Keeping clothes around that are too small... waste of time?

zaftiggirl
zaftiggirl Posts: 82 Member
in Motivation and Support
I ordered a pair of jeans online, and they ended up being too small... but to the point where I could probably fit into them by fall. Should I keep them or return them for the next size up? Are you motivated by skinny clothes or do they just take up room in your closet/prevent you from wearing cute clothes in the here and now?
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Replies

  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    I am motivated by clothes that are too small. When I lift weights I don't lose many pounds but I lose inches so clothes are a good way to monitor my progress. If you need a pair of jeans now you could exchange them. If not, use them as motivation and try them on once a week.
  • tabbykat6802
    tabbykat6802 Posts: 233 Member
    I personally would keep the jeans as a small goal motivational tool.
  • lilbearzmom
    lilbearzmom Posts: 600 Member
    I don't know how much you paid for them, but I recently bought a new pair of jeans at a consignment shop, and while I thought they looked fine when I tried them on at the shop, when I got home it was muffintop city. I need to lose a little more before I wear them. I'm keeping them.

    -Kendra
  • kdkyzer
    kdkyzer Posts: 137 Member
    I absolutely keep clothes that are too small, unless they are unreasonably small. But I toss 'em if they are too big. I like knowing that if I gain weight back, then I'll have to go out and buy new clothes in a BIGGER size, which I would hate. But having the SMALLER size clothes around always motivates me!
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
    If I hadn't kept my smaller clothes, I'd be rather short of tings to wear right now. Even in the smallest of them, I'm starting to swim. Losing weight is an expensive business on the clothes-replacement front - if you have something smaller, I'd keep it - limits the expenditure required a little bit!
  • zachherda
    zachherda Posts: 47
    I recently had knee surgery gained a lot of weight and had terrible eating habits and I have a fair amount of shirts that I "fit" into but look terrible on me. I do have some that I ordered as well that just never have fit. It is my motivation to someday make into those and look good in them.
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
    Waste of time for me-- by the time I tried to wear them, they were too big.
  • TheStephil
    TheStephil Posts: 858 Member
    I have at least 5 pairs of jeans that won't fit me but I keep them to motivate me to keep losing. I probably won't wear them when I can fit because they were from my high school days and not my style anymore but it will be a huge achivement to fit in them.
  • Sepa
    Sepa Posts: 243 Member
    Keep them. I have a box full of clothes i purposely bought too small. so i have 1 of everything - bikini, underwear, jeans, top, shorts, skirt, dress and black trousers
  • yinkyo
    yinkyo Posts: 78 Member
    I kept all my clothes from my smallest size (12) up to my current size, so I have the inspiration, the motivation, and don't have to buy all new wardrobes each time I go down a size or two xDD. The smaller ones are in storage, but I do have one size small t-shirt that I have tacked up on my "Goal" wall. I'll know, when I fit into that shirt well, I've made my goal, whether the scale says what i want it to, or not.
  • majica8
    majica8 Posts: 210 Member
    Keep them. I haven't actually purchased any new clothes recently but I have some around from when I was younger that haven't fit for years. Some do now fit and some are not far off. It's good motivation for me, and I love that I can fit into things I haven't worn in years, even if it's just a t-shirt.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I still have all my clothes from before I gained weight. Some of which I only got to wear a few times. For me they are motivation. Right now I'm wearing clothes that are too big, but I'm getting close to being able to fit into a pair of pants I bought when I first started to gain weight. I'd have to go clothes shopping (which I really don't have the money for) soon if I didn't have all my old clothes.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I only buy what fits and flatters NOW.

    I'm very particular about how jeans fit, and my body didn't shrink uniformly. I lost a lot more in my waist and stomach than I did in my thighs, so there's no guarantee that a particular pair of jeans that was allover too small would be flattering if/when I got just a little bit smaller.

    Depends on the type of clothes and the way it's supposed to fit. A pair of trousers that are just a little too snug in the waist, I'd probably keep.
  • wpbmommy1
    wpbmommy1 Posts: 58 Member
    I refuse to buy bigger clothes and still have my clothes when I was smaller. I'm keeping them as motivation! I was going to squeeze into a pair of shorts I love and take a picture as my BEFORE pic. I couldn't get them closed even for a second. They have now become my goal shorts.
  • diana031394
    diana031394 Posts: 17
    I've kept a lot of my skinny clothes. And, I know the thrill of suddenly fitting into things that were once too small.

