As fashion lovers, we may have asked ourselves more than once if perhaps we have exaggerated. Women often discuss how many dresses they have.
So, how many dresses should a woman own?
The number of dresses each woman needs differs a lot from woman to woman and depends on many different factors. On average, however, a woman should own 3-30 dresses depending on her lifestyle and wardrobe needs.
On a Reddit thread, the thread’s author said she has 85 dresses and wants to know if they are too many. What’s interesting though, is the number of ladies who feel 85 is not a lot, and they have more than that.
Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a shock, as a recent survey from ClosetMaid says the average American woman has more clothes than they can wear. Some are too tight or too loose to wear, while others have just been hanging out in the closet because there is nowhere to wear them to.
Factors to Consider When Buying More Dresses
How many dresses you own largely depends on your work, lifestyle, and the corresponding wardrobe needs. For instance, if you work from home and only wear casual clothes, you may not need so many dresses unless you prefer them over sweat pants and tights.
People who have a formal lifestyle, on the other hand, may need more dresses for work and to attend formal occasions.
Also, if you wear a uniform for work five days a week, dresses may be a once-a-week kind of thing. People in this category only need a few dresses for special occasions or a night out.
Other factors to consider when considering dresses include:
Home Lifestyle
Work aside, we have other lifestyle factors that determine how many dresses or clothes you should have. These include;
- What you do during your free time. How you spend your free time determines the kind of clothes you wear. For example, if you like to do sports or go hiking, dresses won’t exactly fit into that equation. But if your idea of fun times is hanging out with the girls shopping, drinking mojitos, and visiting fun places, the more dresses the better.
- How much space you have. Do you have space in your home or closet for too many dresses? If you share a closet with a partner or a roommate, you may need to hold off on buying so many of them. As much as you want to have a lot of options with dresses, spending twenty minutes in the morning to find a dress is not fun at all.
- How often you do laundry. Someone who does laundry daily doesn’t need as many clothes as someone who does it twice a month. If your daily life is so busy that you never have time to do laundry, investing in many dresses for work and casual wear is wise, so you don’t run out of clothes mid-week.
Climate
Where you live also determines how many clothes, particularly how many dresses you have. For instance, if you live in Hawaii or Florida where the weather is almost always hot, dresses are really the only thing (besides a bikini) that you can wear without dying of heat. This is because they allow air and breeze to get inside your body, and there are many ways to dress them up for professional and casual wear.
If you wear a dress every day, especially to work, you’ll need to have at least 4-5 dresses for each week of the month, so you don’t repeat clothes too often. This will also ensure you have something clean to wear even if you don’t do laundry many times.
On the other hand, if you stay in cold climate areas, dresses are the last thing you want. Some people do wear them with stockings, boots and a jacket but trousers are the obvious choice when it’s cold.
Seasons
Do you go through all the four seasons where you live? If so, you will need different dresses for every season or at least for three out of four seasons. Summer calls for flowy, flowery, and light dresses that allow ample airflow and look the part. If you have spring, this is the season for flowy, sunny, and exciting dresses. Maxi dresses work very well during spring because it’s not too hot. For winter, you want dark-colored, long and heavy dresses that you can layer with stockings and jackets to keep warm.
Changes in your body
Is your weight stable or do you gain it and lose It just to gain it again and lose it once more? It can be in the years of having your children, due to a diesese or just because it is how your body is.
If that is your case, you probably should have more dresses, to fit your changing body. Buying a new wardrobe often may be fun, but it can be also tiring, frustrating and expensive.
How Many Dresses Should Different Women Own?
We have discussed various factors that determine the number of dresses to have, and we think that these dresses should have pockets. But exactly how many dresses should different women own? Let’s look at different categories of women.
The Minimalist
A woman who wears dresses once or twice a week at most will get away with owning one dress for each week of the month. Women in this category may wear uniforms to work or prefer other types of clothing like skirts and trousers. She may need one official dress for work, two or three casual dresses for weekends, and maybe two sunny dresses for beach or summer outings. If she attends formal events for work, she probably will not buy a special dress for that event but use one she already owns, or borrow.
The Occasional Dresser
If you only wear a dress during special occasions like a beach day, wedding, or funeral, 2-5 dresses will suffice. You need a beach dress, a little black and white dress, a gown or two, and a maxi dress with pockets for errands and brunch.
The Everyday Dress Lover
There are women out there who live in dresses, whether it’s for work, weekends, or after-work outfits. This type of woman needs a dress for each day of the month or more. 30 dresses may seem like a lot, but they are not when you wear a daily dress. It will reduce outfit repetition and ensure you look fresh every time.
Women who wear nothing but dresses can go wild with as many as they can handle storage-wise and within budget.
Remember though that quality beats quantity any day, so you would rather have a few well-made and stylish dresses than a 100 you can barely go out with.
A good rule is to have a few versatile dresses that can be dressed differently for various occasions. There is a whole article about how to style a maxi dress with pockets, and it can apply to any other style of dress you have.
Final Thoughts
Few things are as exciting to women as buying dresses. It’s no wonder so many have more dresses than we can wear in one year. However, The number of dresses you own is not a femininity contest. The most important thing when counting your dresses is to feel good about yourself. Either be happy with the dresses you own, or get rid of what you don’t wear and doesn’t make you happy, and make room for new things.
