size-based purging

LaPed

How many different sizes do you keep in your wardrobe?

Are you more likely to hang onto clothes that are too small or too large (this is an analog to the glass half-full vs half-empty, isn't it)?

I have about 6 pairs of pants that are too large. Not falling off, but too big to wear in public. I'm keeping them for the garden, but 6 is a lot of pants for a few hours of chores per week!

I have a few shirts that look too small to me now--they date back at least a decade, and I'm pretty sure hemlines are a lot longer now, or else it's just that I'm not a student anymore and I shop places that sell longer shirts? In any case, my almost-cropped tees and tanks have been relegated to the sleep/lounge pile. Mostly because they have graphics I feel emotionally attached to and aren't worth purging.

10 years ago

General

9 replies

Latest reply was from kerlyn

abc

Veteran

I remember a post a while back talking about this. Basically how many sizes do you keep in your wardrobe due to size fluctuation. I think it's a personal thing. Some people are only ever +/- a few pounds and not even a size so their size range is narrow, while others (myself included) fluctuate quite a bit in weight/size so a clothes to accommodate this seem normal.

Re shirts being smaller, if you're attached and can't bear to purge them, your idea for gardening or sleep shirts is great.

10 years ago

Author Linda

Veteran

My weight has fluctuated a lot within the last ten years. I'm now at my lowest weight in decades, with the result I have--or rather, had--a lot of clothes in bigger sizes. I haven't really held on to them. I didn't want to give myself an escape route into those larger sizes by already having them on hand. This is purely me working with my psychology. It's lots more painful for me to have to buy new things because I have "nothing to wear."

One interesting thing is I can now fit into clothes I outgrew before but which I held onto. It's nice to be able to wear some of my old favorites again! Cashmere sweaters. A few tees. A leather jacket. Some jeans. My beloved St. Johns knits. So holding onto clothes does make sense if they can make the transition between your old style/era and the new.

So I guess my take is a person should hang onto any clothes they think they might possibly want to wear again. For health and personal reasons (my weight loss basically cured my diabetes, so I don't want to ever regain that weight), I didn't keep my larger sizes. But if I knew I might want to wear them someday, I would definitely hold onto them. You've already invested the money, so why not?

10 years ago

Alassë

Veteran

I agree with Author Linda (assuming you have space).

10 years ago

plonkee

Active Member

I think this depends on closet space and personal honesty. If you don't have much room you need to let things go sooner. And you'll be more successful at holding on to the right things if you are honest about whether you love them enough to wear them when they're not super fashionable.

10 years ago

Anonymous

I've purged larger sized stuff, but never smaller sized stuff. Also, I wear pants that have a waistband (no elastic waist) to help me keep my weight in check.

10 years ago

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

LP, I think that tops are definitely longer than they used to be a few years ago. When I lost weight a couple years ago, I had kept some things from a smaller size that fit again, but I ended up culling most of the tops because they were just too short and looked really dated.

I keep a size up and a size down, because I've been vacillating up and down a 20-pound range my entire adult life, and I doubt that it will change anytime soon. I do look at stuff before I put it away, and don't keep anything that's near the end of its wearable life, stuff I never liked, or anything trendy and dated. Because tops and dresses tend to work over a larger size range, what I'm mostly swapping in and out is bottoms - pants and skirts.

Also, I put stuff *away* - anything that doesn't fit right now is not in the active part of my closet; it's in bins or in my guestroom closet. I have a hamper where I keep a few "almost" items so that I can pull them out when things have shifted a bit, like the 5 pound shift around that time of month. It makes me too crazy to have things that don't fit actively in my eyes as I'm making outfits and getting dressed. I try on everything at least once a season, more if I'm actively losing, been sick, etc., so that I know that anything I grab will at least fit my body.

10 years ago

Renee P

Active Member

I guess it depends. If your weight fluctuates one size here and there, I'd be okay with keeping them. I tend to retain quite a bit of water once a month, so I do keep some of the larger sized things.

If you are recovering from an eating disorder, keeping the super small sizes in your closet would be just a great big trigger.

10 years ago

Anonymous

Five pounds either way necessitates a different size to fit comfortably. This means that at times in my life I have owned the exact same pair of slacks in three different sizes. Currently I only own clothes that I can fit into comfortably. I purged all the items that were way, way too small (easy decision), all the items that were one size too large (a bit harder for me to do), and finally, all the items that I hoped one day to fit into again (these were the hardest of all).

It helps that I buy a lot of knits now. Knits seem more forgiving. I also always buy pants that have belt loops. This means I can wear my pants even when they get a bit loose in the waist.

10 years ago

kerlyn

Veteran

I keep a few favorites in a size up and a size down, since I tend to vacillate by about 5 to 10 pounds. The pants are kept at the back of my closet, and the shorts are in a dresser drawer out of the way. I recently purged a couple pairs of jeans that were a size too big because they just looked dated.

10 years ago

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