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?

@iminatent

Love that idea carbs, but how do you know what kind of activity you're going to be doing each day, or what the weather's going to be like?

I check the weather and plan what we are doing everyday and research dress code for activity if not sure. I thought most people did this.

I actually do the opposite thinking about it. Pre having expensive children bankrupting us, we used to go to America every two or three years so we would take half a suitcase each and just buy our new wardrobes there to last us the following few years.

@meltedintheheat no but presumably you don't wear the same outfit in the office or at home watching TV either.
Yesterday it was about 23 here, I wore a summer dress. Same one I've worn out to dinner in the South of France. Later I changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Same outfit I'd wear at a splash park if I wasn't planning to get soaked.
How are there "30 degree London garden outfits" that cannot also be "35 degree villa in the Med outfits"?
Unless you wear white all the time on holiday and buy an entirely new outfit every season, and change 4 times a day at home? Which seems wasteful and pointless.
Or live in a bikini on holiday which though fair enough, doesn't mean anyone needs a new five one every year.
I have lived somewhere that ranged from 25-35 through the year and my clothes were just one end of the range I wear in the UK.

@MySweatyPie leaving aside the room for spontaneity, I assume you don't holiday in the UK and therefore can rely on the weather two weeks hence being exactly as predicted!
and you don't have children that change clothes in the daytime when they get dirty

I was chatting to a friend about future holiday plans, and saving up for said holiday.

"Oh, and I'll need an extra grand for new clothes" said my friend - £1000 for new clothes for her and her daughter, for a 2 week beach/pool holiday!!

I might buy the odd new thing for holidays - flip flops, new shorts if the kids have grown - but not £500 each!!

I buy all new stuff for holidays! And for my children too

I guess it depends on destination and activities. I tend to be a lakes and mountains kind of girl, so weather is pretty unpredictable a week ahead. And in terms of activities, I might be spending the day hiking, or kayaking, or sitting on a (lake) beach, or pottering round some pretty villages, or going to a museum/gallery, or reading by a pool. Depending on where I am, I'm likely to do a combination of most or all of those things, but I don't decide in advance, so it's hard to know what balance of clothes to take. I'm notoriously crap at packing light, because I like to be prepared for all eventualities. Lots of things often come home unworn, but they're not always the same things, so that doesn't help!

The amount of new clothes shopping is I have clothes that I take on holiday each year, we are camping at the moment and my pyjama trousers are older than one of my children. They haven't worn out and are so comfy, I've had them over ten years (I don't sleep in them, they are for relaxing in).

From the age of 6 my 3 children have packed for themselves I mean really really have, no way would I pack for 5 people. Obviously my husband is an adult who does his own.
With the kids, at 6 yo I would get them to lay it all out, check it then get them to put it in bag but youngest is now 15 and it's entirely up to him to do it. I'll say "have you packed your trunks" or whatever, but they're is no way would I be doing it for him.
As for buying all new, that's bat shit with small kids. Didn't notice if OP mentioned ages or if she has a partner. Thats all relevant here.

I only iron shirts and the odd linen item.

I don’t buy all new either. I look forward to getting my maxi dresses out.

@Smallsteps88 totally agree, the wastefulness on this thread: throwing away beach towels after one week’s use - WTAF! - is giving me the rage! This makes me think humanity deserves extinction! How effing lazy, selfish and short sighted can people be?! Disgusted and appalled tbh.

None of my clothes are tatty. I buy good quality things that last years, decades even.

I buy all new stuff for holidays! And for my children too

Wow- it wouldn't occur to me to buy all new stuff.
Perhaps the odd item, but I have summer holiday clothes that I am still using that are 30 years old. Stuff I know is comfortable, easy to wear, practical. I prefer my old stuff because I know it "works"

Clothes/fabric gets recycled, yes by charity shops - they get paid for rags! what planet are you on where clothes go in the bin at all?!

