Interesting topic, Angie. I suppose you mean items that you like and fit you but are not wearing for some reason . Here’s my list:
1) My beautiful unusual brown leather jacket by Jack&Rae. The cut is so different that I never now what to wear with it, so it just sits in the closet. Hmm, now that I remembered it think I’ll post it’s picture on the forum and ask for advice.
2) My skinnies. I thought I looked pretty bad in them, but you wonderful guys here have convinced me that I can pull them of with longer tops. So I soon as I find appropriate tops, they won’t be here anymore.
3) Beautiful day items such as silk blouses, pencil skirts,dresses, high heels that are waaay too dressy for my daily work in my lab. I am very drawn to items like this, but don’t have a lifestyle to support them, being a grad student that works in the lab 6 days a week, 12 hours a day.
4) My collection of cute going out tops, since I almost never actually go out.
5) Brown suede tulip skirt – fits perfectly, but could not find an occasion to wear it.
6) My entire ballroom-dancing-appropriate-clothes (and shoes) collection. I quit my competitive ballroom dancing career two years ago trying to speed up my graduation process. Once I (finally) graduate, I’ll be back and will need these items again.

I used to love collared golf-type shirts and sneakers. I stocked up on those two kinds of items during that phase. Now I can’t bring myself to wear them, yet I can’t get rid of them. I rarely wear those clothes or shoes anymore because they are my least favorite.

Thanks for sharing your wardrobe orphans with us, Tanya. Very interesting. It’s funny how we can be drawn to certain things, and they look fab, but we don’t get a chance to wear them, or simply don’t wear them. In your case, it sounds like your items flatter, but you lack the opportunity.

The other part to this question is directed at those who know they have items that do not flatter, but they can’t part with them. I’m hoping that this blog post encourages the passing on of those items. Own up everybody!

By all means post your brown jacket on the forum so that we can help you shop in your closet. You did a superb job the last time!

Definitely my evening wear stuff just sits there

Plus I have way too many spring coats.. I have to pare down

I have this great faux looking leather jacket but it’s FAUX so if I wear it, it traps all the moisture in and makes me uncomfortable.

I bought this beautiful gray silk A-line skirt a while ago and still haven’t figured out how to incorporate it into my wardrobe, because most of my clothes are too textured or voluminous. I haven’t worn it since I bought it–so depressing. Actually, I have a lot of fancy frocks that I just don’t wear because the occasion’s never dressy enough and I hardly ever go out to places where I need to dress up.

I just discovered your website not too long ago, and have to say have enjoyed all the blogging and different areas of the site. As for this question, I want to offer my sundress collection. I love any style, love showing my shoulders. The problem is, I don’t really have anywhere to wear these anymore. I’m freezing in them at work, and although a cute cardigan is fine with them…no more shoulder-baring! There’s only so many weddings and showers to wear them to a year.

Unsurprisingly, it’s my shoe collection. None of them stand up to the combination of my messed up feet and the amount of walking I put them through. They’re fine for a trip to the mall or a day at work when I don’t have too much walking to do, but they’re still nowhere near the comfort of my winter boots.

And by extension, all my skirts and dresses, leggings and tights, and anything else that would call for a dressier shoe just seems to sit in my closet because I have nothing to put on my feet.

1) High heels. I like walking, and high heels are uncomfortable. Also, I am a klutz, so they are dangerous.

2) Suits. Worn only for interviews.

3) Dresses. I feel like they should be worn with high heels or sandals, but I don’t like high heels, and I’m trying to get rid of an ugly toenail fungus so I don’t want to wear sandals. I haven’t found boots I like yet.

4) Some of my jewelry that either doesn’t seem to go with anything I have or doesn’t go quite as well as something I like more.

As far as things that don’t flatter, I’m afraid those aren’t orphans. I just wear them anyway (and tell myself not to get these kinds of things again)! Mostly these are clothes that are too big on me (especially t-shirts). And things that are too worn, now (the holes are still tiny!). And things made of polyester (which make my boyfriend cringe).

My dark wash trouser jeans. I spent too much on them to abandon them and I do wear them. But I discovered I do not like the side slit pockets. And they are fading already. Maybe that will eventually be my excuse to replace them.
Cardigans. Once again, I do wear them but I am constantly conflicted with them because I like to be able to button at least several buttons and they always tend to pull around the waist. It seems to me that cardigans are cut to pull open. I check for this in the store but I find if I go up a size from my normal size then it just looks like a blob. I should probably take Nicole’s advice and choose a few to have sewn shut and then wear the rest open all the time.
Cocktail dress I bought to have on hand. While it fits well and looks good, I don’t love it. I can’t return it and I haven’t gotten a chance to wear it.

