An emotional parting with clothes.

Options
Pearsquared
Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
in Motivation and Support
It's time to part with much of my old wardrobe. They are just uncomfortably big, but not at all at a good enough quality to get tailored. I've had enough thrift store visits to last a week or two in clothes (along with the few pieces I am keeping), so now it's time to let the rest go.

It's kind of a sentimental parting because I've had a lot of these clothes for a few years, some since high school. I'm not a big clothes shopper, so I'll hold onto things until they fall apart.

I can't bear to hold onto them, partly because I try to be minimalist, and partly because I can't have that comfort zone with clothes. I still remember where I was when I bought some of them, and why I was buying them (because most of the time, I had to have a good reason to buy new clothes).

Because clothes shopping is now more fun (and I've discovered the joy of thrift shopping) I am collecting many more clothes, but I think about them wistfully because I know, eventually, they'll be too big as well!

It's just a weird feeling, really.

Replies

  • mjsunshine16
    mjsunshine16 Posts: 251 Member
    Options
    It's not easy but think about the people you are donating them to. Either they can't afford clothes or they have lost weight to and need a new wardrobe.

    Keep up the great work!
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Options
    It's not easy but think about the people you are donating them to. Either they can't afford clothes or they have lost weight to and need a new wardrobe.

    Keep up the great work!
    That's a great way to think about it. (: I'm always grateful to the people who donated clothes so I could have something nice to wear while I'm "in progress".
  • alglenn2013
    alglenn2013 Posts: 97 Member
    Options
    I'm the same way about shopping. I only buy clothes when I have a specific purpose in mind. I think this is because I am so self conscious about how clothes fit (read how fat I look in them) that I avoid it at all costs. I can't wait for shopping to be fun!

    This made me think about the pants I wore to work today. They are too loose and I will need to replace them soon. I bought them less than a year ago because I was starting my new job.I usually get years out of a pair of pants, but this pair might be retired before they've had their first birthday! (OK so that kinda feels awesome!)
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Options
    I'm the same way about shopping. I only buy clothes when I have a specific purpose in mind. I think this is because I am so self conscious about how clothes fit (read how fat I look in them) that I avoid it at all costs. I can't wait for shopping to be fun!

    This made me think about the pants I wore to work today. They are too loose and I will need to replace them soon. I bought them less than a year ago because I was starting my new job.I usually get years out of a pair of pants, but this pair might be retired before they've had their first birthday! (OK so that kinda feels awesome!)
    I think I was the same way. It got to be a struggle at my heaviest because the largest sizes at JCPenny and Kohl's (at least, the straight-size, more youthful sizes) were not fitting at all, even though they had before. Clothes shopping was not fun then.

    I had jeans that I bought less than a year ago that are now way too big as well. I usually had to replace jeans fairly often because I had pretty strong chub rub and it would wear holes in the jeans, but those jeans are actually still nice because I lost enough weight to where they don't rub nearly as hard anymore.
  • adorable_aly
    adorable_aly Posts: 398 Member
    Options
    You know, I see it as the opportunity to create new memories. Personally I couldn't wait to get rid of them. The one thing I kept was my 'graduation dress' that I was supposed to wear. I never wore it because it was massive by the time that I graduated. Now every time I see it in the wardrobe I look at it and smile, and think about how far I have come!
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 921 Member
    Options
    I got rid of half of my old wardrobe at a yard sale, practically giving away everything at $2 per piece. I was literally nauseous. I LOVE my clothes. I was really sad to see such nice pieces go but they were like 4-6 sizes too big. Time for someone else to enjoy them. The rest I gave to a friend at work.

    I am slowly building my wardrobe back. I also do thrift stores and have gotten great stuff but it is time consuming "work" when you have small kids.

    Glad to hear that you enjoy the process now, and you will probably acquire lots of clothes! Enjoy!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    Options
    I completely understand. For years, even through pretty major weight shifts, I had all of the same clothes in similar sizes. It seemed like no matter how much my body changed I could make them work just fine, up until the last 25 lb and then I had to face facts when even my fiance, family members, and coworkers gently told me "Those pants are REALLY too big for you" and stuff like that.

