I wonder if the number of new items added and utilisation rate is impacted by new users slowly adding to their catalogue. 10 months in and I’m still adding pieces to my Indyx as I use them!
It's possible! But, we tried to correct for this by using "date purchased" instead of just "date added", and filtering just to users who have actively added purchase dates for 80%+ of their wardrobes when looking at pace of new additions.
And I would think that slow additions over time would actually artificially *improve* utilisation rate. You're probably adding the item to your digital wardrobe because you're pulling it out to use it. And in the meantime, the wardrobe count denominator is smaller than your IRL closet. So...if anything, that number is probably worse than our data shows!
I suspect people have bigger wardrobes than what is logged in Indyx. I included most of my activewear and some pjs, but still excluded a handful of items that I don’t care to log. Or maybe I’m just nervously comparing and trying to justify my 250 item wardrobe.
Same with me! I started Indyx last fall, and logged all my cold weather clothes (sweaters, pants, etc) but am only now slowly adding warm weather items coming out of storage…I’m really interested to see how the closet data itself changes over time as users “settle” into a more consistently-logged closet!
I also think that the Indyx user is a more considerate type of person in regards to their closets because of the time it takes to set up the virtual closet. I'd guess that most people have more clothes they don't wear than the average Indyx user.
It seems that I collect some pieces or brands as art… must we wear everything all the time to justify having them? I know a few people who own 30 glasses for hosting and only use 2 🥲
I don't think that the *only* reason to own something is to wear it to death. There's nothing inherently wrong with owning a thing just because it gives you joy, within reason.
Almost everything about our closets is inherently optional: we don't truly "need" hardly any of this stuff! So (IMO), if you're not either 1. wearing it and/or 2. getting joy from it...then what's the point? I think that's a situation a lot of us find ourselves in.
This is fascinating. I checked back at my own usage and noticed that my most loved and worn items were far exceeding 30 wears but my least worn were often 5 or fewer (sometimes 0) times worn. That's telling. When i love something, I wear it often. Sometimes though it's seasonal as I haven't been on the app for a year yet and I haven't worn some new summer items I purchased last fall/winter. Also, the new additions are to account for weight changes and entering midlife. So much of my old wardrobe was no longer wearable after the pandemic (circa 2020-2022 clothes are mostly gone). Either I have held onto very old items that I love or I have bought new items. I'd be interested in knowing the percentage of our closets that is secondhand/consignment over the next few years as I think that this is the trend now.
It's super interesting to see in the full report what types of brands get worn more than others. There's an apparent gap between what might make up a "dream wardrobe" (the LoveShackFancy Dress) and what we actually reach for day after day (Girlfriend Collective leggings). So many of us are shopping for an ideal self!
This is an interesting study of how INDYX users wear their clothing, though the demographics of the userbase may not reflect the wider population necessarily, since the app self-selects for people who either are very into fashion as a hobby or who are concerned about tracking their clothing wear habits (both groups who are probably over-purchasing and under-wearing their garments). It would be great if indyx could partner with environmental researchers and recruit a more representative population to track their purchasing/wearing habits and see what the results are, because it would be a potentially very useful and user friendly tool for that.
Based on what I've seen as a co-founder, I'd argue that the second group you mention ("concerned about tracking their clothing wear habits") is wearing their clothes quite a lot!
It can be a very self-fulfilling cycle: I want to digitize my wardrobe to "gamify" my closet > if I'm bothering to track my wears, I want to "win" at it > therefore, I'm motivated to shop less and wear the same stuff more. So if anything, I think that group is actually a counterbalance to the "very into fashion" people you mention. Not that those two groups are necessarily mutually exclusive: I'd consider myself a part of both!
But, your point is taken (and, correct). This report based on Indyx data reflects the proclivities of Indyx users whatever those may be. As we continue to take over the world (muhahaha), I hope it becomes more and more credibly representative of gen pop.
This (positive) gamification aspect of tracking my wears is something I have observed as I’ve been using Indyx over the last 6 months.
I now hesitate more to buy something new because I don’t want to adversely affect my stats - as well as getting the more direct benefit of Indyx helping me see/remember I already own something similar I could wear instead.
I'm obsessed with my stats and utilisation! I thought I knew what was in my wardrobe and I was clearly off the mark by a lot. Knowledge is power - and data doesn't lie! Thank you for sharing this report
I enjoyed this and it is fascinating to think about what is getting worn, and I especially liked the graphic showing how rain industry doesn't talk about the wearing of garments.
