Hi! Welcome to Data Made Me Wear It — a monthly data-driven feature of what I’m wearing, buying (or not buying), selling or donating.
Let’s dive right in. What you need to know is that I’ve been logging everything that I buy, wear, and sell or donate for almost a decade and I use this set of data to inform what I should (or shouldn’t) buy.
This year I’ve been focused finding new ways to wear what I already own, and buying less — a lot less. After buying way too much stuff last year, I kicked off 2024 with the Rule of 5 challenge, committing to buying only five new items including clothing and shoes. This challenge is inspired by the Hot or Cool Institute’s recommendation that new garments purchases should be limited to an average of five items per year to reduce the environmental impact from fashion. For most of us, this is only a small fraction of how much fashion we’re consuming every year.
To try and reduce my shopping, I deleted apps, unfollowed social media accounts, and unsubscribed from newsletters. This limited the influence of new things to buy but also reduced the amount of styling inspiration I encountered. I missed seeing what cool girls on the internet were wearing when I went to build outfits.
A few months into not shopping, I unpacked my warmer weather clothes and realized that I needed to replace both work and non-work items. Yes, black pants go with everything (and will get a lot of wears) but metallic silver sandals are just FUN. It would be so easy to only buy the practical items.
It’s now July and I’ve purchased eight new items and one pre-owned item. Sure, I failed the challenge, but I also shifted my mindset around the intention of purchasing something new and that’s not for nothing.
So many consumers say that they care about sustainability (I myself say this) and want to shop more sustainably, but the reality is that most of us don’t (or can’t) for a variety of reasons. The price point is too high, there’s not enough selection, or the customer experience for resale is just bad. Knowing that I can make better choices doesn’t mean I always do. It is hard to battle the desire for newness when the social pressure of the internet tells you that newness is coolness. I’m still working to find the right balance between inspiration and being overly influenced to shop and even though I’ve exceeded five items I’m not done trying to change my shopping behaviors for the better.
My goals for the rest of the year remain the same - shop less, buy pre-owned if possible, and wear what I already own more often.
And with that, let’s take a look at the first half of 2024.
What I Bought in 2024
I’m probably good on new pants (hopefully) for the next few years. The TOTEME sale brought back these white cotton cargo pants that I’ve been searching for on resale for a year now, and I wasn’t going to waste being given a second chance.
The floral Tory Burch dress (my only pre-owned purchase) finally appeared on TheRealReal after all these years and I scooped it up.
I was surprised to fall in love with these silver Tory Burch sandals but the heart wants what the heart wants. I kept thinking about them for weeks and when they went on sale I knew I couldn’t leave them behind.
What I Sold in 2024
All great pieces, but not worn frequently enough to take up valuable closet space. They made their way to TheRealReal.
I wore this gingham Markarian dress to my wedding rehearsal dinner and again to a wedding in Italy, but haven’t reached for it since. I was so happy when it found an enthusiastic buyer on Poshmark!
Most Worn Items in 2024
I usually layer a t-shirt under most sweaters and this $5 option from Target is a staple for me. Worn 60 times this year.
I sold all of my jeans in 2020 and replaced them with two pairs, a lighter high-waisted style and these Parker jeans from AGOLDE. I’ve worn them 63 times since last year - that more than 1x/week. Worn 20 times this year.
I’ve been traveling to see family and appearing in the office more frequently and this L.L.Bean boat tote is my bag of choice anytime I need to haul a laptop around. Worn 35 times this year.
I regretted not buying this 2021 TOTEME sweater when it was in stores and it’s haunted me ever since. It finally surfaced on Poshmark last year and I didn’t let it slip away this time. It quickly became a most worn item with 25 wears in 9 months. Worn 13 times this year.
See you next month!
Lauryn