How many clothes does a lady really need? Help

iQueen

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

3) Even my underwear drawers have different Barbies. I just have to make sure that I have underwear Barbies which match up to my wardrobe Barbies - and not some imaginary life!

So, you'll be keeping your interlock bloomers, and selling the red satin n black lace corsets, bustieres and cr*tchless drawers on Exoticbay? :rotfl:

Bronnie

Work Barbie ......no-brainer black t shirt, trousers, shoes, cardi, every day.
Hanging Round the House Barbie aka Slob Barbie......typified by leggings and a loose long sleeved long top. A decent winter jacket means Slob Barbie can venture to the supermarket etc without getting changed.
Belle of the Ball Barbie........oh how I love this Barbie! She has her hair and nails done at the salon. She has this beautiful midnight blue sequinned gown and sparkling drop earings and a faux fur jacket from the charity shop. She only gets out about 3 times a year and doesn't care if she wears the same dress each time because it's so beautiful.
Faux-Sporty Barbie.............is out and about quite a bit lately since the doctor told her she must wear trainers all the time because of a knee injury ( that solves the mystery of all those little old ladies I used to see in the supermarket with big clumpy trainers on!). Anyway, the only way this Barbie can be seen with trainers on is to wear the rest of the gear too and look as though she's on the way to or from the gym, so leggings/joggers, vest top and Primark hoodies to go!
Date with Ken Barbie..........this is a relatively new Barbie in my collection, who is out to play occasionally and am still pondering the way to go; dresses and heels mainly at the moment.
Sunshine Holiday Barbie...........has an extensive wardrobe in the drawer under the bed, lots of it from the charity shops. Barbie hearts!
Smart Casual Barbie..........this is a struggle to get right. She has some dark denim, which is good and some nice pumps. There is a new Spring/Summer parka too, but it's not really all working together at the moment. Work in progress.

I don't see the need to keep my wardrobe to a set number of pieces and I don't think I'm clever enough or disciplined enough shopping-wise to keep this total co-ordination thing in mind all the time, plus I would get bored. I just keep thinning it out on the basis of;
Do I like it?
Does it fit?
Do I wear it?
as per this old thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1746139

Bron
x

Jacks_xxx

iQueen wrote: »

So, you'll be keeping your interlock bloomers, and selling the red satin n black lace corsets, bustieres and cr*tchless drawers on Exoticbay? :rotfl:

Something like that...!

asset2004

Skyllo wrote: »

I agree with this, I feel much happier and more motivated if I feel I look nice, even when no one else is going to see me. I put on decent clothes and makeup even if I'm spending my day studying (I'm a student). I'll put on pyjama bottoms if I'm doing a big clean involving things like bleach so I don't ruin jeans but I own very few "slobby" clothes.

I think a lot of people are afraid of ruining clothing and like to keep things for "best" but by the time the "best" event comes around, you might find it doesn't fit any more or you don't like it! So I say wear it and enjoy it when you can. I view clothing as a price per wear so really it's MSE to wear all your wardrobe!

I agree.
I have started to wear a bit more makeup and try to make an effort at work.
Even at home I struggle to throw things out and for too long wear items that should long, long ago be sent to the bin. The price per wear from them is defiantely a bargain.
However there's also the other items that I keep for best and never get round to wearing them. In fact an awful lot of my clothes is like that.

My trouble is getting comfortable shoes that fit and don't hurt my feet. I have lots of shoes still in boxes that I've worn once and can't wear again.
I've a pair of leather boots that I bought at the start of the winter through the Grabbit board and were only £10, they are getting a bit done looking but I can't find anything for summer wear that's smart, suitable for work and most importantly comfy.

InaPickle

What a brilliant thread!

I'm a memeber of the 'No More Toiletries Until...' thread as well, which is working brilliantly for me, and has made me realise that 'enough' is actually still quite a large amount and that I don't need lots of excess in order to get through life (and I'm LOVING all the space it is creating!). This has created a knock-on effect as I realised I have lots of Books, DVDs and CDs as well that aren't being used to their maximum potential, either. As a result, I created similar threads for books and DVDs, and that is working too, but more slowly, as they take longer to get through.

