How Much Clothes Do You Really Need? (For a Conscious Wardrobe)

I’ve been wondering about making my own wardrobe more conscious. And I keep asking myself: how many pieces of clothing do I really need? 

A reasonable starting point is to have 55 pieces of clothing, including underwear, pajamas and a variety of garments for different occasions, hobbies and climates. This number is based on a four-season climate (winter, summer, fall/spring), and doing laundry once a week. 

This blog includes a list of fabrics that are optimal for the type of clothing and circumstances in which you'd wear them. There's also some fabrics included to help you think about what are perhaps less ideal materials. Perhaps some serve as little suggestions to make your wardrobe-decisions more consciously. 

• Sustainable choices aren't about perfection. This guide highlights better options, but it's okay to use what you already own or what fits your budget. The goal is progress, not guilt.
  
  

Understanding this list: 

While there’s no number set in stone about how many pieces of clothing you can have, there are guidelines about minimizing the amount of items you have hanging in your wardrobe. 

The bottom line is that we need much less clothes than we think. While this list might not be perfect (there’s probably things that you could get rid of and other things you might want to add), it is a reasonable starting point. It makes you think about the basic clothes you "need" when living in a four-seasons-a-year climate and none of those seasons are extreme. 

It also takes into account that you can do laundry regularly :) And it also suggests which fabrics require less washing and maintenance. 

Jeans: 2 Pairs

Denim never goes out of style! It sounds like a cheesy fashion statement, but jeans are the perfect, durable and emotionally durable piece of clothing that you can use as the base for many different outfits. 

You can wear jeans best in-between seasons, when it is not too cold and not too hot. They’re not great in winter (too cold) and too hot to wear in summer. However, they are sturdy and strong, and they literally don’t go out of fashion, so choose a model that is comfortable for you to wear and wear it until it falls apart!

• You can actually wash your jeans very little. According to Real Simple, you can wash your jeans every 6 weeks. Air them if they could use some freshening up instead of washing them immediately. 
  
  

Summer Pants: 1 Pair

Since jeans are too warm for summer, you need to wear something on hotter days, like “summer pants”. 

It’s up to you to decide what kind of pants you want those to be, as long as they are made of light and breathable fabrics. 

Avoid synthetic fibers as they will make you feel clammy wearing the garment and cause you to sweat more: making them dirty and in more need of washing frequently. 

Linen, hemp, and cotton are great summer fabrics. Linen is the lightest and airiest. Cotton is often thicker and could thus be warmer. 

Shorts: 1 Pair

Shorts are the next summer garment that you can wear during warmer times of the year. 

If it is culturally comfortable, shorts can be a great asset for your summer wardrobe. Especially for extremely hot days and beach days, light shorts are the perfect garment that don’t rub between your legs or make your skin feel uncomfortable when you’re sweating and exposed to the sun. 

• Alternative: If shorts aren’t your style, opt for two pairs of summer pants, instead. Or the other way around! Or skip the shorts and go for an extra skirt. Or find another combination that you like :) 
  
  

Opt for fabrics that are breathable and you won’t need to wash your shorts all that often---especially if you live in a moderate climate where it isn’t a 100°F or 30°C every day.

Skirt: 1 Piece

Whether you go midi or maxi, skirts are also great for hot, hot summer days! 

Long skirts can protect your skin from the sun, but also keep you warmer when it is chilly-ish. Breathable, light fabrics are just like shorts and summer pants great for outfits worn on summer days. 

Midi and maxi skirts can be versatile and can be worn for many different occasions, like: 

• Parties
• Casual meetings
• Work
• Beach
  
  

Summer dresses: 2 Pieces

A dress is a staple garment that you can put on without even thinking about the occasion, weather or mood that you’re in. You can wear dresses at parties, on a casual day, on a work day or at the beach. 

The benefit of dresses is that you can combine it with multiple layers to dress up or down, or dress appropriately for changing temperatures: 

1. Leggings and a long cardigan make your summer look also appropriate in fall/spring.
2. If you opt for light and breathable fabrics that keep you comfortably cool in summer, you’ll have to wash the dresses less which will extend their lifetime. 
   
   

Winter Dress: 1 Piece

The reason for having two summer dresses and “only” one winter dress, is that you can add layers to a summer dress and make it wearable for spring and fall weather, too. But with a woolen winter dress, you can’t really do that. 

