To think this is why people buy all brand new clothes for holidays?

[Kittythepink]

We are going on a family holiday to the seaside tomorrow. I am so stressed under mountains of clothes to wash, iron and pack for five people.

AIBU to think this is why so many people go holiday shopping for brand new clothes? Put them straight into the suitcase what a brilliant idea!

Seriously though, does anyone buy all brand new clothes for going away? I used to know someone who bought all brand new underwear and socks for each holiday, so maybe it's a thing?

[GhostCurry]

“Ask the people saying it's wasteful and expensive can you please explain your reasoning behind that?

It cost me £38 for 4 pairs of shorts...”

Oh my god HotPatootieBootie no one cared how you spend your money when they say wasteful, they mean it’s wasteful of the planet’s resources. Not how much it affected your bank balance

[ByStarlight]

Definitely seems like a class thing to me. I never heard of this concept before meeting my DH in my 30s.

He’s from a very traditional wc background and I’m from more of a mc academic background. I always wear the same summer clothes each summer and replace items only if individual old items are getting past the point of repair. DH insists on buying new things for each holiday for himself and DS.

And then it’s always a pain if ever we go out anywhere as DH is too paranoid about him or DS “ruining” their best new things by spilling food or drink or sun cream on them, or telling DS off for playing in mud or sand in his best clothes.

I’d prefer it if we all wore our older stuff that we didn’t have to be so precious about and could just enjoy all holiday activities without trying to keep clothes looking perfect.

[Yeahnahmum]

Why. Are. You. Ironing.

Roll everything into a suit case. Helps to prevent wrinkles.

And i never experienced more washing prior to a holiday . Only afffter i came home.

[Alipaules33]

Firstly you should wash new clothes before wearing them!! Secondly, and without trying to sound like a bore... it’s hugely wasteful and environmentally irresponsible to just buy new clothes for your holiday because you can’t be bothered to wash your existing clothes!!!

[BatshitCrazyWoman]

@SingingSands

My work colleague does this every year. She gets super stressed out about shopping for holiday clothes, dragging her two kids around the nearest shopping mall for an entire day to kit them and herself out. She buys new everything: underwear, swimming costumes, complete outfits, shoes, bags, makeup etc.

I don't say anything, but have often thought that her house must surely be bursting with clothes by now!

She does it for events too - so every wedding, day at the races, work day out, planned day drinking in a different town etc. all results in an entire new outfit from top to toe.

'Planned day drinking'? Is that a thing??

[lazylinguist]

Ask the people saying it's wasteful and expensive can you please explain your reasoning behind that?

It's quite simple. If you are buying a lot of new clothes because you or your children genuinely need new ones, then it's not wasteful. People who buy a whole holiday wardrobe every year just because they like doing it and want to look like they're wearing new holiday clothes in their Instagram photos - that's pretty wasteful. Those clothes will end up in landfill when they are a year old. It's irrelevant how expensive it is - people's budget is up to them.

[SingleHandSue]

I always bought new stuff when we went away when the kids were little.

Nothing expensive, but we wouldn’t have 5 days worth of clothes to take without washing them and you can guarantee on the first day one of them spilling beans down their clothes.

We only went on a 4 night caravan break too but extra t shirts and shorts were definitely needed.

[MinorArcana]

HotPatootiebootie

Ask the people saying it's wasteful and expensive can you please explain your reasoning behind that?

It’s a question about whether the clothes are actually needed or not for me.

E.g. if you’re preparing for your holiday and none of the shorts fit, or they’re too tatty to be worn in public any more, then no, it’s not wasteful to buy new ones and wear them for the first time on holiday.

If your family have plenty of well fitting shorts in good condition, then yes, it’s wasteful to go out and buy more just so you can have new shorts for your holiday.

[SingingSands]

My work colleague does this every year. She gets super stressed out about shopping for holiday clothes, dragging her two kids around the nearest shopping mall for an entire day to kit them and herself out. She buys new everything: underwear, swimming costumes, complete outfits, shoes, bags, makeup etc.

I don't say anything, but have often thought that her house must surely be bursting with clothes by now!

She does it for events too - so every wedding, day at the races, work day out, planned day drinking in a different town etc. all results in an entire new outfit from top to toe.

[Greek2me]

That's really not the same if you already need new clothes and happen to br going on holiday! 🤦🏼‍♀️

[LittleBearPad]

@HotPatootiebootie

Will you buy your husband another 4 pairs of shorts for next year when you go on holiday? Or did he actually need them otherwise he wouldn’t have had sufficient clothes for the holiday?

There’s a difference between automatically buying new clothes for a holiday and buying new ones when you need them.

[HotPatootiebootie]

Ask the people saying it's wasteful and expensive can you please explain your reasoning behind that?

It cost me £38 for 4 pairs of shorts and 4 white t shorts for my OH. I packed them straight into the case as he had two pairs of shorts at home but they wear tatty. Those will do him for the next 2-3 years so £12-13 a year for clothes for him to wear in the heat or around home. My daughter got £70 spent on her in primark and Asda and they will be well worn until next year when SHOCK! she will have grown and everything will need to be replaced for our next holiday and summer.

We travel light. Hand luggage only with Ryanair and that means a small backpack or handbag only. This week we went the local launderette and got our dirty stuff washed. Was 10 euro. Nothing wasteful about this! We have saved loads of pollution by not dragging two 30 kg suitcases packed with all sorts and when my BB kids out grow their clothes we pass them on.

