How Many Clothes Do You Need as a Woman? Find The Exact Numbers

There is no one size fits all answer, but I will try to answer the question How many clothes do I need as directly as possible. Later in the article, you can find the exact number of clothes for different types of lifestyles.

Although I cannot give you an absolutely correct answer on how many shirts, shoes, or jewelry pieces anyone should own, I can give some guidelines on how to figure out how many clothes you need to own for your everyday needs.

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Do You Have Too Many Clothes? – Quiz

According to the Closet Maid survey, the average American woman has 103 items of clothing in her closet.

• 44% of them can’t find an item in their closet at least once a month,
• 33% of them say they have clothes that are too tight, and
• 10% of them are depressed each time they open the closet doors.

Don’t fall into the statistics, be happy with your wardrobe.

To begin with, you need to take a good hard look at your closet and determine if you have too many clothes.

To find out the answer to this question I’ve prepared a quiz to help you out.

Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer more than half of them with Yes then you definitely have too many clothes and need to work to declutter your wardrobe.

Quiz questions:

• Does your closet look messy?
• Is your closet not big enough to fit all of your clothes?
• Do you buy clothes compulsively?
• Do you have clothes that don’t fit?
• Are there clothes, shoes, or bags that need repair?
• Are there items of clothing you haven’t worn in more than a year?
• Is there more than 20% of your wardrobe that you don’t like?
• Are there shoes, clothes, or outerwear around different spaces of your home?
• Do you feel guilty about getting rid of the items that were gifted to you?

You shouldn’t keep anything in your closet that doesn’t fit just right and matches with everything else in your closet. Plus, you shouldn’t have more clothes than you can store in your closet.

Ideally, you should be able to fit all your clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry in one space and have all of them at one glance.

How Many Clothes Do You Need?

When deciding on how many clothes to have, the important thing to remember is that clothes are designed to look good for a certain number of wearings and washes. So there are many reasons why items in your closet may not fit or make you look attractive: colors fade, fabric stretches or shrinks, garments lose their shape, and some fabrics don’t handle regular wearings and washings as well as others.

The number of clothes a woman should have depends on three factors: her lifestyle, her work, and the climate she lives in. These factors should help you decide on the exact number of clothes you need in your everyday life.

The perfect amount of clothes should sustain you in between two washes.

Lifestyle Factor

The lifestyle factor deals with the way your life is set up, your responsibilities, and your free time.

Let’s take a look at the main points that are connected to the number of clothes you need.

How often do you do laundry?

It’s not the same if you have a washing unit in your home or you have to go to a laundromat to do your washing.

Do you do laundry only on weekends, or do you prefer doing it more often? If you prefer doing it more often then you can get away with fewer clothes, but if you only do it once a week then you might need more clothes.

Also, take into consideration how much of your closet needs closer tending, like dry-cleaning or regular ironing. If a lot of your clothes are hard maintenance then you most certainly need more clothes to have in-between washes.

How much closet space do you have?

Women who have bigger closets can afford to have more clothes because they have enough space to store them all. But, if you have a smaller apartment or you share a closet with your partner, try to downsize the number of clothes you have. This will make your home cleaner and your life less stressful.

In addition, think about the way you organize your closet. Do you hang your clothes or are they mostly folded? Do you have the possibility to store extra clothes that you are currently not using?

Do you have kids or pets?

Are there any other living creatures in your home that might be poking, chewing, ripping, tearing at or otherwise destroying your clothing? Kids and pets tend to destroy your clothes or shoes and therefore you need more clothes in your arsenal to combat that. 🙂

How do you spend your free time?

What you do in your free time determines how many clothes you need for your leisure activities. For example, if you like to swim how many bathing suits do you need? If you like to play sports do you need more pairs of sneakers? Do you enjoy going out to clubs or do you prefer walks in nature?

Work Factor

It is not the same if you work from home, in the office, or you wear a uniform to work. Your workplace influences your wardrobe a lot.

