You people are feckin’ crazy. I’ve worn the same thing twice in a row and the same pants at least 3 days out of five in the week so many times it’s become almost the norm. Sometimes I’ll switch out a shirt or a pair of pants, but I’m not exactly working in piles of mud every day, so stuff doesn’t accumulate inches of filth and grime requiring industrial cleaning;)
Unless, that is, fizzy lays my clothes out for me. You can usually tell who’s dressed me.
I don’t know if anyone at the office keeps track of what I wear and I don’t particularly care. I’ve got 8 pairs of jeans and slacks, 4 or 5 pant/top outfits, and a bunch of blouses/T-shirts. I cycle them by always putting the freshly laundered items on the left side of the closet and picking an item to wear from the right side of the closet. My unders are all white, so that’s not an issue. I wear either white or black socks with white or black sneakers, with the rare pair of pumps for variety. I’ve never worn a skirt or dress in this job, and I never intend to.
I pretty much dress because nudity in the office is frowned upon.
Man here.
I have a two week cycle for business shirts. I have about the same number of ties, so I can go a while without repeating. Add in permutations–different ties with different shirts (assuming they don’t clash)–and I can last for months.
I don’t have as many pairs of pants and suit jackets, but I can go for more than a week without repeating. I nearly always wear the same pair of black formal shoes to work, however.
Casual clothes I only really wear on weekends or the occasional mid-week night out, so I can last several months without repeating anything. I think I have something in the realm of two dozen pairs of jeans/casual pants, and maybe twice that number of button-up shirts.
OTOH, I’m moving overseas soon so I’m gonna have to leave most of this crap behind!
Female college student here. I guess I’m between StGermain and iampunha. I mostly wear t-shirts or long sleeve shirts and a vest if it’s cold, and jeans or courduroys. Although I have a couple pairs of shoes, I only wear one- a comfy pair of Sketchers- although if I wear my black military-style pants then I’ll wear my black boots. Heh, I guess I’m fashionably-challenged here.
To all you guys who make sure it’s two weeks/a month/whatever between wearings of the same clothes, I have a quick question:
Do you notice it when other people wear the same thing (say) twice in a week? Do you think others would notice if you repeated yourself - or are you doing it purely for your own satisfaction?
(yes, ok, that was two questions … damn!)
(1) I don’t really notice people repeating clothes in the same week, but sometimes I can pick out patterns. I don’t try to keep track in any way, but if I ever forgot which day of the week it was, I’d probably be able to tell by looking at the shirt and tie combinations of the guys I work with.
(Pink shirt and purple tie combo? Must be Friday. Charcoal pin-striped suit? Hmm, he must be going to Parliament today.)
Then again, I notice stuff like people getting haircuts (even guys who already have short hair) and shoes, which I think is unusual.
(2) Partly my own satisfaction, partly my laziness at doing laundry. 
I like to be able to go for weeks without having to wash clothes. I very much doubt anyone–at least at work–notices what I’m wearing from day to day.
I never wear the same shirt twice in a row, unless it didn’t seem that dirty and I know I’m just going to be hanging around the house anyway so it’s not like anyone’s going to notice I wore it the day before. I mainly wear blue jeans so I have no problem wearing them multiple times in a row. Most people have multiple pairs of jeans and basic stuff like that, so it’s not like anybody can tell whether or not it’s the same pair or a different pair. And pants don’t smell in the same way that shirts can do after a wearing.
I don’t really have a clothing cycle as such and the washing gets done every 2 or 3 days in my house, so it doesn’t take very long for clothes to get washed before they’re returned to the wardrobe. I generally wait at least 3 days before wearing the same shirt again and alternate my combinations so there’s no discernible pattern in what I wear (e.g. always wear that shirt, then that shirt, then that shirt).
I just don’t see the point in going to great lengths to make sure you’re wearing something different. I don’t notice what other people wear. If someone wears something often, I might recognise it as being part of their wardrobe, but I’d have no clue when the last time they wore it was. So I presume no one’s really going to notice when I last wore something. I mean, really. Who goes, “Aha! He wore that green shirt Tuesday last week!”
