I’m three sizes bigger and more than 20 kilos heavier than I was in high school. Why am I telling you this? Well, to remind you that I peaked at 17. No, to let you know that my wardrobe is absolutely packed to the brim. Not only do I really love clothes, but with a body that’s fluctuated so much over the years, my wardrobe spans from a size six to a size 14.
I can tell you right now that I still have some of those size six outfits squirrelled away somewhere. And I’m not alone in keeping clothes in my wardrobe that don’t fit me anymore. Research shows that I’m part of the 85% of women who do the same. A hastily conducted survey in our (virtual) office showed that out of seven people, five people are guilty of doing the same.
Men aren’t immune to it either. Research from Ingenta Connect found that men keep ill-fitting clothes for several reasons, including weight management, investment value and sentimental value.
Women’s reasoning is very similar – garments are emotionally charged. Just think of things like wedding dresses or formal dresses. A one-hit wonder for sure (will you really wear it again?), but something that holds so much emotional weight can be hard to let go of. Other pieces of clothing are reminders of certain phases throughout our lives. A time we think we were happier, looked better, where we lived someplace special.
So how do we break up with our old wardrobes?
It’s as wise philosopher Sharpay Evans once said, “It’s out with the old and in with the new.”
You may need to separate yourself from the garment before you separate the garment from the closet. Marie Kondo it, and thank each item before getting rid of them. Licensed clinical psychologist, Dr Yuko Hanakawa told Huffpost that “when we feel gratitude toward our personal items, we feel gratitude toward certain parts of ourselves”, adding that we do, in fact, project ourselves onto the items we have.
Others take a more ruthless approach (looking at you, co-workers), and just get rid of clothes as soon as they don’t fit — packing them up and donating them to charity.
If neither of those options is the right ones for you, consider clothing reincarnation. Sell them on Depop, eBay or Facebook Marketplace — give them a second life, and get some of your money back.
If your weight does fluctuate, and you do need new clothes, consider clothes that will move with you. I’ve become a huge fan of slip skirts. They’ve got elastic waistbands, are available in a plethora of bright colours and make my arse look mint — no wonder I’ve got six of them! Also whoever brought ruching back into tops… genius.
Now it’s time for me to dig that size six Sass & Bide dress out of storage, where it sits gathering dust and finally pass it on. It’ll make one op-shopper out there very happy.