – it gives me a pretty good idea as to whether or not something has been getting a lot of love and I can cull directly from the list if need be.

Glad I could help – good luck with your cleanout!

Josie’s Journal

Dont you think we are encouraging “fast fashion” in a way by making our purchases casual enough to be purged with no consequences ? It all ends up in landfills or some other place. And not having a consequence to our past actions is not very good for future purchases.

Ofcourse it does give us a satisfaction to purge. Closets look nice and all that. But should we think beyond that ?

Thoughts ?