I’d say my top 3 fashion orphans are:

1. a Tracy Reese blouse with bell sleeves and a fitted waist that ties in the back. Never have figured out where to wear it.

2. Button down dress shirts. I have a bunch of them but they’re always the last thing I pick to wear. Someday I’d like to have these custom made because the fit is so important and it’s rare to find one that works well.

3. About 75% of my shoes. I just stick with the basic that works but I can’t bring myself to get rid of the rest yet!

I seem to have a nice wardrobe of evening wear that never see the light of day…or evening! But these pieces are all so wonderful I can’t bear to part with them! I also have a nice collection of really hip, jackets and blazers that would be wonderful if I didn’t live in San Diego. But we are moving to the Seattle area this summer and I am excited that I will finally get to dress the way that I want to…rather than dressing to fight the intense heat and humidity. Once I move, all my shorts and tank tops will go into the “orphans” category!

What don’t you like about your cocktail dress, Patience? We all make fashion mistakes!

What is it about items that you don’t like, can’t wear or don’t flatter, that you can’t part with? I am having trouble understanding this concept. Enlighten me. It’s cluttering up your closet and someone needy of clothing or footwear can benefit from your charity. How can this not be motivating?

A chocolate brown pencil skirt with pleats at the bottom. I adore it, and it’s quite flattering, but I can never find a top that matches, but doesn’t make it look too corporate and boring. I think it still has the tags on

Many of my pants, because I gained weight.

My skirts and tights–because I gained weight.

Many of my sweater tops, because they are too short.

Many of my shoes, because I either don’t have pants that fit or can’t find pants long enough to wear the heels.

Black leather coat w/ fur collar–because I feel bad about the fur.

Red leather coat–need to be skinny to wear.

I’m in a bad fashion place having gained weight. I don’t want to buy clothes for this weight and I don’t seem to have the will power to loose weight.

Gap jeans- I always have the same problem with Gap jeans: the rise. Even when I buy low-rise, they sit close to my bellybutton and there is extra fabric at the crotch. When I bought the last pair, I tried on around ten pairs before picking one that I thought looked good. After one wear I realized that the rise was all wrong. I’m still stuck wearing them sometimes so I don’t wear my other pairs too often, but I hope denim skirts can take their place now that it’s warming up. It’s too bad, because otherwise they’re nice jeans.
Heels- I know they’re sometimes necessary, but I hate wearing heels. I’m already a tall girl, and the extra height (even with just a kitten heel) throws me off. Plus, I can’t really walk in them properly, so I can’t feel confident in them.
Wrap blouse- I love wrap dresses and tops, so I figured I would love this white collared wrap shirt that I got at H&M. The only thing is that the shoulder has a bit of a puffed detail, and although I am pear-shaped I think my shoulders are kind of broad, so having the shoulder line affected throws off the whole look for me. Otherwise, I would probably wear it all the time.

As others have said, button down shirts seem to be the item I forget about the most. I had them tailored but they aren’t quite fitting correctly, so I’ll have to look into that. I guess I’m not sure how to put them with an outfit – should they be tucked in or left out?

My dresses – I have a black evening dress, a summer dress and a fabulous dress for work but I only have printed ballet flats as my shoe options right now. As soon as I can get some pretty heels they will be orphaned no longer!

A lot of my slacks have been put on hold because of the need for heels, too. I hate wearing out the edge of my pants from them dragging on the ground!

Debbie M, I tried breaking up my suits and got a lot of use out of them that way. I’d wear dark denim with a bright knit and put the jacket over it for the office, or I’d wear the slacks and a cami and cardigan or knit with it to get use out of it. My suit fit so well, and it made me sad to see it unused in the closet!

I don’t dislike the cocktail dress– I’ve just since seen other dresses I like better. The true issue is that I haven’t had the opportunity to wear it.

I just gave away my biggest set of orphans – maternity clothes! I declared I would stick with one child, yet have held onto the clothes for the past two years anyway. Then my best friend got pregnant and I finally got them all out of here.

I have a bunch of old t-shirts that are still “good” but I rarely wear them except for the odd day of gardening. Most of the time I just leave them in their neat little stack in my closet.

I almost forgot about this – I have a bunch of crazy vintage dresses that I can’t part with but never wear.

