Do you know what the average American woman has in her closet?
She has 103 items of clothing in her closet.
Clearly I am well above average, or maybe it’s because I am Canadian? ; P
The average woman considers 21 per cent of her closet to be ‘unwearable’, 33 per cent too tight and 24 per cent too loose.
I don’t consider any of my wardrobe to be unwearable.
I will admit that five per cent might be too tight, none of it is too loose.
Twelve per cent of the wardrobe is occupied by unworn clothing with the tags still on.
I have one top with the tags still on however that is because it is meant for fall/winter and it is still too hot here.
The average woman only uses 10% of her wardrobe, approximately ten pieces!
When I’m at home alone working I wear shorts and a t-shirt in the summer or jeans and a t-shirt in the winter. When I leave the house, (aside from walking the dog) I do dress up and try to use as much of my wardrobe as possible. Blogging pushes me to use more of the clothing I have.
One in ten American women say that they feel depressed when they open their closet (this is so sad!) and 47 per cent admit they have difficulty picking out an outfit for work.
I never feel depressed when I open my closets.
Due to my Etsy business there are racks of clothing in my dining room, office and the basement and I sometimes find having clothing throughout my living space overwhelming. It makes me feel like I have unfinished work staring at me all the time.
Over forty percent of women don’t like any of their clothes!
I find this statistic shocking. I love my clothes!
More than 60 per cent of women are so overwhelmed by their closets they will avoid going in them altogether and simply buy new clothing.
The above statistic is a real example of “disposable clothing” and another reason why fast fashion is booming.
As an avid collector of fashion I keep my closets very well organized.
The ability to see what we have is crucial to enjoying our clothing.
How do you measure up against the average? Did any of these statistic surprise you?
How interesting! I’m loving those glimpses at your insanely fabulous collection.
After I read your post I went upstairs and counted and there’s 91 items. By “closet” I’m assuming that the survey meant what was actually hanging up in the wardrobe because i didn’t include the three suitcases of very summery and very winter-y stuff that are stuff stashed away, the two dressing table drawers and the coat cupboard….oooops!
Everything I own fits – when I put on weight everything tight went into the stockroom (and came back out again now I’m back to my usual size – thank god small sizes don’t sell!)
Do I have anything hanging up with tags on it? No, I chop the charity shop labels off my clothes before they go in the wash. Have I got anything hanging up that i haven’t worn yet? Yes, a couple of maxi dresses I bought over the Summer that were a bit too warm to wear.
I can honestly say that I wear everything in my wardrobe at least once a year! After my daily work out I get changed into something vintage and fabulous – even if I’m working from home all day and the only person likely to see me is the postman.
I don’t have any trouble picking out an outfit for work, I’ll scroll through my blog, see what I’ve worn before and chose something that hasn’t been to that venue previously.
My wardrobe makes me deliriously happy. I’ll occasionally crack open a drink , put the radio on and go and look at it (i don’t get out much!) Sometimes it does overwhelm me ‘cos it’s so damn fabulous!
My wardrobe starts the week off being well organised then becomes more and more chaotic depending on how busy I’ve been!
Who wants to be average anyway? Not us! xxx
I had a good chuckle reading your comment Vix. You go girl. I think you have life sorted out.
Greetje
Couldn’t agree more : )
These photos are old. Now probably 90% of my closet is made up of thrifted or vintage.
fascinating stats! And I always enjoy a peek at your wonderful closets. I probably have about 70 – 80 pieces, so I’m below average : < But if it earns a place in my closet, it's because I love to wear it. I dress "so-so" only in the confines of my apartment, or for a bike ride. Disposable fashion is gross. Recycling is cool. Great post, xox
These are very fascinating statistics! I feel very happy when I see the clothes in my closet and I never have trouble picking out an outfit. Fit can be a bit of a problem–in part because I’m a bit bad at estimation….or for a favorite dress brand or two their smallest size is technically too big but I keep buying and wearing their dresses anyway because I love them. Right now less of my wardrobe fits than usual (mostly, none of my skinny jeans) but that is just a temporary state for a few months. And my habit of buying clothes that are a little too big is coming in quite handy for once!
I think you might be the only person I know that is so tiny most clothes don’t fit.
That’s so fascinating! As odd as these figures and comments sound, they make sense. People are strange. 🙂
Ha ha! Yep.
I’m not going to count, but I’m well above average too! I find some of these statistics really shocking, though. Especially that over 40 pct of women do not like any of their clothes! How is that possible? I just love looking at the contents of my closet(s). It’s one of those things that can cheer me up considerably on a miserable day. xxx
I agree. My closet is a place of joy. Those people need our help! ; )
Yes! I find most of these statistics very surprising. I’m sure there are pieces in my closet that I should part with because I don’t wear them but they are very much the minority and, as I continue blogging, that number shrinks. I definitely don’t get depressed when I open my closet! How could I when I have so many wonderful Suzanne Carillo treasures smiling back at me??? 🙂
Hugs,
Sherry
: P. Thanks Sherry. I hope the meet-up is a huge success!
That is interesting but I am not the average American woman. I routinely replace and upgrade with thrifted clothing pieces that I must LOVE. Pieces that are forever keepers. Every once in awhile I will make a mistake and a garment won’t fit right even after I have tried it on.
