How big is your work wardrobe — how many options do you have for each type of clothing? How many blouses, pants, skirts, blazers, dresses, and sweaters do you have? How old are the majority of your pieces? If your numbers have changed from previous years, why is that? (For example: did you do a big closet purge recently? Have you lost or gained weight?) If you’ve changed jobs, how has that affected the number of pieces in your work wardrobe? If your office has changed formality (e.g., a more formal workplace to a business casual office or largely remote one), what impact has that had on the size and age of your work wardrobe? Are you filling gaps these days with bought-new workwear, thrifted workwear from years past — or with more casual clothes like jeans, athleisure, and t-shirts?
(This is a sister post to the one at Corporette today — but it can be a totally different discussion after becoming a mom, both because of size changes, lifestyle changes (one friend sadly noted how much she missed silk and other fine fabrics after having a baby; I know I definitely wore less skirts and dresses after kids), and more…)
Some templates for your answers:
Type / Number / General Age (maybe total number in your possession vs total number you wear?)
- blouses:
- pants:
- skirts:
- blazers:
- dresses:
- sweaters:
- heels:
- flats:
- work bags:
- belts:
- outerwear (coats, jackets):
- other work accessories (please describe briefly):
I’m sure we’ve talked about this in previous posts, but I can’t find them… some other posts along these lines that might be of interest include:
- Wardrobe Essentials for Work
- Shopping Habits for Workwear (discussing some of the methods readers have mentioned in the past to keep track of the clothes they have and the clothes they need, such as “crop rotation,” spreadsheets, and moratoriums)…
- How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe for Work
- The Minimalist’s Guide to Dressing for Work
- How to Do a Complete Wardrobe Revamp
- How to Transition a Conservative Wardrobe to a Business Casual Office (I want to update this post soon!)
- Our last discussion on annual clothing budgets (2020)
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / George Rudy.
Cb says
Academic in the social sciences so very casual. My wardrobe is fairly small, but split across two cities (so sometimes I end up buying things if I’m in a pinch…)
blouses: 2-3 striped bretons which work with my trousers and open front blazer
pants: 2 – one smart linen in burnt orange, one more casual bue
skirts: 3 – two heavier knit skirts for winter, 1 midi floral one
blazers: 1, open front collarless heavyweight linen
dresses: 7 – two Uniqlo tshirt dresses, two patterned knit dresses, 3 linen sacks
sweaters: 3 – but I need a few more
heels: 1 pair that lives under my desk and I never wear
flats: 2 – 1 pair in each city, I walk and cycle a lot so only wear “real” shoes in the office
work bags: 2 nice bags (split across cities) and 1 laptop backpacks
belts: 0
outerwear (coats, jackets): 1 elegant open front jacket, my everyday olive anorak and a navy Uniqlo puffer
other work accessories (please describe briefly): 2 nice linen scarves, which I often wear indoors because UK