Recently, I donated about 18 bags of clothing in the past 2 years. Many of the wardrobe orphans went in those 2 bags to the Salvation Army I have to say it makes it nice to open the closet and only have things I love and enjoy.

I have a few retro 1950’s outfits though that only come out when I go out to hear rockabilly music

Fantastic heels. I have just a couple of pairs of fantastic fashion forward heels, but end up never wearing them because they just don’t do the distance.

I’ve become pretty good at weeding out clothes that I don’t wear (meeting Angie has a lot to do with that ) I now regularly take things to a consignment store or give them to Goodwill. The remaining orphans are these:

Maternity clothes – kinda like Steph above; I somehow can’t seem to get myself to throw them out, even though I’m 99.9% sure that I do not want another child. I had a great pregnancy (7 years ago) and loved my maternity clothes, so I’m very nostalgically attached to them.

A few dresses – mostly for sentimental reasons:
- a short red one that was hand tailored for me in Thailand many years ago and is way too tight and short now
- a black formal one that I wore for my and my partner’s 5-year anniversary party (now ten years ago…), it’s nice but too long and not really my style anymore
- a blue form fitting velvet one that I wore to my brother’s wedding and that’s so comfortable; it’s not really that flattering on me anymore in the belly and hip area but somehow I still try it every year and can’t give it up…

And the one that makes me cringe and moan, because the item is so cool and I feel so silly not having made use of it: A beautiful (outerwear) jacket in dark blue burnt velvet with a pattern (I know I’m not describing this right…) in a very stylish cut and it’s very flattering on me. I bought it last year with Angie and I love it very much, but I have NEVER worn it because I can’t figure out what to wear it with and for what occasion. It’s really sad, since it was expensive and is real nice, and I feel guilty every time I look at it.

Reading this is sooo interesting. We should organize an event where we all show up in our wardrobe orphans. If there aren’t enough occasions to wear those cocktail dresses, high heels, flouncy blouses, stylish jackets etc. we gotta get better at creating those occasions

A lot of my skirts. I probably only wear 25% of what I own; when I put on a skirt, even if I like the look on the hanger, or even if it fits well I have trouble wearing anything other than the simplest of skirts that I own!

Interesting. Skirts, heels and dresses seem to be cropping up a lot.

I love sentimental clothing and by all means keep the pieces that tell a story. But box them if they clutter your closet.

I’m with you Antje! Ideally we need a two day YLF parade: a day to showcase our favourite wardrobe items, and another to debut our orphans. A clothing swop might be in order.

Welcome to Seattle, Marlene!

Button Down Shirts. I have several that fit well, are flattering, and would work well for work attire. I don’t wear them because they tend to ride up on me and I’m always tugging them back down. I don’t like the look of adjusting clothes. I feel it gives very insecure appearance.

I have a beautiful pair of lined wool pin stripe trousers. They fit great, are very flattering, and since I live in New England, I have many opportunities to wear wool pants. But I dread the dry cleaning bill and I always feel overly dressed up when I wear them.

I have a white short sleeved top that is a silky cotton material with a delicate detail around the neck. I’m not sure what to call this detail, it’s little squares that are cut out of the neckline. It’s very simple and understated though. I don’t wear it beacause I am afraid it’s too boxy at the bottom. I haven’t tried it on since last summer, so I might be wrong about that. But it looks boxy on the hanger!

Lastly, I have a few brown summer tops. I like them, but I just don’t know what to wear with them. Brown seems like such a fall/winter color to me. I know they’d look good with white, but I don’t own any white pants or skirts. That should be on my list, huh? I’m in the process of having about 10 pair of capri pants shortened into bermuda shorts. Maybe some of those will work with the brown tops.

Oh where do I start… I’ve been purging my closet every now and then for a few years, I separate tops from bottoms, order them in colors, but still find a lot of orphans. I’d say it’s caused by impulsive buying and lack of plans.

1. My collection of strappy 3-inch sandals. I own so many of them but can’t walk in them for more than 30 minutes. I can’t wear them to work or running around during weekends so they just sit neatly in their own boxes.

2. My evening dresses. Like mentioned above, not enough occasions to wear to. I don’t like to wear them anyway but have to keep them in case I need them again.

3. My bag collection. I kept buying new ones but only carry a few of them in neutral colors. I have some of them new with tags on, sitting in my closet waiting for me, but I don’t have any outfits that need them.

I’m trying to decide my signature style so I can get rid of those that don’t fit. I’m getting better now since coming to this site every day.