My work environment has been so casual that I haven’t really worried about it so much lately. I used to have only a few pairs of pants that fit (and were suitable for work—casual was suitable, “nice” clothes were not). Then I went on a buying binge on eBay (yes, eBay) and got myself several more jeans or pants. So I have maybe—oh, I don’t know, 5 or 6 pairs of pants now? And I have endless t-shirts. Endless. (Most of them are Yosemite t-shirts.) I don’t have all the t-shirts “out” and available at one time, but I do cycle through them eventually.
So, as far as what I wear each day, usually I can re-wear the jeans over and over and I don’t really care. I figure, blue jeans are blue jeans. I try to vary the t-shirt so I don’t wear the same one in the same week, but that’s just about it. (I also have the “who has seen it?” rule, meaning that I’ll wear something more frequently if I’m going to be seeing completely different people.)
I wear the same shoes over and over and over again, however. I am not Imelda Marcos. I have about 3 pairs of shoes—a summer pair and a winter pair and an extra pair. Both black. (The extra pair is blue.) I really should get more shoes but I simply do not care. Same goes with socks. Don’t care what color they are—all colors go with blue jeans, I figure.
Now, when I had to dress more “nicely” I tried to vary my wardrobe more (keeping at least a week or two between wearings) but I still only had one or two pairs of black shoes. And the socks were always a little bit bizarre.
I try not to wear the same outfit twice in a week. A lot of it depends on what I’m going to be doing at work that week. If it’s sitting on the floor with second-graders, then it’s slacks and sweaters. If it’s going to meetings or giving presentations to adults, then it’s skirts and pantyhose. If it’s an exhibit installation, jeans and t-shirts. A work week might contain any or all of those things, so I have a limited number of each option in my wardrobe.
See, the funny thing is, I completely agree with you! Yet I go to these lengths to be sure I’m not boring anyone. :rolleyes: That’s why I had to ask the question and find out if all the rest of you are doing it too. I tend toward obsessive/compulsiveness at times, and I wondered if this was one of them. After reading the responses to this thread, I’d have to say I’m fairly normal. 
I don’t have a lot of winter clothes, and I’ve been rotating the same three pair of slacks since the weather got cold. I alternate on sweaters and tops, but I also have just a few blazers that I alternate. I have a couple long skirts, so I also have that to throw into the mix.
Spring and summer are a much more varied wardrobe. I have skirts, dresses, suits, and I just bought three new pair of slacks (including those adorable pink ones in the new Victoria’s Secret catalog). I’m still looking for a sweater or jacket that will go with both pink and khaki.
I’ve been wearing the same 3 1/2" heel oxfords three or four days a week all winter, but I have three pair of summer shoes (and I just bought two more).
I have two pair of jeans I wear on the weekend. I have a couple more pair, but I have to lose a few lbs. before I can get into the size 0 clothes again. Hopefully, this will happen before my class reunion in July.
I envy all of you that have such extended rotations. I want to be you. I want to go shopping like a maniac (my husband actually thinks I have a lot of clothes. He is sooooo wrong). I just got a raise, so there is more shopping to be had!
Oops. Forgot to add that I have two very bitchin’ pair of boots that I wear year-round. A throwback to my biker days, I guess.
Female.
I’m partly like Zypherine in that I have lots of clothes but pick the sames ones most of the time and that the vast majority are black.
Individual stuff:
What I wear at work does not count. This is because what I AM at work does not count, I don’t really exist there. I wear whatever I have lying around, as long as it looks vaguely professional, and the same things for days on end.
I will make a mental note of what I wore the last time I went to a place were certain people were. These people being either people I fancy, or people who’s dress sense I admire and who I know will notice a nice outfit. In these specific venues there can be huge lengths between repeating outfits, up to three months.
Then again, if I buy something new and I really like it I have been known to break all the rules for all the venues and just wear it over and over and over again.