Now that I rethink it – 103 items for each season, yeah, that would be about right but 103 total. That’s a big no.
All of my clothing fits because I am ruthless when it comes to getting rid of pieces that either bore me or are ill-fitting. Gotta make room for the newest bestest thrifted item.
I am never depressed when I look through my closet – I think “What wonderfulness can I wear today?” It happens to be a retro flamingo print short-sleeved shirt with a black pencil skirt.
I love the sound of that flamingo print shirt and black pencil skirt! Very Laverne and Shirley!
What a fun post! I love how organised your clothing and shoes are! While I admire my stylish friends who blog and wear great clothing I have learned that is not for me. I am so happy now that I have simplified and I have very little clothing, wear it all, love it all, everything fits and yes, I would like to add new pieces from time to time but I generally don’t need anything new very often. Because I don’t work and my lifestyle is very casual I pretty much have a jeans and seasonally appropriate top sort of wardrobe, with a small variety of footwear and some scarves and cardigans to add layers and colour. I don’t go out really either LOL maybe an hour at a cafe once a week and a trip to the grocery store. So, I guess I’m not much like the average as presented here but I suspect many of the women I know are somewhat similar to me. They might be hanging on to more unwearable items as I really love to de-clutter. I have gotten rid of things and regretted it later, actually though memory might be misleading me into thinking something was better than it was. You always look amazing and it makes sense that you would have an abundant but organised collection of clothing. xo
I look at my wardrobe the same way I look at my artist supplies. As an artist I’ve always wanted the biggest box of crayons to express myself. My wardrobe is the same.
Now that I resell vintage and thrifted items I have a constant flow of pieces coming in and leaving.
Suzanne, this is a fascinating post. It should be published in a magazine. I, like you , have much more than average, and also like you , love my clothes and wear them.
Howeve, my closets are
not early as well organized as yours, what an inspiration!!
These are really sad statistics, and you are right about how it relates to fast fashion…so interesting!
Happy weekend!
🌸❤️🌸
Elle
http://www.theellediaries.com/
I’m a bit of a stickler for having items well organized. Lucky for me my husband is the same way.
Such an amazing post!
http://chicglamstyle.com
That is so interesting Suzanne and shocking too. 40% don’t like anything they have. Wow! Seems like a lot of women really do need my style course 🙂 Been very busy promoting it but once that’s over, should have a chat. It’s been too long. Definitely missed you in New York….
I agree! We need to chat. I’ve been thinking about you lately. So very sorry that NYC didn’t work out for me this year.
Come do my closets?
Tell me when : P
I did enjoy the peeks into your closets – very organised and fabulous!
I was shocked at some of the statistics. I think clothes are to be enjoyed and to have as much fun with them as possible. If something makes you feel bad – sort it out!
I’m not going to count the current items hanging up on the 4 rails I have – 1 shared with OH; because it will make me feel guilty but I definitely have more than 100. I also have a wooden chest at the bottom of my bed which holds my winter stuff…
You truly do wear and love your clothes and that is obvious through your blog. I think it is a wonderful creative outlet.
Hmmm, after reading this I need to go home tonight and count the pieces in my closet. I imagine the number is close to 100. I wish my clothing was as neatly organized as yours. My closet isn’t too bad, but my wardrobe that has shelves for t-shirts and sweaters is a jumbled mess. I need shoe shelves!
With regard to the stats you’ve quoted, I find them rather sad too. While I do wear certain pieces much more often than others, I try to wear everything at least once a year (except for the fancy dresses). I enjoy looking through my closet and while I almost always think I should get rid of more stuff, it certainly doesn’t make me depressed. Glad to see that I’m not average 😉
Before I had my Ikea shoe closets it was Hell. Shoes were in every closet in the house. Those closets are WONDERFUL! But of course they do take up tons of space. I love them though. Now I’ve added mirrored doors to them as well.
These are some sad statistical realities.
I’m definitely above average in terms of quantity but in preparation for our upcoming move I purged/ donated a ton-o-fashion. This was difficult, because I had to part with some things I liked.
I do tend to hang on to some beloved pieces for way too long and often I’m not wearing them now but I might in the future!! So no problem in the loving what I have department either.
American consumption/ waste is embarrassing. I’m not going to pretend I’m not a guilty participant. I’m improving and I don’t need convincing that consuming wisely is extremely important.
It is horrifying. I learned this week it isn’t only prevalent in the clothing sector but also the strategy of tech companies. After having to replace my very expensive Apple computer with another very expensive computer I was told that at 5 years a computer is considered “vintage” and after 6 it is considered obsolete!!! How is that a sustainable business model? Horrible. Just horrible.
Oh gosh you are organised. I am jealous!! My house is small, therefore my closet space is limited as you know. As I do have a lot of items (no, I won’t count them), everything is hung very tightly together. I hate that, but I have too many good things. I am giving away regularly though. And everything fits, has been worn, will be worn.
Greetje
Yes, even my closets items are hung tighter than I’d like. I hate it when I take something out that then has to be ironed because of the wrinkles from the closet.
Hmm…I should probably go count the pieces in my closet, but I’d probably be shocked. Most everything fits me, although some things are a little tight. I did a huge closet purge this summer and got rid of everything I didn’t love, so I do my best to wear what’s in there!