我们的衣柜里到底需要有多少件衣服？
我的先生信奉极简主义，他的衣服非常简单，基本以灰色与黑色的T恤加上外套为主，虽然看上去式样差不多，但是也不觉得他缺少衣服穿。
而我则他的opposite😄。
几年前因为疫情我们从多伦多搬到了尼亚加拉湖滨小镇。从城里搬到原先的周末度假屋，立马出现了衣橱不够大的问题。于是先生找来工程队，整整一个夏天将屋子重新装修了一下，而这个不小投资的起始原因就是因为我需要有足够的空间存放衣服。
装修早已经结束了，可是曾经觉得还挺大的衣橱现在又开始拥挤。这个周末先生问了我这么一个问题 – 你到底需要多少件衣服？
我想了一下，觉得要回答这个问题，就如同在回答意大利哲学家托马斯·阿奎那的问题 - “有多少天使能在针尖上跳舞？” 也就是说无论从量化还是实际意义来说，这是一个没有答案的问题。唯一可以借鉴的是最近看到的一个调查数据 - 据说美国女性平均拥有103件衣服。
我曾经看过英国Vogue杂志前编辑亚历山德拉·舒尔曼的回忆录，文章里她提到曾经所拥有的衣服数量 - 22件外套、35件连衣裙、34件夹克、37条裙子、17条裤子、16件衬衫、18件毛衣、12件羊毛衫和35件T恤衫，总共226。其实作为时尚人士，这个数字并不算多，但是与上面提到的平均数字相比，似乎多出很多。
著名的帕累托20-80法则解释了生活中的许多事情80%的后果来自20%的原因。那么如果把这个法则套用到衣服数量的话，其实我们80%的时间都在穿衣柜里20%的衣服。换一句话说，我们衣柜里80%的衣服是被我们忽视的。
因此单单从这个法则来看，先生的穿衣哲理似乎比我更明智！
然而对于我来说，服装除了是我们每天的必需品之外，更重要是它为我带来的情怀，情感，情调与想象力。这些衣柜里的衣服即使不穿，我也不愿意丢弃，因为我相信有一天它们可能会成为帮助我解决挑战的答案，可以为我打造珍贵的时光，让我在不开心的时候振作起来，让我感到“拥有“的快乐。
我曾经看过整理房间女王近藤麻理惠的节目，她是这么说，“我们应该花时间去评估感受每件衣服的用途，包括它在我们生活中可能激发的快乐，这比关注你的衣服数量更重要。“
因此，衣橱里衣服的数量，其实并没有神奇的数字，而更加重要是，如果衣柜里衣服的数量不但可以解决每天穿衣的需求，更能为我们带来人生的快乐与憧憬，这也许是最合适的数字了。
How Many Clothes Do We Really Need?
My husband is a minimalist. His wardrobe is a neat row of gray and black T-shirts, the occasional sweater, and some indistinguishable jackets. Every time I open his side of the closet, it looks like a Uniqlo shelf on a calm Tuesday. Still, he never seems to run out of things to wear.
I, on the other hand… am his complete opposite 😄.
A few years ago, during the pandemic, when we “escaped” from Toronto to our house in the country, we quickly ran into a very real challenge: we don’t have enough closet space to fit all my clothes. What was once our relaxing weekend cottage now had to function as a full-time home… including space for my wardrobe.
So my husband, being the practical man that he is, called in a contractor. That summer, we did a full renovation - new storage, reconfigured layout, and yes, a bigger closet. All because I needed more space for my clothes. It was, let’s just say, not a small investment.
Fast forward to today, the renovations are long finished. The closet is done. And yet… it’s starting to feel crowded again.
This weekend, my husband looked at me, kindly but seriously, and asked, “How many clothes do you actually need?”
I paused. Because honestly? That question felt impossible to answer. It’s like asking Thomas Aquinas’ classic riddle: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? There’s no logical answer, and any attempt to quantify it misses the point entirely.
Still, in the spirit of research, I looked up a stat I’d come across recently: apparently, the average American woman owns 103 items of clothing. That felt…low.
Then I remembered reading a memoir by Alexandra Shulman, the former editor of British Vogue. She once listed her wardrobe: 22 coats, 35 dresses, 34 jackets, 37 skirts, 17 pairs of trousers, 16 shirts, 18 sweaters, 12 cardigans, and 35 T-shirt, for a grand total of 226 items. Honestly, for someone in fashion, that doesn’t sound excessive. But compared to the average? It’s double.
Now, let’s apply the classic 80/20 rule: 80% of the time, we only wear 20% of our wardrobe. Which means, logically, 80% of what we own goes largely ignored. In that sense… my husband might be the wiser one here.
But here’s the thing: clothes, to me, are not just functional. They’re emotional. They carry memories, moods, dreams, and even future plans. Some of the clothes in my closet I haven’t worn in years, but I keep them, because I believe that one day, they might come in handy. They might be the exact thing I need to solve a wardrobe emergency, or lift my spirits, or help me step into a version of myself I haven’t met yet.
Marie Kondo, the queen of tidying up, once said we should take the time to evaluate each piece of clothing not just by its utility, but by the joy it sparks in us. That, she says, is more important than how many pieces you own.
So maybe the real question isn’t “how many clothes do we need,” but rather - do our clothes help us feel joy, express who we are, and imagine who we could become? If the answer is yes, then maybe that’s the perfect number. Whatever it happens to be.