Think about the following questions when deciding on how many clothes you need for work.

• What kind of job do you have?
• Where do you work?
• Is your job more formal or casual?
• Do you have specific work attire?
• Do you have a uniform? If yes, how many sets do you need?
• What are your company’s policies when it comes to working clothes?
• Does your work require physical activity? How often do you need to have clean, dry clothes?
• Do you travel for work?

When you answer these questions you will have a better look at how many clothes you need.

Somebody who works from home definitely needs less formalwear than a woman who works in an office. If you wear a uniform to work then you don’t have to spend as much on clothes as people who often travel for work. You get the gist.

Climate Factor

Where you live determines how many clothes you need. Think about the following factors to evaluate the number of clothes you need.

What climate do you live in?

Think about the place you live in. What’s the climate like? Is it colder or warmer?

A person who lives in a warm climate definitely needs fewer jackets and coats but may need more bathing suits. On the other side, a woman living in a cold climate will need more layers to keep her warm and therefore have more clothes in her wardrobe.

Do you need clothes for different seasons?

Do you experience all four seasons in your homeplace or do you live in the state of constant summer?

A woman who lives in a climate that has all four seasons will definitely have extra clothes she wears only seasonally. They definitely need more clothes in their wardrobe to sustain them throughout the year and it is not a matter of fashion but necessity.

If there are extreme temperatures where you live you need to take care of yourself properly. If that means you need a special type of clothing for that, go for it.

How Many Clothes Do I Need? – Exact Numbers

Below you will find the exact number of clothes women in different life circumstances should have as a bare minimum. They are enough to sustain you for a week without doing laundry. These numbers are based on my experience and the experiences of several women I know who all lead different lifestyles.

Each person should have at least have 7 panties, 3 bras, 7 pairs of socks, and 2 sets of pajamas. Those items are not included in the lists below.

***Below each list of clothes, you can find a visual checklist that you can save to your phone, computer, or Pinterest board and use as a helpful tool while organizing your closet.

Woman Who Works from Home

List of clothes that a woman working from home needs:

• 1 jacket
• 1 cardigan
• 1 sports jacket
• 5 long-sleeve shirts
• 5 T-shirts
• 1 sweater
• 1 undershirt
• 3 sweatpants / leggings
• 2 jeans
• 1 formal pants
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 1 swimming suit
• 1 formal shoes
• 2 casual shoes
• 1 scarf
• 1 belt
• 1 bag

Woman Who Works at an Office

List of clothes that a woman working at an office needs:

• 1 trenchcoat
• 1 blazer
• 1 cardigan
• 1 sports jacket
• 3 blouses
• 2 long-sleeve shirts
• 3 T-shirts
• 1 sweater
• 1 undershirt
• 2 work skirts
• 2 work pants
• 1 jeans
• 1 sweatpants / leggings
• 1 swimming suit
• 2 formal dresses
• 2 work shoes
• 2 casual shoes
• 1 scarf
• 1 belt
• 1 work bag
• 1 casual bag

Woman Who is Stay at Home Mom

List of clothes that a stay-at-home mom needs:

• 1 jacket
• 2 cardigans
• 1 sports jacket
• 6 long-sleeve shirts
• 6 T-shirts
• 2 sweaters
• 2 undershirts
• 3 sweatpants / leggings
• 2 jeans
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 2 swimming suits
• 1 formal shoes
• 2 casual shoes
• 1 scarf
• 1 belt
• 1 bag
• 1 backpack

Woman Who is Physically Active

List of clothes that a physically active woman needs:

• 1 jacket
• 2 cardigans
• 2 sports jackets
• 6 long-sleeve shirts
• 6 T-shirts
• 2 sweaters
• 2 undershirts
• 3 sports bras
• 3 leggings
• 1 sweatpants
• 2 jeans
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 1 swimming suit
• 1 formal shoes
• 1 casual shoes
• 2 running shoes
• 1 scarf
• 1 belt
• 1 bag
• 1 backpack

