When I help my clients edit their wardrobes, there are items that do not fit the current size and shape of their bodies. Items are ill-fitting for various reasons. For example, the size is right but the silhouette is a mismatch for the body type of the wearer. Or the size of the item is too big or small. Or laundering has caused an item to shrink or stretch out in the wrong places. Although I am an advocate for passing on clothes that do not fit, there are also reasons to keep them.

My clients and I discuss each ill-fitting item, and make a plan. Many are passed along. But more and more items that are in good condition are kept for the following reasons when clients really like the garment.

1. Alterations

Some items can be altered to create a good fit. Of course, alteration results are mixed and it’s a gamble. But if the alteration is fairly small, straightforward, and affordable, I vote give it a bash. It’s amazing how an item can be transformed to fit with a little nipping, tucking, and hemming.

2. Placeholders

Some clients continue to wear slightly ill-fitting garments because they are workhorses. They therefore serve as a placeholder until they find a better fitting version of the same item. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right item because of unavailability or budget constraints.

3. Weight Fluctuations

Some clients keep a range of sizes in items because their weight fluctuates regularly. This means that a size up or down will fit in the not too distant future. Other clients hold onto items that are several sizes too small because they are on a weight loss journey (especially post pregnancy). At the end of their journey, they refit the items they held onto, and reassess how they feel in them. If they fit and feel fab, great! They’ve successfully refreshed their wardrobe without spending a cent. If they don’t fit at this stage, or clients no longer like the items, they are passed on.

4. Held For Specific People

Some clients hold onto ill-fitting items so that they can be passed onto very specific people — like children, family members, or friends — when the time is right. If the items don’t end up fitting the recipient, they are passed on.

5. Sentimental Reasons

Items that no longer fit but represent a special moment or time in a client’s life can be kept for sentimental reasons. They decorate your wardrobe and make you smile each time you glance at them, or they can be stored somewhere else. For example, a client kept a stunning teal leather jacket she bought in Italy in the ’90s that is two sizes too big. But it’s pretty, her favourite colour, and might be passed onto a family member at some point. Another has kept an Aran jumper that she bought on a very fun Irish vacation decades ago. It’s too wide and too short, but it makes her happy seeing it with all her other gorgeous fab fitting pieces.

Over to you. Do you ever keep clothes that do not currently fit, and why?

Tights with skirts, dresses and shorts in colder weather can be a fab look if you don’t mind wearing thick hosiery. Keeping the tights neutral, non-neutral, solid, patterned, low-contrast, or high-contrast is up to you. Choose the option that works with your sartorial preferences and makes you feel pulled together. 

Here are some potential outfit combinations for Team Tights.

1. Solid Sweater with Tights

This is the easiest combination to pull together. Combine a sweater with a pair of tights in the same colour so that they match. Here it’s a shade of olive. Finish off the look with a skirt and shoes in the same colour. Here it’s black, and matches the hair of the model. Throw a jacket or coat over the top and you’re done.

2. Pattern-Mixed Sweater with Tights

This is harder to achieve because you’ll need a pair of patterned tights that work with a patterned vest or pullover. Here the teal geometric pattern of the tights works well with the teal, pink and black geometric floral of the vest. The teal and geometric nature of the patterns pulls them together. The white shirt works well with the white soles of the shoes, while the black portion of the shoes works well with the black in the pattern of the vest. The cinnamon skirt matches the earthy centre of the floral pattern. A much more maximal combination, yet precisely matched in great detail.

3. Neutrals with Patterned Tights

This is an easy way to wear an outfit with patterned tights if you like to wear black. Combine a black dress with black shoes. Black booties are a good way to go. Throw in a pair of black patterned tights and Bob’s your uncle. These tights are dark navy, which works well too. A denim topper is an easy addition, but throw in any type of coat or jacket that works with the outfit and weather.

4. Shorts with Statement Tights

If you like to wear wintery shorts, by all means combine them with wintery tights. This outfit combines earth tones in high and low contrast and has a fab ‘60s vibe to it. The argyle tights make a statement as the only patterned component of the outfit. They perfectly match the palette, thereby adding polish to the look. The vertical pattern of the argyle accentuates the leg line and draws the eye up and down. Fun look! Add jewellery, watch and eyewear as desired.

Refinery29 tests whether ‘washable silk’ can really withstand the laundry machine.

The Guardian shares tips for how to keep swimwear in great condition.

They also have advice for what to do with clothes that have been caught in the rain.

Fab Links from Our Members

Runcarla wanted to share this article about how Fashion Week street style has been affected as international types stay home and ‘locals’ exert more influence at the venues.

She also thought these street style photos from Milan’s Men’s Fall/Winter 2022 shows were fun eye candy, and inspiration.

Roberta is very sad that André Leon Talley has died, and wanted to share these great remembrances of him, and this wonderful visual tribute. She adds: “His last book, The Chiffon Trenches, was absoultely wonderful. I’m very hopeful there will be an exhibit of his amazing personal fashion, from couture suits to caftans.”

Nemosmom enjoyed this Vanity Fair article about the intriguing thought process and consideration when designing on-screen wardrobes for recent hits. 

Nikki enjoyed reading about puffer cases for the iPhone.

“Why the ‘ugly’ clog is the style statement of our times.” Nuancedream says: “I don’t think clogs have ever gone out of style. In my opinion, they are classic footwear. I have fond memories of my first (floral!) pair and wish my feet could still tolerate them.”

This caught Jaime’s attention: “New York Could Make History With a Fashion Sustainability Act“.

Stagiaire Fash directs us to this article about fashion and fairness.

As a non-traditional modest dresser, Vildy loved this video tour of Orthodox Jewish street fashion. She adds: “I do come from this background generations back, and have extended family in some of these neighborhoods. As the video says, none of them are just dressed in black. It’s a You Do You modest style.”

UmmLila came across this article about how the pandemic has changed people’s dressing habits.

Iris Apfel celebrated her 100th birthday last year! She’s known for saying, “more is more, and less is a bore”. Whether you believe that or not, Angie found this list of Apfel’s forthright quotes fascinating, thought-provoking, and hilarious. Well worth a quick read and cerebral sink-in!

I’ve made many shopping mistakes in the past, but I learn from them and make fewer over time. When I do make one, it’s almost always with footwear. That held true in 2021 with a pair of sneaker oxford hybrids from Cole Haan. 

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But when I put them through their paces walking the doggies and running errands on foot, they starting feeling too short. My long toes curled up, cramped up, and went a little numb. The shoes were not comfortable at all. I tried removing the insole to see if that would help, but it didn’t. I have no idea why these shoes suddenly feel too short. I’ve re-fitted them on several times at home since I got them in August last year, and the result is the same. Too short, and unhappy feet.

I paid full price and they weren’t inexpensive. I was pretty sure they would be a slam dunk for my high maintenance feet, so it’s disappointing and annoying. What a waste of money. Despite trying to make the best informed decision about a new pair of shoes before committing to them, they didn’t work out. Road-testing them is the ultimate test, and unfortunately you usually can’t return shoes after you’ve worn them outside.

I’m not in the habit of consigning wardrobe items, or selling them on eBay. So my choices are to keep them and wear them for short periods of time with discomfort (which I doubt I will do). Or to pass them on to someone who will wear them with joy. In the meantime, I’ve learned that my long toes need more room than I think they do, and especially in the length. I need to be even pickier about shoes that earn a place in my wardrobe because when you commute on foot like I do, shoes have to go the distance, and you expect more of them. Onward to a more comfortable pair of shoes with ample length for my long toes.