She with the most .....

[Claire M]

As I read postings about shopping or outfits I see sooooo many posts from girls with "tons of" or "closets full of" or "hundreds of pairs of" I may be burned at the stake as a heretic but I have a news flash for you ladies: shopping is not like basketball .... the girl with the most panties or shoes doesn't win. There are no bonus points at the end of the trail for the most closets full of stuff!!!

With that in mind ... how often do you parse your wardrobe? Have you kept everything you have ever bought? Do you occasionally go through your wardrobe and eliminate things that don't fit or you just never wear? (Some folks say you should get rid of anything you haven't worn in a year) Is the size of your wardrobe limited by the space available in your secret cache?

When my kids were away at college I had almost unlimited storage. They would only come home once or twice a year. I would take thone visits as opportunity to take stock of my collection. I would parse down my collection to what would fit in two large moving boxes that could be easily stashed in the store room, then donate the rest. Even after only 6 or 8 months I was always amazed what I would find while sorting through my stash.

[Judy-Somthing]

I typically only wear a dress once so in the last three years I've purged at least 300 dresses.
Some times I purge the dress right after I take a few photos.

[AngelaYVR]

My collection consists of only what I love and will wear; it still covers most occasions. I do not see the point of owning clothes you can never get around to wearing, Something else to consider is the waste that is created by clothes hoarders as most of the fabrics created today are based on plastic. Also I must admit it is a little galling when you search for good vintage clothes and you just know that most of them are in the hands of people who will never wear them.

[xam]

Well I have really limited space to hide my girl stuff, as you can see my pic post I am wearing old outfits and it is up to 17:heehee: now. So I only keep what fit me and what look good on me.

[candykowal]

Like you, I try to whittle down my things but there are some items I will never purge.
They are memories of special nights and I will cherish the memory every time I see the item.
Like a silky dolka dot blouse designed by Bob Mackie, Carol Burnett's fashion designer.
So I made a "deep storage" place I could fold, press, and bag these items to last.
It frees up space for new fashion items. Some things I do send off to a religious thrift shop.
It hard parting with clothes as throughout the years, I decided to purge so many things, many memories, including pictures. *sigh*

[JulieC]

candykowal; my mother kept ball gowns she had worn decades before. She was quite the dancer in her day, and loved going to dances and balls, which were far more common as a social venue back in her day. She never got rid of them. Even though she never wore them again, she loved having them hanging in her closet. It reminded her of different times.

[docrobbysherry]

If I were an average crossdresser I mite be inclined to agree with u, Claire.:thumbsup:

However, I r NOT even close to being an average anything! Not only do I change my figure constantly, I need costumes, period clothing, and all sorts of bizarre outfits for my girls. Who wear all the things that r too small for me!:devil:

321717

[kimdl93]

There may be a an element of obsessive-compulsiveness at play. I know that particularly when I was younger, i found some gratification?maybe that endorphin rush?in the simple act of shopping for and acquiring new things. That of course resulted in bulging dressers and closets, filled with clothes I seldom if ever wore. Thank goodness that phase of my afflictions has abated.

I still buy more than I can wear, but nothing like the excesses of the past.

[Leslie Langford]

Whatever floats your boat, Claire.

I like to consider myself a collector of fine art, actually...in this case exquisitely-styled shoes, dresses, lingerie, skirts, and blouses that give me great pleasure in owning and in looking at from time to time...even if the opportunity to wear them all doesn't always present itself. ;). Some people collect stamps, baseball cards, fine wines, or old Superman comics etc. Then there are the hobbyists who obsessively build model railway trains in their basement, breed show dogs, or gush interminably over the prized roses in their flower beds. Do some of those activities pass the "rational" or "logical" test for those of us who are non-believers? Probably not, but to each his/her own, I say.

Am I a bit of a hoarder with a touch of OCD? Maybe. But then again, I've also read that displaying OCD tendencies often goes with the territory when it come to crossdressing, so I guess that makes me "normal" within that particular context.

All that said, I actually have an outside storage unit for a lot of my stash, which goes back some 30-odd years. And yes, I've decided to finally bite the bullet and am in the process of doing a major purge. Not because I've finally "seen the light"...no, it's more a case of being practical because I see the Grim Reaper slowly gaining on me when I look in the rear-view mirror at my current (ahem!) senior age , and not wanting to overly burden whoever gets tasked with cleaning out and disposing of my worldly possessions once I depart for the Great Beyond - and certainly not my female wardrobe.