My cocktail dresses. Once upon a time, I needed a constant supply for sorority functions, but since then, I haven’t been able to stop buying ones I love and can get a good deal on.

Otherwise, I’ve been trying to get rid of my “orphans,” since I’m moving soon and hoping to pack very, very lightly.

I’m pretty good at culling items because we have little space, although it’s true I keep a few boxes of favorite clothes from 20 lbs ago because at my age it’s probably inevitable I will eventually regain some of this weight I recently lost. I was very choosy and only kept the things I loved when I was a few sizes bigger.

Otherwise:

1. Button down shirts. I have some that fit perfectly (which took forever to find), but I just don’t find them all that comfy. Guess I feel like a stuffed shirt in them!!

2. Khaki trousers!! Because Angie’s post yesterday makes me now look at them askance.

3. Shoes. I’m good about not buying anything over a 1-1/2 inch heel, but it’s true I have a fair amount of shoes right now that I should probably cull because they just aren’t working for one reason or another. Such as the red ballet flats that are uber-comfy until they start rubbing and give me blisters on my ankles. In general I think I need to be more focused about my shoe buying. I have a lot of shoes, but still not enough of the right ones!! Often, I buy just because it’s comfy… not necessarily because it works with anything in my closet. Then I end up with three pairs of brown sneakers when really I only need one!! (Bags I’m better with: I recently went through and did a quite scrupulous culling).

4. My new trench coat. Ages ago, I learned that I should never buy a trench coat because we really don’t have a spring here – it goes straight from winter to summer. I have one black trench and that should be all I need. But this season’s hyping of trench coats got me going… so I bought one… and I’ve only worn it twice. The first time I wore it, I really should’ve worn wool instead – I froze!! The second time, it was hot enough I carried it all night.

5. Bracelets. I went through a stage where I always had a bracelet on, so I have quite a collection. Then I got sick of them, so I haven’t worn one in ages and ages. Now I am in the mode of collecting necklaces, which are something I rarely wore, because they’re always a tad too long or I just don’t like to call attention to my neck. I guess now that I’m getting an aging neck, who cares… isn’t that weird, you’d think I’d be more sensitive about drawing attention, not less!!

6. A handful of skirts that probably are a size too big for me right now. They fall down lower on the hips than they used to, so I’m starting to realize maybe they are too long and also too full because my hips are slimmer.

Special occasion dresses – I’ve culled many of them out recently, ones that just don’t work or didn’t fit anymore. We do have frequent occasions to dress up, so I still have a decent stock left. Including…..

The three dresses I bought when we got married two years ago!!! Yes, I bought three different dresses, all champagne cocktail dresses. I let my girls choose which one I would wear for our wedding. I have not worn the other two yet, but I hang on to them because they are very nice, and I do think *someday* I will be able to wear them at a holiday function!!!!

I’ve never seen anyone post about this topic before, but I think about it alot. Some of my clothes I just love, but rarely have occasion to wear. Looks like we all do. Does anyone else just try them on on a rainy afternoon just to visit them again?…
My fav but seldom worn list…
Evening wear – this includes clothing, shoes and outerwear. I need it occasionally, but not that often. I love it, but it just hangs. I’ve tried to have pieces that are not trendy in this area so I can hold on to them for a while…The summer ones seem to get more wear with evening weddings.

Earrings – they used to be my fav accessory, but now with a new hair cut (Really short) they don’t look right and I find myself turning to bracelets and necklaces to keep the clean line of my head. But I still love earrings and have put most of them in small bags in a shoebox like a file. I can’t remember where I heard of this idea, but it works really well and doesn’t take up much space.

Silk blouses – I seem to always opt for the cotton ones. Here again the summer ones see daylight more often. They just feel less overdressed when I pair them with summer pants and skirts.

I love the idea of creating occasions to wear the orphans!

I recently found your website and I really enjoy reading what you have to say and all of the interesting blogs.

My lovely orphans are:

1. Several pair of beautiful dress shoes. I broke my leg several years ago, and being over 50, it didn’t heal properly. It also healed 1/2 in shorter than the other leg, so I now have to wear orthotics. I gave three bags of shoes to a women’s shelter, but I am still holding on to several pair. (Not that I will ever be able to wear them again.)

2. Quite a few of those scoop neck stripe “Ralph Lauren” tee shirts for casual. I thought I looked good in them several years ago, so I bought one in every color. Now they are too short and just make me look fat. Why can I not bring myself to get rid of them?

