It’s in the details

Just how much detail does an author have to give before it just adds clutter?  I know of an author that puts so much detail into her work that I’d be willing to bet I could pick the lead characters out of a line up.  The imagery was terrific.  The story sucked.  I have a problem when reading historicals in that I really don’t give a crap what they wore to the third ball unless it has some bearing on the story.  If the author is trying to set the stage then describe one or two outfits not what they wore every time they go out.  For goodness sake some folks change two and three times a day!  Patricia Cornwell tells a terrific mystery but I could honestly give a crap about what they ate for dinner and whether the wine was a good pairing unless it pertains to the story.  Yes some scene setting is needed especially when world building and it is fun to know what folks are wearing and eating but some folks just go overboard.  What do you think?