We are what we wear, even if 80pc of our clothes go unworn

Leaving aside entirely the summer clothes currently residing in my wardrobe here in Venice in anticipation of the warm weather to come, let me present you with an interesting clothing count that I took myself only yesterday.

Aware that I had been washing some items time and again since I took up residence in Italy in early February, I decided to count the garments I brought from home, but haven’t worn. As in, not even once.

So here goes: three jackets, one gilet, four pairs of trousers/ leggings, three tops, two jumpers, one coat, one cardigan, four longsleeved T-shirts, five dresses and two pairs of boots. Not one of those has made it off the hanger, out of the drawer or off the shoe-shelf since I arrived.

So why did I bring so many clothes that I never wear?

I love dresses, but, if truth be told, three of the unworn ones listed here I wear only occasionally at home, so why they are in Italy, well, I have no idea.

I’ve even bought three new items since I arrived – a lightweight cardigan I’ve slipped on once, new trainers I’ve worn a few times and the third, an elegant, turquoise stole with a dollop of cashmere in its mix, hasn’t left the bedroom.

It’s that specific piece that, for me, holds the key to my clothing conundrum. I simply don’t really wear elegant stoles any more as part of my dressing routine. Oh, I used to. But not these days. And there lies the crux, because even though I know that, I’m still buying clothes for the kind of life I no longer have.

That I am not alone in such wardrobe wastage is a comfort. For according to myriad surveys, when it comes to the clothes we buy, the Pareto principle, whereby 80pc of consequences come from 20pc of causes, also applies.

Meaning, therefore, that for 80pc of the time, you will wear only 20pc of the items in your wardrobe. Ergo, 80pc of your clothes will rarely be worn.

Wasteful? Of course. Depressing? Definitely. Especially for the likes of Alexandra Shulman, former editor of British Vogue, who detailed the number of items of clothing she owned in her memoir, Clothes… And Other Things That Matter. That was 35 dresses, 37 skirts, 17 pairs of trousers, 22 coats, 34 jackets, 16 shirts, 35 T-shirts, 18 jumpers, 12 cardigans. Imagine never wearing 80pc of that stash?

So why do we keep clothes we never wear, or, indeed, clothes that relate to a life that no longer bears any relation to reality? Emotion is definitely a factor. A few of the unworn items hanging in my Venice wardrobe have an emotional connection for me. That explains why I’ll never take them to the charity shop. But to bring them all the way to Italy? That’s not rational.

Perhaps writer Lee Child’s Jack Reacher had it sussed. Wear one outfit until it’s no longer fit for purpose, dump it and buy another. Really? No, that’s not the answer.

Emotion and imagination are powerful fashion bedfellows. We are what we wear and what we imagine we can wear.

Even if we never do.