I have this full, pleated skirt that I just don’t know how to wear. It’s one of those reversible skirts from Gap a few years back. It’s bright pink on one side, and orange on the other. I’m not actually sure it’s really me or that flattering. I think I should just get rid of it, now that I think about it.

Great post, My orphans are: 1. shoes that don’t fit perfectly, 2. Khaki anything, 3. Button down shirts, (really don’t work with curves), 4. Wide leg pants (too clownish). 5. And I’m careful with colour…bold colour mostly in accessories…classic shades in clothes. Then have fun with layering, texture, proportion, shine. But mostly a good wardrobe is the result of a lot of experience.

One thing I forgot to mention: Anything that requires drycleaning or ironing. I just never remember to do it until I want to wear it, and then of course I don’t have time. I have a nice fitted buttondown shirt from BR, but it never gets worn because it’s too wrinkly.

I’ve been overhauling my closet for 4 months between research papers. A college student’s life. I still have far too many clothing items though, and the overhaul isn’t half done. I’d say most of my clothes that didn’t make my favorites list are orphans, or should be. Too many bad sale purchase. Some of them that look bad I wear anyway, but now I feel self-conscious when I do and can’t think about anything all day except the fact that my skirt is too long, my shirt is to short, my pants are too short, etc. To answer Angie’s question, the reason I hang on to clothes that don’t look good/I never wear is because I spent good money on them. I grew up with the mentality that you wear clothes until they wear out or you are too big for them (as a kid when I was still growing). Also, my husband likes some of my frumpy clothes… not sure why.

Hi everybody, My orphans are my necklaces. I don’t have the habit of wearing them but I wouldn’t think of getting rid of them. I wear some of them occasionally, but others I have never worn. I like them, it is just that I forget them in the morning, but this discussion is making me think to change that.
Thanks Angie!

I don’t like my skirts as well as I could because I feel I tend to put them together in an office-y type of way. Also, the whole process of putting a top with a skirt is enough to make me go crazy. I just got skirts that didn’t have to be hemmed but may not wear them because I am not “at the office” at the moment workwise. I prefer casual dresses or jeans to a skirt and top for downtime.

I used to have a lot of closet orphans when I worked in a very business-professional environment — not even khakis on Friday! Since I’ve transitioned to a casual-friendly office, my orphans are being adopted, slowly but surely…but here are the ones that will probably always be homeless.

* Bridesmaid dress from sister’s wedding. A GORGEOUS dress that fits me perfectly, but it’s so fancy and unique I’ll probably never get to wear it again. (To give you an idea of how it’s styled, it’d be perfect for a black-tie toga party! )

* Lots of my high heels. Remnants from my previous job…and although I enjoy a good high heel, unfortunately most of my casual pants are not hemmed for them.

* Every single item that just needs a simple alteration to look good. They are in a big pile for the tailor, but I probably need go to through the bag and decide if they’re worth keeping anyways.

* All of my “summer afternoon wedding” dresses — lots of floral prints and cotton fabrics. Just not appropriate for the office, no matter how good I look in them.

* Lots of jewelry: heirloom pieces passed to me, very expensive gifts, etc. Many of the pieces I don’t wear because they’re not my style, but I keep them for sentimental value.

[...] see closets full of beautiful skirts and the tags are still attached. These skirts are often closet orphans because their owners don’t have tops to accompany them. As a result I end up doing a lot of [...]

Wow, wide leg jeans! I have two pairs in mine! One I have not had a chance to wear after I bought it and now I turn to love skinny jeans. Though I still remeber how excited when I got it after searching for a long time(I was in China that time and it’s not the mainstream) and paid a big money for it. but now I feel not like it anymore.
High heel shoes, I almost only wear it at the time I tried it on before buying it. It’s so beautiful I can’t resist the temptation but it’s so incovenient to wear. Even my husband send me to work I still fill it’s a pain in high heel shoes for a whole day. I once asked my husband to send me a flat in office during lunch time.

I have a few skirts that are orphans because they no longer have tops that go with them. It’s most annoying. I’ll have to bring them in with me when I shop so I can look for the right colors to go with them.

I may say heck with it and give them to Good Will or something. I haven’t decided yet. I may take pix and post them up here for you ladies to help me with that.

[...] we know our wardrobe orphans will never work and we need to pass them on. My wide-leg pants, emerald green camisole and cocktail [...]

[...] compromise your fit and style standards just because something is inexpensive, you’ll end up with a closet orphan – a waste of money at any [...]