Why Women Need Lots of Clothes (and Shoes)

If I had a Pound (I would say Rand, but they just aren't worth that much anymore) for each time my husband asked me why I need so much clothes and shoes, I would have to change my surname to Gupta.

Yes, from a man's perspective, the female urge to own lots of items of clothing might seem self-indulgent or narcissistic. I acknowledge that it might seem like I have to much stuff if one glances into my wardrobe but most people I know of the female species are similar to me. Really, as women, we are just being practical. For men it is simple, a few shirts and trousers for work and some t-shirts and jeans for weekends, formal shoes for work and sneakers for the weekend- pick whatever is at the top and done. For women, the decision as to what to wear is often more complicated and multiple options are needed. 

Firstly, different occasions call for different clothing, we need stuff that is casual, stuff that is more businesslike, stuff for special occasions, stuff that is casual but looks sophisticated, stuff that we can move around in easily for days that we are very physically active and they are all different. Then, we have different needs due to our unique anatomies. Some clothes need a layer underneath or over to avoid boob leakage all over the place. We have fat days and skinny days and our body weight fluctuates over the course of a month. Some days we feel confident and want to dress up and feel divalicious while others we just want to hide under baggy clothes. Some days, the staples that we want to wear frequently are dirty and in the washing so we need more than one similar item. 

Sometimes, the clothes we buy are hopelessly out of fashion but we are convinced that they will be back in fashion next season so hang on to it. Sometimes we buy things and then realise that they don't go with anything else we own but can't throw it out because it is brand new and gorgeous. Sometimes we are delusional and convinced that the beautiful top not being worn today because it highlights all the tummy rolls and makes us look like pumpkins will magically fit tomorrow. Between having babies and breastfeeding, my weight has fluctuated a lot in the past few years and I feel bad throwing everything out when I think there is a possibility that it will fit again in a few months.

Different clothes call for different shoes- some trousers and dresses can only be worn with heels due to their lengths, while others call for flats. We need different types of shoes, in summer, we like to air our feet out in sandals. In winter, we like to keep them warm in boots. Then there are those days where our feet are a little cold but it is still not winter so we would look silly in boots so pumps are needed. Our sandals, pumps, sneakers and boots all need to come in formal and casual variants, depending on the activity planned for that day. We obviously need all of these in more than one colour, to match our clothes. Right?

Here are some of the ways I keep the amount of clothes I have in check:

1. Do a cupboard clean up at the turn of each season so that the stuff that I will need are easily accessible. At this point I also add anything that will never fit again, will never be fashionable again or which is worn out to the charity pile.
2. For every new item of clothing I purchase, one old item goes into the charity pile (see, I am contributing to the economy and clothing the needy).  

Comment below if you are a woman with lots and lots of clothes but nothing to wear.