But here's the thing...going through all those items brings back a flood of memories, and is akin to a progress report on my evolution into an accomplished crossdresser from my (now laughable) beginnings that were so filled with guilt, shame, self-loathing, and self-doubt at the very start of my journey. On the more practical side, I also came across shoes and items of clothing that would now be considered sought-after "vintage" and are of far higher quality than the disposable "fast-fashion" crap sourced from low wage Third World countries that is pretty much all one finds in department stores and online these days. To give you just one example: many of the women's shoes that I found among my "treasures" date back to the 1990's, and were still being made in countries such as Italy, Spain, and Brazil at a time when quality and craftmanship still counted for something. Most of these shoes were made from soft, supple leather and are timeless and exceedingly comfortable to wear, unlike the current ill-fitting imports from the Far East that seem to be constructed primarily from cardboard covered with a thin veneer of cheap synthetic material. Looking back, I am soooo grateful that I didn't toss out those exceptional wardrobe items years ago, especially not knowing what the fashion industry would ultimately evolve (devolve?) into.

[CharlotteCD]

I buy regularly, and donate regularly. If it doesn't fit me or I don't feel good in it, I'll get rid.

As it stands I'm moving more towards buying clothing that's suitable when in male mode, and my more explicitly femme clothing has taken a back seat.

[Helen_Highwater]

I, like many, have limited space to store my femme things. As it stands at the moment I do have spare capacity so I could have more items however how much I have is also based on what I could reasonably expect to wear over the period of a week out and about.

There's still a bit of latitude in what I keep as things such as weather or possible venues I might like to visit help dictate what would go with me.

The thing I possibly have too many of is footwear. I always end up taking boots or shoes away that don't get worn. That said I have some shoes which occasionally get worn around the house if I fancy a bit of a dress up session.

As my dressing has progressed I've learned to only shop for those things that I will get use out of as while it's nice to have new things, if they don't get worn it's just money wasted and as others have said, it adds to global pollution.

[Teri Ray]

Oh now you tell me that buying panties and bras is not a contest. And I thought I was building such a high score. I still find that I am attracted to pretty lingerie. In all honesty I do have way more than I can wear.

[alwayshave]

Claire, I threw out four dresses that I haven't worn in forever, last weekend. I regularly cull both male and female wardrobes.

[Georgina]

I have sixty of this and seventy of that and so on and I don't throw anything out unless it's well worn or doesn't fit. I am a bloke so I like holding on to old favourites. I can spend a long time not wearing the same thing twice. When the revolution comes I don't know if the rules will be tightened up, until then do as you wish.

[Stephanie47]

Acquiring femme garments has been a form of retail therapy. If you're in a DADT marriage there isn't too many outlets to keep the mind "in the game?" I cannot hang my dresses in the closet or stuff all my undergarments in a draw. After amassing 162 dresses that date back to the beginning of femme expression time I have stopped buying dresses and even perusing sites. It's easy for me to just store the dresses away in the storage space. Once bought there is an attachment to them. If I had total freedom to express myself I suspect I would preen my wardrobe. There is really no logical reason for me to have acquired the amount of "stuff" I have. Guilty as charged!

[JenniferMBlack]

I have way to much and I'm aware of this. I dont have a parsing schedule. I do remove things often. I also have recieved many items that were given to me from friends so it is not all shopping. My clear weakness is skirts. I have gone up and down on the number of those I have many times in the last 3 years. I have only a handful I have had more then two years. They are classic styles and prints and never go out. Only one of those I have had for the entire time. And will probably always have it. That one was made by my mother for me. I dont even wear it any more but the emotional attachment is to much for me to let go of, it reminds me even if she didn't say it or do much she was ok with who I am.

[Kimberly A.]

As I read postings about shopping or outfits I see sooooo many posts from girls with "tons of" or "closets full of" or "hundreds of pairs of" I may be burned at the stake as a heretic but I have a news flash for you ladies: shopping is not like basketball .... the girl with the most panties or shoes doesn't win. There are no bonus points at the end of the trail for the most closets full of stuff!!!

I TOTALLY agree, Claire! LOL..... I don't see it as a competition, either as to which of us here has the most feminine clothes, shoes or whatever. I mean, some of us here, (like me), are on very limited budgets and have to wear the same thing more than once. I sure can't afford to constantly be buying new clothes. But if I do wear an outfit more than once, it's not more than once a week and of course, I wash what I've worn, after I've worn it. LOL

To answer your question..... I've parsed, or "purged" only a couple of times and gotten rid of some clothes that didn't fit or I just didn't want anymore. Also, I have a VERY limited amount of space to hide Kimberly's clothes. Now yes, I do live alone and no one hardly ever comes over to my house, but my dad has a key to my place and he can come over any time when I'm at work..... Another story for perhaps another time, but I do have my suspicions that my dad comes to my house and lets himself in, uninvited and without my knowledge sometimes while I'm at work. My dad, as I've recently discovered, is VERY nosy and I think he has been snooping around my house..... GRR!! Yeah, I'm 37 going on 38 and my dad does that kind of crap to me. Anyway, I started rambling, carry on. LOL

[Natalie5004]

I have limited my space too. I do not want to have more nice clothes than my wife. She would kill me. I tossed 3 garments in the donation bag yesterday. I wish I have a few of the dresses that I purged a year ago.......