Hence, one woolly, warm, cozy, comfy (or fancy if you prefer :) ) winter dress, that will keep you warm on cold days, yet sophisticated or festive when the occasion asks for it. 

Wool needs very little washing as it is incredibly breathable! Despite being warm, it doesn't absorb smells or sweat easily and you can actually air your woolen garments instead of washing them. 

Blouse / Long Sleeve Shirt: 1 Piece

Blouses and/or long sleeve shirts are versatile and when they are breathable, you can wear them basically year-round, anywhere and anytime. 

A lightweight, breathable blouse or long sleeve shirt is a great garment to have for so many different wearable moments: 

• in-between seasons
• on chilly summer days
• underneath a sweater in winter 
• as an extra layer on warm summer days that have chillier evenings 
  
  

Depending on the design, you can also wear them for work or celebrations. 

• Note! Blouses might require more ironing and washing than long-sleeved shirts. Be careful with wash-and-wear/wrinkle-free or in any other way treated garments to prevent wrinkling. Such treatments are not always good for the environment.
  
  

Turtleneck or Long Sleeve Shirt: 1 Piece

One level up from a blouse is the turtleneck and the thicker long-sleeve shirts: a bit warmer and better for colder days. 

Just like blouses you can use turtlenecks for all different kinds of occasions and climates, although they’re generally a little warmer. 

Woolen, hemp, and cotton shirts can be incredibly warm, and sometimes even wind-resistant and water-repellent. So they are great for layering up when it's cold outside, or as your go-to piece of clothing in-between seasons. 

T-Shirts: 5 Pieces

A staple or a statement-maker: T-shirts.

Whether you like them with or without prints, as the main piece of your outfit, or just plain and simple, T-shirts are great to mix-and-match with all of the above garments. 

Obviously, plain shirts are easier to match with other items, so make sure you have a few that are plain (that doesn’t necessarily mean black or white!)

• Pro-Tip: Choose colors that you can wash together with other colors - if you have one white shirt and all the rest of your clothing is black, it will either turn grey soon or you’ll have to use one laundry session just for one T-shirt…  

For example, I have T-shirts in the following 5 colors in my wardrobe: 

• White 
• Black
• Ocre 
• Blue
• Striped (Blue/Green)
  
  

Waist Length Knitted “Pretty” Sweater or Cardigan: 1 Piece 

A waist length sweater or cardigan is a great garment to level up your summer dress, casual outfit or work-clothing when temperatures are unpredictable. 

Knitted garments have more room to trap air and are therefore often warm and comfortable to use for layering. Woolen sweaters come in many shapes and sizes, and the added benefit of some exclusive wool fibers (like alpaca, cashmere and angora) is that they will look as if new even after years and years of wearing. 

Alpaca wool, for example, doesn’t pill! Other wool fibers might require some maintenance, but almost none of them need frequent washing.

Long Knitted “Pretty” Cardigan: 1 Piece 

Just like the waist-length sweater, long cardigans can also be long-lasting additions to your wardrobe. 

Long cardigans have the benefit that they’ll be warmer, but also combine differently with different outfits, which might help for better mixing and matching. 

Knitted sweaters can be really warm and comfortable so opt for a material that is strong and sturdy so that it doesn’t get holes easily or show signs of wear and tear quickly. 

Sweatshirt: 1 Piece

Imagine you’re working out or travelling for example, or you just want to layer up and stretch out on the couch. For those occasions, you need a sweatshirt! 

Sweatshirts made of cotton, hemp, or sometimes even wool, are strong and comfortable. They’ll be perfect to use when they’re exposed to a lot of abrasion and friction. 

• Pro-tip: Make sure you opt for a breathable fabric like wool, cotton or hemp, so that you don’t have to wash it after every wear. :)
  
  

Leggings: 2 Pairs

Leggings, whether you wear them with prints and multiple colors or just plain black, are a great contribution to a sustainable wardrobe. 

You can find an increasing amount of leggings made with organic cotton, which makes them perfectly sustainable garments. A more recent trend are leggings made with hemp, also very strong, durable and comfortable. 

Leggings can be warm underneath a pair of jeans for colder days, but also underneath a dress on a cool summer night. 