I have digitised my daily wardrobe on indyx and enjoy using it, but i haven't included workout clothes or the two bags of unseasonal and occasion wear I found in the attic the other day.
I'm also curious about secondhand - it's such a broad brush these days. From one off vintage things for special, to bundles of work wear from Vinted.
Hi Indyx, Big fan & regular user here! I’d love if there was an option to list a gift as secondhand - aka a hand me down! Because I have loads of these items and either have to choose to list it as purchased, secondhand for 0€ or as a gift but then lose the ability to list it as secondhand.
I loved reading this! I've never added in a purchase date (a good chunk of my closet is old so I have no idea when I bought it, and I'm just lazy for the newer stuff haha) but might start.
I do think that tops being more numerous than bottoms makes sense. For instance, when I travel I pack two or three tops per bottom, and in general I often wear multiple tops at once (singlet, shirt, jumper). That said, I may be trying to justify the explosion in top numbers I'm about to experience as it's time to get all my winter stuff out of storage and start cataloguing it haha.
I love the app - loaded in my wardrobe early this year. The resulting journey has actually really helped me define my style better and understand why I may have purchased things previously that don’t work as well. Keep the stats coming, super interesting!
I'm curious about that jewelry stat... I wear the same high end jewelry every day but i rarely think to log it because i have a bunch of pieces that i know i'm going to wear. Maybe there can be a function to the outfit or even just the calendar day to quickly incorporate your "regulars" without having to add them to each and every outfit (especially if they're small pieces, I can't be bothered to make them fit in the outfit collage)
Loved this! Thank you!
I wonder if the number of new items added and utilisation rate is impacted by new users slowly adding to their catalogue. 10 months in and I’m still adding pieces to my Indyx as I use them!
It's possible! But, we tried to correct for this by using "date purchased" instead of just "date added", and filtering just to users who have actively added purchase dates for 80%+ of their wardrobes when looking at pace of new additions.
And I would think that slow additions over time would actually artificially *improve* utilisation rate. You're probably adding the item to your digital wardrobe because you're pulling it out to use it. And in the meantime, the wardrobe count denominator is smaller than your IRL closet. So...if anything, that number is probably worse than our data shows!
I suspect people have bigger wardrobes than what is logged in Indyx. I included most of my activewear and some pjs, but still excluded a handful of items that I don’t care to log. Or maybe I’m just nervously comparing and trying to justify my 250 item wardrobe.
It's OK, I'm at 400+ and definitely haven't catalogued my full wardrobe even if you ignore swimwear, workout gear... OOPS!
Same with me! I started Indyx last fall, and logged all my cold weather clothes (sweaters, pants, etc) but am only now slowly adding warm weather items coming out of storage…I’m really interested to see how the closet data itself changes over time as users “settle” into a more consistently-logged closet!
Fair! I may be lazy but I don't always update the date purchased... :P
I really appreciate how thoughtful you and the team are! It's a great app.
I also think that the Indyx user is a more considerate type of person in regards to their closets because of the time it takes to set up the virtual closet. I'd guess that most people have more clothes they don't wear than the average Indyx user.
I think this is the thing that has convinced me to take the jump into actually categorizing my wardrobe this year ... I want to be part of the data!!
Hell yeah, you do!
It seems that I collect some pieces or brands as art… must we wear everything all the time to justify having them? I know a few people who own 30 glasses for hosting and only use 2 🥲
I don't think that the *only* reason to own something is to wear it to death. There's nothing inherently wrong with owning a thing just because it gives you joy, within reason.
Almost everything about our closets is inherently optional: we don't truly "need" hardly any of this stuff! So (IMO), if you're not either 1. wearing it and/or 2. getting joy from it...then what's the point? I think that's a situation a lot of us find ourselves in.
This is fascinating. I checked back at my own usage and noticed that my most loved and worn items were far exceeding 30 wears but my least worn were often 5 or fewer (sometimes 0) times worn. That's telling. When i love something, I wear it often. Sometimes though it's seasonal as I haven't been on the app for a year yet and I haven't worn some new summer items I purchased last fall/winter. Also, the new additions are to account for weight changes and entering midlife. So much of my old wardrobe was no longer wearable after the pandemic (circa 2020-2022 clothes are mostly gone). Either I have held onto very old items that I love or I have bought new items. I'd be interested in knowing the percentage of our closets that is secondhand/consignment over the next few years as I think that this is the trend now.
