Everything I Sold This Year and Why

Lessons From My Closet Cleanup

I recently saw a post on Substack about everything someone sold this year. I thought to myself that I would definitely read it when I had the time, but, for the life of me, I cannot locate it again. However, I loved the idea of analyzing what didn’t work - and with that in mind, I’ve decided to run this “audit” on my own sales.

To be honest, I’ve been quite ruthless about selling things lately. Any ill-fitting, unworn pieces bother me in my closet. Even those I used to wear but no longer reach for are now on my “sell” list. When I tallied up the numbers, I saw that I sold 24 pieces this year - wow, that’s quite a lot!

My Excel-loving mind saw the potential for deeper analysis, and I got excited. I entered all the information from my stylebook into a spreadsheet and categorized the pieces by why I sold them, as well as noting the price difference, cost per wear, and similar factors. Here’s what I found:

• Too formal: 7 items

• Fit issues: 7 items

• Simply moving on: 4 items

• Wrong style: 2 items

• Not practical: 2 items

• Color washes me out: 2 items (including one that also fell into the "too formal" category)

• Synthetic material: 1 item

“Too Formal” Is the Number-One Reason I Sell Items

Whose wardrobe is this? It certainly doesn’t belong to someone who works from home. From left to right: a trench similar to the Cinzia Rocca one I sold, Joseph blazer, The Curated blazer, Cuyana dress, The Curated blazer, Tommy Hilfiger blazer, Gilyte blazer

The number-one issue where I’ve lost a lot of money buying and selling different pieces is that, for some reason, I still own many garments that are simply too formal for a WFH lifestyle. Am I imagining going back to the office? Perhaps. In any case, this category has caused the greatest financial loss. It includes a Joseph blazer I bought for 492 EUR and sold for 46 EUR, as well as my first-ever trench from Cinzia Rocca, purchased for 400 EUR in 2018 and sold for 25 EUR (gasp), both of which were worn only once (gasp!!).

Anyway, let’s not dwell on past mistakes - both items were bought before COVID-19, when I didn’t know my personal style so well. The last time I made a “too formal” mistake was 1.5 years ago. Still, if I’m ever drawn to a blazer that I can’t wear casually, I need to keep my hands off it.

Fit Issues Are Also a Major Reason for Selling