• You can wear leggings basically year round, which makes them versatile and thus a great investment even when an organically and ethically made garment might be a bit more expensive. 
  
  

Winter Coat: 1 Piece

A high quality, warm and durable winter coat is an indispensable investment if you live anywhere where winters get chilly. 

A good winter coat is:

• Water-resistant (at least water-repellent)
• Windproof
• Warm
  
  

Woolen coats can be incredibly warm and can for some climates be warm enough. Wool is often even water repellent and when they are woven or felted, they will keep most of the wind out, too. 

However, for rougher climates, you’re going to want to wear something more resistant and protective. So, (unfortunately) polyester is a more recommended option since it is actually (often) windproof and waterproof. However, polyester in and of itself is not very warm, and thus needs an insulating layer. 

More and more brands are using recycled polyester and even recycled down! Such recycled content is great to avoid using new resources and prevents adding to the growing pile of plastic waste. 

Another extremely warm option is to look for jackets with bison down insulation. Bison down is super warm and is a great option for very cold weather!

Rainproof Jacket: 1 Piece

If you’re living in some of the wetter parts of this world, you’re going to want a raincoat to protect you from rain. 

For a coat to be completely waterproof it often needs to be made of polyester. While conventional polyester is not very sustainable, there are more and more options becoming available of raincoats made with recycled polyester. 

Be aware that a raincoat made of polyester is not breathable (unless made to BE breathable), so be prepared for sweating underneath if you’re active or it is hot at the same time.

Jacket or Shirt-that-you-can-wear-as-a-jacket: 1 Piece

For mild summer days, in-between seasons and unpredictable weather conditions, a jacket or shirt is a great addition to your wardrobe. 

• Suede and leather garments aren’t very water-resistant, but they will keep out quite some wind. 
• Leather is warmer than suede, but suede is easier to combine to create different styles.
• Denim and hemp aren’t very water repellent either, but they’ll be more breathable, just like flannel shirts made with cotton. 
• Flannel made with wool will be warmer and more water-repellent than the other options. 
  
  

Avoid synthetic fibers as they won’t be warm or breathable. Look for fabrics and designs that you can mix and match with the rest of your wardrobe so that you can use them not only as a jacket, but also as part of a winter outfit.

Socks, Underwear, Tops and Pajamas: 22 Pieces/Pairs

Assuming you do laundry once a week, as a minimum, you’d need one pair of underpants for each day of the week plus one extra for laundry day. The same goes for socks. Tops and pajamas need regular washing, too, so you could opt for four tops, and two pairs of pajamas. 

• 8 pairs of underwear
• 8 pairs of socks
• 4 basic tops
• 2 (pairs of) pajamas
  
  

All of this combined can take up a full load of laundry, but leaves little room for changes in your laundry schedule! 

Things to consider: 

1. You’ve seen by now that you probably need much less clothing than you thought. The same goes for underwear. 
2. Figure out how often you do laundry: if you wash underwear weekly, you could probably get by with 7-8 pairs of underwear, but if you do a load of laundry once a month, you’ll need at least 30! 
3. If you sweat more, you’ll probably change a top after every wear. So you’ll need more than someone who doesn’t sweat much. 
4. Adapt accordingly for summer vs. winter weather.
   
   

Breathable and natural fabrics make you sweat less and you can probably use a silk  or cotton pajama (for example) for more nights in a row than a polyester one. 

Sports Clothes, Hiking Gear, other Specialty Clothes: 3 Pieces

If you exercise regularly, you probably need more items than when you exercise once a week. However, if you lift weights, you might sweat less than when you run. You might also wear different clothes for different activities. 

As a minimum, you can add three items for sports clothes: 

• 1 pair of bottoms (leggings, pants, shorts, whatever you like)
• 1 top (sweater, shirt, top, etc.)
• 1 piece of swimwear (bikini or bathing suit)
  
  

You probably want enough sports clothes and gear to make it to your next laundry day.

To make sure your sports clothes last longer, use the special “sports clothes” program on your machine. I personally wash them in cold water only and I air dry my garments. They last much, much longer that way. 

For hiking gear, opt for woolen garments as they will be more breathable and can be worn several days in a row without requiring a wash. 

Shoes: 4 Pairs

I always find myself wearing the same two or three pairs of shoes per season. I also wear them for several seasons and I definitely don’t ditch them after their first year! 