There is always room for a ball gown.

[April Rose]

I still have a ballgown my wife and I rescued from a neighbors trash 40 years ago. That being said, i try to shop strategically. It is important to me to have the right clothes for a given occasion, rather than a lot of clothes. Parsing is hard but I push myself.

[Maria 60]

You got me, yes I'm one of those who just can't remove anything from my closet. I believe it goes back to something my grandmother did. She would never throw any food out, she would eat left overs for days. One day she was eating old bread in water, I told her jokingly that the war is over she doesn't have to eat old bread anymore. She didn't laugh and told me that in the war days she would have only dreamed of having a piece of bread and now even though we have lots of it she couldn't throw it out knowing how bad she wanted it. I relate that to myself that I could have only have dreamed of finding a supportive wife and have my own fem stuff and now that I do I can't find the heart to get rid of it knowing how bad I wanted my own stuff when I was younger.

[Kelli_cd]

@Teri Ray, I'm just like you! I have waaayy too many panties, and more bras than I can count. Well, that's not quite true, I know exactly how many I have. It's just too many!
And if I see MORE pretty lingerie while I'm shopping, I have to go look!

[Vickie_CDTV]

I just don't buy anything I don't love and intend to keep for the rest of my life, or at least until it physically falls apart or I can't physically fit into it anymore. This whole "fast fashion" thing is just beyond me. Buy quality and keep indefinitely. I am extremely stingy and when I spend a dollar on something I am committed to it.

It is so hard to find quality clothes that last nowadays, especially shoes. I'd happily spend $500 on a pair of well fitting quality heels made of real leather that last 10-20 years of regular wearings, than $20 on heels that start falling apart after 7 or 8 wearings. It is a waste of not only money but time having to replace things prematurely.

[Karren H]

Over the last decade I have started shedding and reducing everything I own, except money! The plan is to have next to nothing the day I die, except money! Lol. Do not want to be an old hoarder like so many of my neighbors are. Ok so I do have too many old cameras, nail pullers and jewelry right now but that will change. Plan the work and work the plan!

[Cheryl T]

We have a large walk-in closet and probably 60% is filled with my clothes and shoes.
It's a far cry from the days of one outfit stuffed in a box buried in the back of the attic. Our rule now is one in one out. Something has to go to make room for something new be it shoes or clothes. Actually it's not as difficult as it sounds as I find there are so many things I either don't love anymore or haven't worn in ages. It's not easy at times but it's a necessity. We usually donate all that is in good condition to the local Salvation Army store. We've shopped there and they don't overcharge for things. The prices are all reasonable and they don't put out things that are in bad shape so those in the area that can't afford much can still buy nice things at a good discount.

[TamT]

I'm very tall and it's hard to find clothes that fit well, so I've kept almost everything I've been able to find in the last 25 years. Most of that is stored in boxes out of sight of my wife, who doesn't like my CDing. When she's angry or upset with me, she takes some of my stuff and throws it away without my knowing ... Every now and then I miss some clothes that I'm pretty sure I didn't purge. Of course I have more feminine clothes than her and sometimes I think she is jealous of how I look.

[kayegirl]

My wife and I both have the same policy of one new item in, one older item out. Not necessarily the oldest item, I still have my first denim skirt, and yes it still fits. More a case of, a new summer dress, then an older one out. And all of our parsed clothes go to our favourite charity shops.

[Bea_]

I've never felt that it's a competition. I've accumulated a large and varied alternative wardrobe over the last ten years. The variety of women's clothes is one of the things I enjoy most about dressing. The variety available in the men's department is miniscule by comparison.

I've been fortunate enough to have a fair amount of "disposable" income and I've bought most of the things I have at thrift shops or on clearance. In my case, it helps that my wife loves to shop for clothes for herself and stays WAY ahead of me in the size of our wardrobes. I enjoyed shopping for clothes for her for decades before I considered that I might enjoy wearing some of the same things.

I would wish that everyone here on the forum have exactly the wardrobe that they wanted whatever size it might be.

[sometimes_miss]

Having the most anything, doesn't 'win'. But the simple act of shopping for girl stuff, helps us feel feminine. And so, I shop.

I get rid of things that are worn to the point where they look terrible, or don't fit anymore, or NEVER fit right in the first place, I just kept them hoping a miracle would occur and I'd wake up and BINGO! They'd suddenly fit! That has mostly been shoes that were just too tight to wear for any length of time, which I donate to the local thrift store.

[Alexis00]

Only “thing” for me is bras. Even after purging periodically I own a lot….