[quote drspouse]@MySweatyPie leaving aside the room for spontaneity, I assume you don't holiday in the UK and therefore can rely on the weather two weeks hence being exactly as predicted!
and you don't have children that change clothes in the daytime when they get dirty[/quote]

1. I take extra clothes changes for dc and make sure we stay where there is a washing machine or factor visiting the local laundrette. We usually search a nice coffee place or activity nearby while one of the grown ups guards the laundry, in some places they look after your clothes and fold them for you. With internet its easy to research all that. Even if one had to stay at the laundrette its a welcomed break from the intensity of being together all the time. I love alone time even on holiday. The other parent takes the children for an activity we dont mind missing out on or go have a lazy brunch somewhere.

1. I check the weather forecast regularly. 2 days before holiday it should be fairly accurate. We holiday a lot in the uk so always take one light to pack warm and waterproof jacket and never just pack sandals wherever we go.

I also look at histotical weather reports for the month we are going away.

1. I think it's easier to be more spontaneous if you pack right. I pack things that can be dressed up or down, dry quickly, dont wrinkle much, multitasking items like scarves and shirts which can be a plain shirt dress, a beach cover up, night dress, casually tier up with shorts or smart tucked in trousers. . For us it's a waste of precious holiday time shopping for items we wont need again or realisticly use at home. The kicker is when you have these items at home as well. The couple of times it was left for my dh's way with no planning just spontaneous travel we ended up hungry, with nowhere to sleep the night, missing on last transport, sold out tickets to events which we would have loved to have seen , running out of money too quickly. That wasn't fun at all. Planning works for us.

I have summer holiday clothes that I bring out each year for holiday. I will usually buy a couple of new things but mostly recycle. Kids summer clothes are great, because they take much longer to grow out of shorts and t-shirts!

I've just got dressed...a lovely summer dress that I remember buying about 20 years ago when my now adult (30 year old 😳) DD was with me on a shopping trip in the Trafford Centre. It's been on many holidays with me...and was bought actually for a summer wedding 🤷‍♀️

I'm going out today for an outdoor brunch...in a 20 year old summer dress...oh the horror 😱😂 I'm so going to be judged 🤦‍♀️🙊

I think this only applies in places like Scotland. The weather here is awful so we don’t have ‘summer’ outfits unless you include a rainy parka and welly boots. So we would probably buy some new stuff. Then try to incorporate it into our ‘normal’ clothes when we return. Most of the kids will end up as pyjamas...... I do know some people who buy whole new wardrobes at Primark then just leave them there when they come home. How utterly wasteful in more ways than one !

You are an eco hero.
GinWithRosie!

I am hard pushed to use my summer clothes where I live in the UK. A majority of them will be staying in the storage bag until we go abroad, or to Greater London!

@JenandFlo

Why are you ironing? I never iron anything.

Really odd comment, do people really not know why it is necessary to iron clothes?

It's not odd.

I don't iron either. I agree, it's just making work for yourself. Complete waste of time and energy.

Is it vanity or are they fashion victims? Perhaps?

I mostly buy things that do not require ironing if dried with a bit of care. They have to be fulfilling some special role if I have to commit to getting out our cobwebby board! My DH irons the occasional formal shirt he needs. Since lockdown even this has not been necessary. Silver linings, eh.

@drspouse

I haven't said I buy a ton of new clothes though, I just have some clothes that I wouldn't wear in London. Many of my "holiday or beach" clothes are very old. Personally there is a big difference between 30 degrees & 40 degrees & I don't remembered any UK summer where it was consistently 30 degree for 6 wks.

I don't understand why it's incomprehensible to you that I might have some clothes specifically for when I visit family abroad that I wouldn't wear in London.

Bloody hell I wish I could fit into clothes I wore 20 years ago. Unfortunately despite losing weight, I am not as slim as I was. I also like looking nice and enjoy having a full and varied wardrobe. Washing clothes on holiday is a no no for me. It’s on a pat to cooking , also a no no. I suppose it depends on the type of holiday you go on. I want to relax and be pampered. I take a full 14 day wardrobe. I want to look good and quite frankly slobbing around wearing the same t shirt and jeans each evening would it be for me and would look out of place.
Each to the own. At home I don’t have a problem with active wear. On holiday it’s a no from me.