If you “feel” you have worn it too recently, then you HAVE worn it too recently. Unless it is a personal “favorite” of mine, like my plaid skirts or jogging outfits, then I cant wear any “every day” clothes more than once every 2 months - which means twice a season- because it “feels” so wrong.
I think you should expand your wardrobe. Trust your “feelings”. If you have a very limited budget, then check out upscale second hand stores.
The basic truth of fashion, is that one can easily “see down”, but its hard to “see up”.
For example, most men dont even know that one cannot wear 3 shades of green, or wear stripes and checks together, something that might temporarily blind any woman.
Those who rotate their wardrobe, who coordinate, who stay in style, who wear quality clothes, “see” and do notice what others are wearing.
If you dont know what shoes, colors, jewelry or skirts are in style THIS season, or if you cant tell the difference between a $2000 mans suit and a $400 suit, or a $400 dress and a $100 dress, or who the designer was, then although you might not notice what people are wearing, you should be assured that those who are knowlegable can and most certainly do notice what others are wearing and how often.
I just wore the same pair of work slacks two days in a row.
Almost everything I own is black. Everything that isn’t black is dark red or purple. I have dozens of slightly different black t-shirts (long sleeves, three quarter, short, low cut etc.) and a few pairs of pants. Lots of skirts.
It’s honestly never occurred to me to try not to bore people by switching my clothes around. I try to look neat and/or funky goth, and wear things I think suit me, regardless of how recently I’ve worn them. The only place I sometimes try not to wear the same outfit twice in a row is the nightclub I go to, and even then it doesn’t matter too much. I do own lots of clothes, but quite a few of them are unsuitable except for club wear.
Wow. I’d never even thought of trying to wear things only once every two weeks!
Probably EVERYONE except you(you presume wrong).
We just have to resolve ourselves to hoping that you at least washed it between wearings.
This is true, to a certain extent. I fully admit I notice what people are wearing and can tell the difference between quality cloting and, what I would concider to be, cheap clothing. I do notice if someone has a limited wardrobe and tends to wear the same items often.
I don’t care, however. How you spend your money is your concern. I’m not going to treat you any differently if you shop at Dress Barn than if you shop at Nordstrom.
Dung Beetle - I’m glad I’m not the only one who coordinates underwear with outerwear. Bras are easy - mine are black, white, pale pink or nude - but I like my thongs to complement my outfit. When they don’t, I feel not-quite-right.
If I had more clothes I would rotate them more often. I wear a different pair of pants every day - I have 2 pairs of jeans that are dark enough to wear to work (the unspoken rule is no faded or stonewashed ones) - and 3 pairs of “skinny” pants, and 2 pairs of “fat” pants. Plus a pair of faded Levis that I live in on the weekends. Every weekend I do my laundry (I cannot wear something more than once without washing it inbetween) and the following week I pretty much follow the same rotation. It bugs me though!
I tend to buy new things just once in a while, which for some reason makes me HATE my old things, so I never really have a lot of outfits to pick from.
I’m very tall and have a problem finding pants that are long enough, and it’s even hard to find tops that fit properly - so I will definitely buy two of the same item in different colours. It is just so much easier. I won’t wear the two items in the same week though …
When you have to actually articulate it all, it seems a little silly to have “rules”. But yes, I definitely notice when people wear the same things repeatedly, and also when someone has an extensive wardrobe.
My dream is to be on “What Not To Wear” to learn what looks good on me and what doesn’t, so that I can invest in wardrobe pieces that are flattering, stylish and go together!!!
There was one girl in my high school , who never wore the same outfit twice -ever!
We were a year apart and not in the same crowd, but thru 3 years, she never repeated. All the girls in the school waited for her to appear each day to see what she was going to wear, and if she would ever wear something/anything again a second time - but she never did.
As I think back about it, she MUST have had a relative/seamstress in the fashion/womens wear business. IF I ever see her again, I will find out how she did it. She was blonde, slender, classy/ladylike, always on the honor roll, and looked like a model, so it was quite appropriate on her.
Bitch!