    Most jeans are pretty classic anyway so you'll be able to wear them year after year when you are skinny!
  • BigDougie1211
    BigDougie1211 Posts: 3,531 Member
    For my 30th birthday my beloved and I went to Barcelona.
    About 3/4 of the way down the Ramblas, there's a cracking little Irish Bar called Molly's Fair City.
    On the night of my 30th, we ended up there all night, only leaving at around 4 or so.
    The staff were absolutely brilliant, really good laugh and " bought " me a few drinks for my birthday.
    They also gave me a souvenir T Shirt that should have cost around 15 Euro.
    It was an XL that was like lycra on me and we all had a bit of a giggle about it, but I kept it as a souvenir of a brilliant trip and a great night.
    That was almost 6 years ago.
    Intermittently I'd come across it while tidying things away or searching for something and try the T Shirt on, have a little smile to myself in memory of that night and sigh at how fat I was.
    However, 3 weeks ago, same thing happened, organising the spare room and came across the T.
    Friday my Girlfiend and I went for a bit of lunch and when I took my hoodie off, to her amazement, I was wearing the T Shirt.
    It fits me realy well - a little loose, just how I like my T Shirts.
    Now, it's not the most fashionable thing, but the sense of achievement I felt from being able to wear it out in public was massive.
    In short - Keep the small clothes.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
    I have 5 pairs of jeans that have never fit me but by God I will keep those jeans until I can sausage my way into them!
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    I would keep them. My daughter gave me a pair of jeans when I first started that were too small. I could button them but they were way too tight. Now, 9 months later, they are too big! I love putting them on and thinking about how tight they once were!
  • SadKitty27
    SadKitty27 Posts: 416 Member
    You should keep them. Not only is it a goal to motivate you, but you'll regret it later.

    For example, I gave away all my "skinny clothes" I thought I'd never wear again (I had two large storage tubs of clothing that I was holding onto.) I thought I'd never lose any weight ever...

    Now I'm losing weight, and really really wish I hadn't given away all my nice clothing :sad:

    Granted I'm almost at the half way point in my weight loss journey, and it'd be roughly another 48 pounds until I could wear them again comfortably, but still.....(PS. Ticker is not showing proper loss. I started at 218, and weigh 173lbs 150 is my short term goal and 125 is my vanity goal.)
  • that_Va_chick
    that_Va_chick Posts: 112
    Keep them...once you start reaching your weight loss goals..you are going to go in the closet try them on and they will fit perfectly. I brought some jeans 2 months ago...and got them on today and there a little baggy. That is a great NSV to share:wink:
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    Kept some too small clothes once :happy:

    By the time I tried them on again, they were too big :noway:

    Waste of money and space.
  • MaydayParadeGirl
    MaydayParadeGirl Posts: 190 Member
    I have my 'skinny' clothes and they are in a progression of getting smaller so I can put them on and be like 'hellz yaaaaaaaay' when they fit. Obviously some of the stuff like tee shirts I won't wear again I'm going to donate. I would suggest keeping them because then you can hang them on your wall or something and look at tehm and they can motivate you to get to that place where you can fit.
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    I'm not motivated by smaller clothes, so I would send them back, but if you feel it motivates you to work out or avoid the extra slice of cake, hold onto them. I'm motivated more by progress - how loose my current clothes are fitting - rather than the end goal.
  • oldandhealthier
    oldandhealthier Posts: 449 Member
    Keep them, I have gone through 5 sizes of my smaller clothes with 2 to go. I refuse to buy clothes till I have used up those last 2 sizes. Why buy clothes when I drop a size so often? Besides it is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment each time.
  • TheBeerRunner
    TheBeerRunner Posts: 2,777 Member
    I have a ton of stuff from when I weighed less, but it did nothing but annoy me by taking up space. I threw most of it out... Though it was rather inspiring to comfortably fit into something that I had that was way too small when it was bought.
  • EvilFeevil
    EvilFeevil Posts: 95 Member
    I used to be a US size 3/5 and ballooned up to a 12 and was pushing 14 but refused to buy 14's (no offense to anyone for which a 12 is your small size, I'm short and petite so that was huge on me) and that was when I decided to make a change and start losing weight. I kept all of my small clothes and I'm wearing a pair of my transitional size 7 Levi's jeans right now!! :laugh:

    I try not to buy fad styles anyway; the things I buy are normally timeless, style-wise, so the Capri pants I wore ten years ago when I was a size 5 will still look good when I fit back into them after I lose another 10+ pounds. Heck, if you save something long enough, it may even come back in style! Although I refuse to buy into the retro-80s style neon clothes that I am starting to see on the clothing racks in my local dept store. Blech!
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  • SkinnyMsFitness
    SkinnyMsFitness Posts: 389 Member
    Personally, I think the "too small" clothes work as great motivation! However, the clothes you may have outgrown need to be ditched! That's the rules I've been going by. I don't need motivation to gain weight. lol ...I've even kept some clothes from my skinnier days (10 yrs ago) to gauge my progress when that time may come. :-) Best of luck!
  • TomTomsMom11
    TomTomsMom11 Posts: 2 Member
    I also say keep them, especially if they aren't many,many sizes too small and something that's not a fad. I like the idea of using them as motivation & a gauge. Keep working and you'll soon have a NSV to post! I've gone through my closet a couple of times and I just keep things that are too small if I really, really like them and they have more classic styling that I will actually wear later.
  • MsStang02
    MsStang02 Posts: 147 Member
    I would keep them. I bought a "someday" dress for when I lost some inches. I tried it on every few weeks to see my progress. I tried it on this last time (on Saturday), and it was too big!!
    I kept a pair of smaller jeans to rank my progress. I could not get them past my thighs 6 months ago, now they fit and button, no muffin top.
    I say keep them!

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