So, how about this: 

• One pair of sneakers
• One pair of (warm) winter boots
• One pair of flat, fancy-ish shoes (or another pair of sneakers if you don’t use fancy shoes)
• One pair of sandals or flip flops
  
  

That means you’ll have something comfy, something warm, something summery and something fancy to wear. Sounds reasonable, right!?

Accessories: 3 Pieces/Pairs

For a moderate climate with chilly winters, you’re going to want to have: 

• 1 scarf
• 1 hat
• 1 pair of gloves
  
  

Accessories can actually be great assets to make the mixing and matching process easier, with less of an impact on the environment. You could use accessories to create your own style and make your “timeless” wardrobe more varied. 

Why "Should" We Have Less Clothes?

We’re all guilty of it: we have way more clothes than we actually wear. If you’d apply the 80/20 rule to your wardrobe, we probably only wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. 

Check out this experiment done by Jack Clancy: he tracked his clothes usage over the period of 1 year… the results: 60/20! 

Having “too many” clothes not only has an enormous impact on the environment and the world (think: waste, pollution, inequality), it also causes emotional distress!

• Decision fatigue
• Having more means wanting more
• (unnecessary) Emotional attachment 
• Confrontation leading to lowered self-esteem (clothes that no longer fit, for example)
• Dissatisfaction with what you have
• Cluttered spaces/wardrobes lead to cluttered minds :)
  
  

Having less clothes and a better organized wardrobe can positively impact your attitude, your routine, your finances, and your state of mind :)

Plus, investing in high-quality clothing is not only better for the environment, it is also much more comfortable and more affordable in the long run. 

• Read more about the impact of the fabrics most of our clothes are made of in another article I wrote: The World’s Most Used Fabrics: Advantages and Disadvantages
  
  

Is This Number Set In Stone? 

Of course, this number is an estimate. It’s a guideline, an idea of how you can make your own wardrobe more sustainable and organized. 

Depending on how often you do laundry, you’re going to need enough clothes to last you until laundry day. Similarly, if you work in an office where you’re required to wear formal clothes, you’re going to need more shirts, skirts or dresses. 

This number is based on a four-season climate: winter, summer, fall/spring. 

If you live in a hot climate, you probably don’t need the winter coat and the warm boots, but you might need some more shorts and skirts. And of course, the same goes the other way around for people who live in colder climates. If climates are more extreme one way or another, make the necessary changes.

I wouldn’t ever recommend you to throw out all your old clothes and replace them with more durable and natural fibers. Use what you have and when something breaks down or is really not worth keeping anymore, then you buy a new, more sustainable replacement. 

Then, there’s also sports and hobbies to consider: if you work out more or need special clothing for hobbies, you’re going to need to adjust the number accordingly. 

If you need clothes for a party, however, consider borrowing something from a friend, or using accessories to make an “ordinary” outfit more special. You could also shop an outfit second hand (and sell again!).

How Do You Make Such a Small Wardrobe Work? (or Varied and Fun)

The trick of having a small wardrobe is to make sure that everything matches with as many other garments as possible. So while funky shoes or a special dress might look cool, they’re probably horrible to match with the rest of your wardrobe. 

The best way to make everything match is by using color palettes! Choose one “palette” that matches your skin tone, that you like, and that does not belong to a season or year. By sticking to the colors of your color palette, you guarantee that every time you buy something, you’ll stick to colors that… 

• You already have
• You like
• Look good on you

And keep in mind, in the end, how about comfort for a style?! The fabrics listed in this article are comfortable, durable, and more importantly emotionally durable. 

Choose for emotional durability for a wardrobe that will be timeless, classy and looks like new always! 

• 16 Fabrics That Are Emotionally DURABLE (And Why it Matters) COMING SOON

For more tips on how to make our wardrobe more comfortable and become a more sustainable shopper, I recommend this article that I wrote: 

• 26 Sustainable Shopping Habits (Be a Conscious Shopper)

Clothes-Swap

If you don't wear dresses and skirts (and you STILL made it to the end of this article, haha), you could basically swap some items for others and your list will be similar:

• Swap the skirts for shorts 
• Swap the dresses for suits 
• Swap the leggings for dress pants
• Swap the long cardigan for a suit jacket
• Swap the blouse for a linen shirt