Wow, this is fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
It's super interesting to see in the full report what types of brands get worn more than others. There's an apparent gap between what might make up a "dream wardrobe" (the LoveShackFancy Dress) and what we actually reach for day after day (Girlfriend Collective leggings). So many of us are shopping for an ideal self!
1000% agree
This is an interesting study of how INDYX users wear their clothing, though the demographics of the userbase may not reflect the wider population necessarily, since the app self-selects for people who either are very into fashion as a hobby or who are concerned about tracking their clothing wear habits (both groups who are probably over-purchasing and under-wearing their garments). It would be great if indyx could partner with environmental researchers and recruit a more representative population to track their purchasing/wearing habits and see what the results are, because it would be a potentially very useful and user friendly tool for that.
Based on what I've seen as a co-founder, I'd argue that the second group you mention ("concerned about tracking their clothing wear habits") is wearing their clothes quite a lot!
It can be a very self-fulfilling cycle: I want to digitize my wardrobe to "gamify" my closet > if I'm bothering to track my wears, I want to "win" at it > therefore, I'm motivated to shop less and wear the same stuff more. So if anything, I think that group is actually a counterbalance to the "very into fashion" people you mention. Not that those two groups are necessarily mutually exclusive: I'd consider myself a part of both!
But, your point is taken (and, correct). This report based on Indyx data reflects the proclivities of Indyx users whatever those may be. As we continue to take over the world (muhahaha), I hope it becomes more and more credibly representative of gen pop.
This (positive) gamification aspect of tracking my wears is something I have observed as I’ve been using Indyx over the last 6 months.
I now hesitate more to buy something new because I don’t want to adversely affect my stats - as well as getting the more direct benefit of Indyx helping me see/remember I already own something similar I could wear instead.
Love this report! So powerful to understand how little of our wardrobes are worn even as we continue to add to them.
Thanks, Lauryn!
I'm obsessed with my stats and utilisation! I thought I knew what was in my wardrobe and I was clearly off the mark by a lot. Knowledge is power - and data doesn't lie! Thank you for sharing this report
I enjoyed this and it is fascinating to think about what is getting worn, and I especially liked the graphic showing how rain industry doesn't talk about the wearing of garments.
I have digitised my daily wardrobe on indyx and enjoy using it, but i haven't included workout clothes or the two bags of unseasonal and occasion wear I found in the attic the other day.
I'm also curious about secondhand - it's such a broad brush these days. From one off vintage things for special, to bundles of work wear from Vinted.
Fascinating!
wow..cannot wait to check my stats next year. Loving the stats/analysis.
Hi Indyx, Big fan & regular user here! I’d love if there was an option to list a gift as secondhand - aka a hand me down! Because I have loads of these items and either have to choose to list it as purchased, secondhand for 0€ or as a gift but then lose the ability to list it as secondhand.
Me too! Nearly 20% of my wardrobe is hand me downs of some sort - would love to be able to list as both second hand and gifted!
I loved reading this! I've never added in a purchase date (a good chunk of my closet is old so I have no idea when I bought it, and I'm just lazy for the newer stuff haha) but might start.
I do think that tops being more numerous than bottoms makes sense. For instance, when I travel I pack two or three tops per bottom, and in general I often wear multiple tops at once (singlet, shirt, jumper). That said, I may be trying to justify the explosion in top numbers I'm about to experience as it's time to get all my winter stuff out of storage and start cataloguing it haha.
I hope you do this report every year!
I love the app - loaded in my wardrobe early this year. The resulting journey has actually really helped me define my style better and understand why I may have purchased things previously that don’t work as well. Keep the stats coming, super interesting!
Love data with a narrative. And makes me reflect on my habits. I’m really surprised that dresses don’t get worn more.
I'm curious about that jewelry stat... I wear the same high end jewelry every day but i rarely think to log it because i have a bunch of pieces that i know i'm going to wear. Maybe there can be a function to the outfit or even just the calendar day to quickly incorporate your "regulars" without having to add them to each and every outfit (especially if they're small pieces, I can't be bothered to make them fit in the outfit collage)