[HotPatootiebootie]

When my kids were younger and needed new clothes every season then yes. We always went abroad Easter and so I would buy their brand new summer clothes and then straight into the suitcase as we wouldn't need them in the uk with our poo weather. I always went a little bigger so they would last all through the summer and for the odd nice day before the holiday. Now, my youngest is twelve and second oldest 16. We are in Corfu now, my 16 year old has a few new T-shirt's that he needed but last years shorts are still good as he lives in joggers at home regardless of the weather. He will need new shorts as n n d t shorts next year wether he comes away with us or not. My daughter has had all new clothes because she is 12 and growing boobs and hips. But she also brought her favourite old bikini and a few summer dresses that she still loves that are just a bit shorter. My OH got everything new, 5 T-shirt's d 5 shorts as somebody has sent the sewing monster into his wardrobe and they have tightened all his clothes over winter 😬😂. Myself? A few pairs of shorts and pool cover ups. We brought some old beach towels and will be leaving them here to be donated to a b local animal sanctuary. Makes room for presents.

[user1471523870]

I don't like shopping and that might be a reason why I don't buy new clothes for going on holiday? Of course if the holiday is at a destination where the weather is very different than home, I re-assess if we have enough proper outfits from last season etc and buy accordingly.
It is often the case and I might buy the odd piece, but not with the purpose of it being new for the holiday.

[ThatBitch]

I tend to buy new underwear but leave it for when I get back and throw out older stuff after wearing it on holiday. Less dirty clothes to bring home. I usually pick up a couple of summer dresses for dd and shirts for ds and a new uv shirt each for pool/beach. Anything almost past it's best is worn on holiday then binned there. I pack for me, ds and dd but they at 7 and 5 are pretty good at following a list (choose 5 T-shirt's, 5 pairs of socks etc). This way we don't have arguments about what they're wearing because they've chosen it all! Having stuff we're not planning on bringing back leaves room for souvenirs/inflatables/flip flops that we inevitably end up picking up without the stressful packing at the end.

[woodhill]

You can't really tell in pics if the stuff is new anyway. You are usually against a backdrop of lovely scenery

[lazylinguist]

It wouldn't occur to me to buy new clothes specifically for a holiday unless I actually knew I was lacking something e.g. a swimming costume.

This is a bit of a thing-it’s a reasonable time to buy new clothes and it is nice to have lovely new things for photos.

I can't even imagine buying clothes in order to look good in photos. My holiday photos are of places we've been, the kids having fun, us all on the beach etc. They're not a fashion shoot.

[minnieok]

Buying a few new things is normal, not 14 outfits! I have bought cheap packets of underwear though to ensure we had 14 days supply - £2 for 4 pairs so not exactly expensive and they get used afterwards, they just get tatty quickly so get replaced the following year

[Mydarlingsleepthief]

I’m middle class and do the whole airport outfit! And for my children, it’s fun! . And I don’t iron anything ever!

[helpIhateclothesshopping]

@**Squidwitch

"Really want to go on holiday now! The first whiomph of heat when you get off the plane"
Take yourself off to Lidl or Aldi. I find at the moment stepping out of the door of either after shopping at the moment has that just stepped off the plane/ out of a Mediterranean supermarket feeling but without all the hassle. If you get yourself the foreign food speciality of the week, dress up and eat by candlelight (preferably Al fresco), you could almost be there. A cheap but satisfying alternative!

[NotMeNoNo]

I suspect it's more a case of something that goes back to a different time. When working class families didn't have a lot of new clothes and kids were scruffy, new clothes in summer were bought for first wearing on holiday when the family wanted to look more presentable (and similar Christmas). Better off families would have had plenty of clothes and not needed to make a thing of it.
Now it's just evolved into family traditions that some have, some don't regardless of current financial situation.

[Megan2018]

@TheKarenWhoKnocks

Very middle class here! I always buy new things for holidays. But I have also never been on a package holiday either.

[TheKarenWhoKnocks]

Ime this is a class thing. Working class people do it, middle class don't. Like many of the other things that w/c people spend money on that the m/c pooh pooh as wasteful, probably motivated by an insecure sense of social standing and the need to present outside of that on high days and holidays.

[TeetotalKoala]

@Smallsteps88

I was a member of a FB clothes/fashion group. And the most bonkers thing was airport outfits.

Thats the nature of FB groups in my experience. It brings out a new level of competitive bonkerness in people. I’ve seen it in make-up groups, clothes groups, DIY groups, cloth nappy groups, Cleaning groups. Often I've found the same people across several of the groups (and they are U.K. groups- not small local ones!) being just as bonkers in each one. I call them elevenereifs.

God I remember the competitiveness in cloth nappy groups. And babywearing ones. So many stash and 'fluffy post' shots. All the better if they were limited edition ones to really rub it in.

[TeetotalKoala]

@BluebellsGreenbells

We used to take older clothes to a beach holiday as they would often get a bit stinky with suncream

Sun tan lotion wrecked all of our T-shirt’s last year, so I would never wear a favourite or expensive item

Have you tow never heard of the Nivea spray on sun location? It’s like hairspray.

10 seconds and your done and no slimes hands

Plus a Boots own brand solid stick for faces

No mess and no waiting about

@BluebellsGreenbells

THANK YOU so much for this. I bought some of the spray stuff this morning as DS1 (9) is a suncream fighter. He hates the way it feels (I don't blame him, so do I). He's had the spray without question or fuss today. Game changer.