    I also lost all of my clothes in a tornado in May 2011. It all just blew away along with my house. While that probably sounds more dramatic than it was...I had to get everything brand new (and/or secondhand "new to me"). I spent an entire summer thrift shopping in several cities to create my PERFECT wardrobe. Two years later, it's all way too big. Which is good...but difficult. Here I go again, and now I don't feel as invested because like you, I know that in a few months to a year I'll part with all of this stuff too.

    I've tried to view it as a time to have more of a capsule wardrobe. And I'm still struggling to force myself to WEAR THE CLOTHES instead of "saving" a party dress or favorite pair of jeans. It's either wear it, or miss out. For years I "saved" things, and didn't really regret it because the high quality interview-time dress pants from 2004 still served me well in 2010. You get the picture. Time for change!!!

    ETA: at this very moment, sixteen articles of my old fav clothing are in the back of my car waiting to be sold at lunchtime to a stranger. Ahh....
  • Lannister80
    Lannister80 Posts: 50
    Options
    I hear you...I've been doing a huge overhaul this week. I look at things I only wore a couple times, and all I can think of is the money I wasted. But I never knew how to dress my body! Donating makes me feel good, but really wistful. There are MEMORIES attached to some items! And there are items I just needed to get rid of BECAUSE of memories.

    One thing I do like is finding clothes from my previous weight loss a few years ago (WW, 45 lbs, and then I quickly gained it all back plus 7 lbs) that I stuffed away in hopes that I could wear them again. I just found my favorite denim skirt and a bunch of adorable t-shirts. That's one way that my pack rat tendency is paying off. The Old Navy shorts/pants I found....yeah, I needed to learn that just because it was my "size" doesn't mean it would fit properly!! Can we say narrow and low slung? And this was before the material got so thin!
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Options
    I hear you...I've been doing a huge overhaul this week. I look at things I only wore a couple times, and all I can think of is the money I wasted. But I never knew how to dress my body! Donating makes me feel good, but really wistful. There are MEMORIES attached to some items! And there are items I just needed to get rid of BECAUSE of memories.

    One thing I do like is finding clothes from my previous weight loss a few years ago (WW, 45 lbs, and then I quickly gained it all back plus 7 lbs) that I stuffed away in hopes that I could wear them again. I just found my favorite denim skirt and a bunch of adorable t-shirts. That's one way that my pack rat tendency is paying off. The Old Navy shorts/pants I found....yeah, I needed to learn that just because it was my "size" doesn't mean it would fit properly!! Can we say narrow and low slung? And this was before the material got so thin!
    Haha, that's awesome to dig them out. Sizing is so weird, and I guess would get weirder as we get older too, lol. I can't believe how tight I used to wear my jeans. I don't have any old small clothes, though, because I haven't been this skinny since I hit puberty! xD
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    Options
    I don't have any old "skinny clothes" either. The smallest I've been since age 14 was back in 2001 (about 5 lb smaller than I am currently) and I was only at that weight for a few months before going right back up.

    For me it's actually weird to have a closet full of XL and 1X tops. I have not had that *ever*. It seems like I went from being a ladies size large when I was 12-13 to suddenly wearing a 2X/3X, partly because I was that big but also partly because I came of age in the 90's when baggy was "in" and I wanted to hide any potential bulges with an enormous baggy top.
  • mspoopoo
    mspoopoo Posts: 500 Member
    Options
    I can't say I've ever had any attachment to any larger size clothes I've had. I can just easily dump them.

    It was harder to dump the cute smaller size jeans etc.

