A Data Nerd's Approach to Fashion

For years, I've bought things because they were on-sale or a "good deal" or on impulse or out of desperation (i'm glaring at you pantyhose). Please tell me I'm not the first person who's gone on a shopping binge and ended up with a ton of stuff I didn't need and somehow still didn't own a white button up shirt?  And that I'm not the only woman who stands in front of a closet overflowing with clothes but often feels she has nothing to wear?  But, it's a new year and I'm on a mission to revamp my wardrobe, figure out what my personal style is, and hopefully be a smarter shopper.

I've tried using those "ten essential items" lists or "20 things every woman should own".  While helpful, those lists feel incomplete.  First of all, what exactly do I own? Secondly, what do I do with the wardrobe I have (which includes waaaaay more than ten items) and what do I need to buy (or throw out) to make it better?  Plus, what do I need aside from those first ten items to express my own, personal style?

I know . . . deep, deep questions.  Anyway, I had a lightbulb moment a few weeks ago.  In my normal life, not rambling on the internet, I analyze data.  (I know this is the moment you see me as a scary cat lady with spectacles and zero social skills. Don't worry that's a false stereotype.  Though I do wear glasses)  And, I started to think, if I can take a company's financial or personnel records and use them to tell them where they need to hire or cutback, why couldn't I use data, my own data, to be a better shopper?  Thus starts the nerdiest fashion project in the history of the world.