To Wear or Not to Wear: Decoding Clothing Lifespan
It always feels like a shame to get rid of clothes whenever we do a closet refresh and it’s a true struggle to determine if we’ve completely worn out a specific piece or if it’s still worth keeping. We all definitely love the comfort of knowing you most likely have a piece for any and every occasion but it’s not always the most space-friendly and it’s always safe to downsize to make space for new pieces you’ll need and come across.
So before you get into the mess that is your closet, here’s a few things you might want to consider as you decide and de–code what to wear or not to wear.
Lifestyle and living conditions
Things like this is something that's determined by more than just quality- the lifecycle of your clothing is going to be dependent on how large your closet is, how active your life is, how often you wear and wash individual items, maintenance/repair, your body type, and your preferred fit. A lot of the time, size changes are going to play a part in how long you can keep a piece in your closet.
Clothes you wear in heavy rotation and used in more physical activities can definitely be worn down faster, so you can expect to have to get a fresh piece every couple of years or so.
If it’s a piece you wear only on special occasions, those can last you longer than 3 years, make sure to clean them right away to avoid moisture or stain damage.
Thicker and better quality pieces, with the possibility of needing some repairs, can stand the test of time and last you 10 years or so as long as you take proper care of them and store them in the right places.
Possibility of replacements
As for replacements, you can use these opportunities to widen your range or build your staples.
You don't need to do one to ones and replace pieces as you lose them, you can also embrace variety and change it up as you see fit.
Replacements can be a chance to shift to a style you’ve always wanted to try or revert back to an old aesthetic you’ve lost pieces of.
Just make sure you have enough items to cover certain functions and keep an eye out for the colors and styles you’re consistently drawn to.
And if you’re on the look out for a store where you can buy quality and reliable fashion pieces, check out Bauble Buy! An online store that has basically every woman’s dream fashion pieces from casual, everyday wear to custom made glam!
Style and quality through the years
Tastes and lifestyles are bound to change *a lot* in the span of a few years. There are things you bought in college that you really wouldn’t wear now, and instead of letting them sit in your wardrobe washed in guilt, you can donate or sell, and let someone else enjoy them while making room/money for something really special that you currently love.
You can also go through weight changes over the past year and have to accept that several really cute pieces that you used to love will not fit anymore and that you’ll need to buy new pieces that fit better.
It’s also okay to accept that what you wear to work will not be what you want to wear out to dinner with your boyfriend, or out to Sunday brunch with your family, or on a late-night run to the store.
Unrepairable holes, folds or wrinkles that won’t steam out, weird stains that won’t wash out, or a total collapse of structure to the point you just look frumpy and it looks completely ill fitting are some of the signs that you need to let go of certain pieces.
If you ever need fashion advice from fashion experts as you go through all these transitions, Bauble Buy has a fashion blog: Bauble’s Fashion Guide: A haven of fashion advice, tips, and tricks to keep you looking your best!
Final Thoughts
As you fit through your wardrobe and decide which to wear and which not to wear anymore, remember that the most important factor aside from function and the state of each piece, is how you feel as you wear them. Make sure it fits you well, it makes you feel good, and of course look good!