Women Living in a Colder Climate

List of clothes that women living in a colder climate need:

• 1 thick jacket
• 2 wool coats
• 1 sports jacket
• 1 jeans jacket
• 2 cardigans
• 5 long-sleeve shirts
• 5 sweaters
• 3 T-shirts
• 5 undershirts
• 1 thick pants
• 2 sweatpants / leggings
• 2 jeans
• 1 formal pants
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 7 thick socks
• 1 formal shoes
• 2 casual shoes
• 2 boots
• 1 scarf
• 1 cap
• 1 belt
• 1 work bag
• 1 casual bag

Women Living in a Warmer Climate

List of clothes women living in a warmer climate need:

• 1 jacket
• 1 blazer
• 1 sports jacket
• 1 long-sleeve shirt
• 5 T-shirts
• 2 blouses
• 2 skirts
• 3 shorts
• 1 jeans
• 1 formal pants
• 1 sweatpants / leggings
• 3 swimming suits
• 3 dresses
• 1 work shoes
• 1 casual shoes
• 1 sandals
• 1 flip flops
• 1 belt
• 1 work bag
• 1 casual bag

How Many Shirts Should I Have?

A regular person should have at least 7 shirts in their closet to have a clean one for each day of the week. However, our life circumstances vary and some women don’t need as many to sustain them through the week.

Here are the short answers for different types of women:

• A woman working from home should have 5 T-shirts and 5 long-sleeve shirts.
• A woman working at an office should have 3 blouses, 2 long-sleeve shirts, and 3 T-shirts.
• A woman who is a stay at home mom should have 6 long-sleeve shirts and 6 T-shirts.
• A woman who is physically active should have 6 long-sleeve shirts and 6 T-shirts.
• A woman living in a colder climate should have 5 long-sleeve shirts, 5 sweaters, and 3 T-shirts.
• A woman living in a warmer climate should have 2 blouses, 5 T-shirts, and 1 long-sleeve shirt.

For the exact number of clothes take a look at the paragraph above.

How Many Outfits Should I Have?

You should have at least 7 outfits to sustain you through one week.

If you leave your home every day most of those outfits should be outfits for going out, however, make sure you also have one casual outfit for when you spend time at home.

If you spend most of your time at home, most of those 7 outfits should be casual clothes to wear at home, but make sure you have at least one formal outfit.

3 Simple Tips to Keep the Number of Clothes Under Control

These simple tips will keep your closet organized, and the number of clothing items under control.

Create Capsule Wardrobe

Capsule wardrobes are a simple way to create different outfits without having too many clothes. Start by choosing a color scheme, and buy everything in that color range. You can also use patterns, or single fabrics as your capsule wardrobe choice.

A capsule wardrobe usually contains 30 items not counting the underwear, and I based my lists of the recommended amount of clothes on this guideline.

Purchase Quality Over Quantity

Don’t let the sales that pop up in your area or time of year sway you into thinking that you need more clothing than you really do. Purchase quality over quantity and you will need fewer clothes long-term.

RELATED ARTICLE: Quality Over Quantity Explained by a Minimalist

Do a Closet Audit Seasonally

Go through your closet every season and get rid of the pieces you no longer like or fit into. This helps keep the number of clothes you need to a minimum while allowing you to mix and match with your remaining items.

RELATED ARTICLE: 7 Steps to a Successful Closet Purge and Organization

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The Bottom Line

We are all individuals and our life circumstances differ. One woman is good with only 30 items in her closet, while another one has 60 and she is completely content.

As long as you feel good in your clothes and your closet is tidy and organized, don’t stress too much about the exact number of clothes you have.

Use this article as a guide to the minimum amount of clothes you need to have for your lifestyle. With our tips start your decluttering process and feel happy in your clothes!

Are you interested in living a minimalist lifestyle?

Learn more about minimalism from the following articles:

29 Minimalist Quotes to Encourage You on Your Minimalism Journey

Minimalist Travel Packing List for Women: Ultimate Guide With Bonus Tips