And don't get me started on clothes! After I graduated from uni, I started working in a *very* nice clothes shop, which came with an equally nice discount on their stock. As I graduated with few nice clothes, and I realised that I would never get such a good discount again, I went a bit mad and pretty much gave myself carte blanche to buy whatever I liked. Two double wardrobes and one dress size up from when I started (although I no longer still work there....) you can image the havoc it has caused!

I have had a clear-out this past few months and got rid of quite a lot of stuff, but there is still a monumental amount of clothes to wade through. I'm also a member of the 'I'm-not-buying-any-more-clothes-while-I'm-still-this-size' brigade, but I'm going to have to soon as I must look a right mess at work, but then I'm trying to save the money up for other things (flat deposit etc.) at the same time and feel a bit like the money should be going to other things....but if I felt a bit better about myself, perhaps that would help me to loose a bit more weight....argh, it's a vicious circle....get off me, vicious circle...leave me alone...:rotfl:

Ida_Notion

InaPickle wrote: »

....argh, it's a vicious circle....get off me, vicious circle...leave me alone...:rotfl:

In it's usual pursuit of something silly to say, my mind immediately came up with 'Vicious circles are best faced squarely!' :rotfl: It occurs to me that this idea might not be so daft after all, and so FrumpKiller Barbie is about to tackle The Tatty Knicker Drawer Of Doom. If she survives this, she can survive anything

Artytarty

I have:
Hippie Barbie, who still likes tye dye and embroidery! Silly girl.
Dog walking Barbie, looks like she means business in skinny jeans knee high brown boots and waxed jacket in Winter, floral Avoca style rain jacket for spring.Minus the coat she can double up as housework/supermarket Barbie.
Charity shop worker Barbie, she has loads of nice stretchy dresses and a wide variety of tops but is only out one day a week.

iQueen

Artytarty wrote: »

Hippie Barbie, who still likes tye dye and embroidery! Silly girl.

Ideally, Hippie Barbie is the only Barbie I need! :T

P__G

I own a lot of clothes but I love fashion and I do wear them. The trick is to own quality and well fitted classics.

I own 5 leather coats and all but one are quality;
I own a 'shearling' cpat (the best quality sheepskin);
2 wool coats;
1 cashmere coat;
A Burberry 'mac'
2 fur coats (mink and rabbit);

1 of my wool coats and my shearling have already lasted me 9 years and are immaculate still.

My advice would be to buy 'top end' and the clothes will last.

Lost_and_nervous

This is really great reading everyone, I have found so many tips which will help. And I am so happy that we are all together in this mission to clear the wardrobes and find our 'Barbie' status!

I have been looking through all my clothes and have worked out which Barbies exist in there....

- 'Exercise Barbie' which includes 'I used to be at the gym and small confident Barbie'
- 'Slob Barbie'
- 'If I wear this now I will be muton Barbie as I cant justify the clothes of an 18 yr old at 30 Barbie'
- 'What was I thinking Barbie'
- 'Work Barbie'
- 'Going out dancing Barbie'
- 'That time of the month Barbie'
- 'It was a good idea at the time Barbie'
- 'Ill keep that just in case Barbie'
- 'The clothes I just keep wearing Barbie'


As you can see from all my wardrobe Barbie statuses they arent really working very well so now its sorting through to achieve the following Barbies:

- 'Around the house Barbie' to include in the category 'cleaning, that time of the month, lounging around, and comfy Barbie
- 'Work Barbie'
- 'Casual but smart Barbie' to help me feel better about myself as this is a Barbie I spend a lot of time with.
- 'Formal Barbie'
- 'Exercise Barbie'

Now to tackle the clothes and work out what I do need and how much of each taking into account all of your tips.