    I can't wear clothes that don't fit or look sloppy in my line of work so I would have to get new things as soon as the old doesn't fit.
  • Camera_BagintheUK
    Camera_BagintheUK Posts: 707 Member
    Options
    I dropped a dress size at about the same time I lost my job :ohwell: so I've been buyng some stuff from charity shops or cheap shops and I've got my sewing machine out and been taking in waistbands and legs of trousers, and sides of tops - there's only a few things I regret as now being too big to wear - I got a lovely John Rocha dress a couple of years ago, red, with beads on - which I loved because it fitted nicely but obviously now it's too big, and I don't know what to do with it. I'm wondering if I could take the top off and adjust the skirt? But I also have a pretty cream suit I bought for a friend's wedding some years ago that got too tight, and now I can wear it again! (Just need someone to bet married so I can put it on).
  • ViktoryaC
    ViktoryaC Posts: 124 Member
    Options
    18 months ago I was a size 4, and now I'm a size 16. I had been a 4 my entire adult life so I have a HUGE closet full of size 4's that I cant possibly fit into. And having fattened up so much, so fast, all I really have are stretchy elastic pants, leggings, blouses that don't always button right, etc. As soon as I can afford to, weight loss or not, I need to buy new stuff. I don't really have room in my apartment for 2 wardrobes. Given that I'm 30 now, and don't feel likley to see a size 4 again :sad: maybe its time for me to donate a bunch of stuff to Goodwill?
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Options
    I don't have any old "skinny clothes" either. The smallest I've been since age 14 was back in 2001 (about 5 lb smaller than I am currently) and I was only at that weight for a few months before going right back up.

    For me it's actually weird to have a closet full of XL and 1X tops. I have not had that *ever*. It seems like I went from being a ladies size large when I was 12-13 to suddenly wearing a 2X/3X, partly because I was that big but also partly because I came of age in the 90's when baggy was "in" and I wanted to hide any potential bulges with an enormous baggy top.
    Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever worn a size small - at least, since I started noticing sizes. I'm in mediums right now and still 20 lbs. away from goal. That's something that makes a little flutter in my chest. o:
  • agdyl
    agdyl Posts: 246 Member
    Options
    I also recommend keeping a few things for reference/sentimental value. I have a blue velvet and sequin dress that I wore to a formals in college - I can't imagine wearing it out anywhere, but it's fun to have just so I can try it on and see that I'm smaller now than I was in college. I wouldn't use it as an excuse to keep a whole extra wardrobe (unless you have tons of space), but keeping a few things that have real sentimental value is a good thing, I think.
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Options
    I also recommend keeping a few things for reference/sentimental value. I have a blue velvet and sequin dress that I wore to a formals in college - I can't imagine wearing it out anywhere, but it's fun to have just so I can try it on and see that I'm smaller now than I was in college. I wouldn't use it as an excuse to keep a whole extra wardrobe (unless you have tons of space), but keeping a few things that have real sentimental value is a good thing, I think.
    I think that's a good idea. I am keeping a Google shirt that was given to us when we worked as vendors for Google - it used to be slightly tight on me, but is one of my favorite shirts. It's way too baggy to wear out now, though. I'll also keep a pair of jeans from when I was at my highest weight for posterity.
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    Options
    I know what you mean. It is hard.

    I tried once to get rid of things that were too big & found myself hanging on to way too many things. Then, a few months ago I bit the bullet & got rid of everything that was too big. There wasn't much left other than old jeans that were too small & I've gone through most of them now. Pretty soon I'll even have to go jeans shopping.

    I had some things nice enough to have tailored but the cost to have it done was too high. The good things went to consignment & the rest was donated.

    I've also still got a ways to go so, while I'm having to buy a new wardrobe, I'm spending as little as possible. I'm finding great deals on good quality clothing & when they are too big they will almost all go to consignment. I'll use the money I get for new clothes.

    I'm trying to buy some things just a little small when I order online but right now I'm having trouble believing I could fit in that size. It is hard to visualize it sometimes. Even at a store I bought a top & when I tried it on at home it was too big yet I could not imagine how the next size down could actually fit. I am working on that. I want to see the smaller me when I look in the mirror!

Categories