My dressing - a 2014 Overview with a gift.

[KlaireLarnia]

Hi.

As a lot of you know I wear female clothes whilst not hiding the fact I am male. I.e I do not go En Femme in respect of not wearing makeup & wigs or try and sound/act feminine. What I do now is keep a spreadsheet with details of all my clothes and then mark what I wear each day. This way I can see if there is anything I do not wear so I can consider how/when to wear it or if it needs to be gotten rid off because I do not wear it. It also lets me see my style so when I do buy clothes I buy ones I will wear and use, rather than frivolous impulse buys which waste money. I started the spreadsheet towards the end of October this year but some items where added later on so will only appear for December. Next year it will be the first full year of doing this.

And now I want to share this with you all because I think some of you will find this interesting and may help others out as well.

The link below opens the spreadsheet for viewing directly so you don't need to download it or find a suitable viewer. There are tabs at the bottom for types of clothing - Bras, Tops/Shirts, Jumpers, Bags, Shoes, Trousers. Each section has two tabs - a grid which works on Month/Day and has a number representing an item - and then an inventory page where that number will relate to an item and give details of it/show an image so I can identify clothes easily. It will also show how many items I have worn that item since the spreadsheet started. If you see something like "14+15" it means I wore two items that day - so for today I am wearing one set of clothes to work and then another our to a New Years Party tonight both need to be added obviously. Any item which has a dark green number in the inventory page has been ordered but not yet arrived but is there ready for when it does.


Anyhow, take a look and please let me know what you think and give any comments. Otherwise have a great day and I hope your dressing goes where you want in 2015.

My Clothes Inventory

[Beverley Sims]

Well I used to joke about putting it down on a spreadsheet, but you have made it practical to do so.

[Nancy Sue]

I did enjoy your clothes reviews. You really took a great deal of time evaluating each item, and describing its uses and values in different situations. Thanks. And I always wondered if anyone was shaped like me, but we wear the same size clothes, right down to the shoes.

[Michelle (Oz)]

I'm impressed. You've out obsessed me

[Katey888]

Klaire,

Truly impressive!

You have demonstrated that dressing in life can be taken beyond an art form to a science... you really take this side very seriously.

It does make me feel both lazy and grateful that I rarely dress more than a couple of times a month... I don't know that I could maintain the bookkeeping required to this to the level that you have - but if it helps you, good for you I say!

Thanks for sharing this and your continuing journey.

Katey x

[DonnaP]

Interesting way of doing it I have been kind of hit or miss. As my stache gets to big I look to donate oldest clothing to charity with exception of some clothing old or not I just love to weas

[BLUE ORCHID]

That,s a great project, If I tried something like that I would have to bring in an accounting firm.

[Jenniferathome]

Klaire, clothing and fashion in general, move and change with time and personal preference. I know what I wear and do not wear without writing it down and I trim my wardrobe accordingly. I think you've gone overboard. Fashion isn't a chore, it's a freedom. Enjoy it without thinking about it.

[DonnaT]

42 bras?

[KlaireLarnia]

Thanks for the comments.

This "project" if you want to call it that was born out of necessity because of two Reasons: 1) I could spend a fortune on clothes which whilst lovely are not suitable for public wearing and 2) I could by a lot of items and only wear them at home/rarely both of which wastes money. OR I could monitor what I wear and ensure that I both use the items I get and that my clothes fit what I want to do with them.

It started thanks to the bras as I realised I had so many and I did not want to use a couple and not the others and grew from there to what you see now. I am aiming to add some of my jewellery to it soon as I wear earrings daily and started to wear necklaces a lot as my wife bought me a lovely interchangeable one from Belgium at Christmas. Already the list has served it's purpose as three shirts have gone which I never wore, some comfort top/bra tops are going this week for the same reason and 2 jumpers and a shirt are at risk now. This frees up space for both new items and the ones I wear regular and therefore warrant keeping.

You can see easily that Bras 1 & 9 are my present favourites with 3,4,6,7,11,15,17,30,33 & 42 very close behind. Similarly I use my Leather Zip-Detail Shoulder Bag most days and almost always when at work now - where as a couple of brown bags I do not use and are likely heading for my wife's collection of bags and her use if she wants them soon.

With the way I dress in public it is vital I ensure my clothes work and match the image I want to show. Only my monitoring what I wear (and thus seeing what does work because it will get worn more often than items that don't) can I ensure that going forward my dressing works with/for me and does not become a subset of who I am.

Nancy Sue: Thank you for your comments on the reviews. I would like to do more but they take a fair amount of time to do and write in a decent way. I will try and make more of an effort to do some on a more regular basis in 2015. If there is anything in my inventory you would like me to do please let me know and I will make them a priority.

Jenniferathome: This is not a chore and please do not think it is. This is my mind sorting and monitoring itself. Rather than keep it in my mind, I have it down where I can read and consider it fully. Subjective reading is better than impulse mistakes which is what I would otherwise risk making.

Believe me I enjoy what I wear and enjoy wearing the clothes I have. But sometimes getting clutter out of my head means I can concentrate on more important things.

42 bras?

A few too many do you think?

[AllieSF]

Interesting spreadsheet and I understand what and why your are doing that. I tried something similar with a cell phone app, Stylebook, which lets you take pictures of each item, categorize them, a weak area on this app, and then combine them to put together outfits. It also has a way of recording when each item was last used. It didn't work for my needs because I am more of a lazy crossdresser and that was just too much work and required too much constant updating for my wants. You may want to check it out for fun and maybe find a way to take that spreadsheet with real pictures along with you wherever you are to fill in those moments of boredom away from the computer.

OCD, anal-retentive can be used for a lot of hobbies, activities and personal characteristics that we get into or have. Just a few more labels to ignore or embrace.