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Original poster

Keeping things for "best", holding on to things

51 replies

Notcontent · 09/06/2013 21:36

I just wondered whether anyone can relate to this.

You know how some people get a great dress or jacket and wear them to death?
Well, I am not one of those people!!!

I have always loves clothes. In recent years I have had enough money to buy nice things and have a wadrobe I am happy with. BUT I always feel that I have to save stuff in case I have no money in the future to buy new things. I am getting better at this, and tell myself that this is silly, and that in any case I might as wear things now as in 10 years time or whatever they will look dated. I am not a hoarder by any means - I hate clutter - and regularly get rid of clothes I don't wear. But there is always this little voice saying - don't wear those nice boots today, you are not going anywhere special, and you may never be able to afford a pair like that again...

I have analysed this, and I think I have this fear of being poor, which is reflected in my reluctance to "use up" clothes... Grin

OP posts:
getlucky · 10/06/2013 18:46

It's ridiculous isn't it? I went through my wardrobe the other day and came across a few dresses I have only worn once. Then I was online last night looking at dresses in the Boden sale. I have resisted though!

Original poster
Notcontent · 10/06/2013 19:03

I think people fall into two camps. Those who just wear things the buy without giving it a second thought, and those like us !!!!

It's definitely a matter of bringing up and/or other psychological factors. I am working on it...

OP posts:
MrsCampbellBlack · 10/06/2013 19:26

I wear good stuff everyday to get my cost per wear Wink

Also, I do think stuff dates so better to buy well, wear to death and then charity shop/ebay/throw.

babysbreath · 10/06/2013 21:01

Gosh this is me as well.

I have to keep my best clothes for 'best', but then they only come out occasionally.

I have this fear of wearing something i adore and then it needs washing and I need it the following day for a lovely day out and can't wear it.

Also, if I buy something I really like, I am scared to wear it too often in case it gets scruffy and then I can't find a replacement as good as this item.

I would love to be one of those women who wear their clothes to 'death'.

I need to learn to be more relaxed!

TheReverseStitch · 10/06/2013 21:58

I do this too. When I am getting dressed I'll put something on and think it is really flattering. Then I panic because what if later in the week I need a 'good' outfit and I've already worn it so it is in the wash or worse, what I ruin it somehow? So I take it off and put it back in the wardrobe. It is crazy! I am trying but still do it. My best jumper only got worn a few times over winter which is just madness but I think what if I can't afford one as nice or one that fits as well or one in that specific colour or whatever?

I also had going out clothes and staying at home clothes when I was a kid, and worse I find myself doing it with mine. DH never does it, he buys, wears 'til it falls apart then buys a replacement. So much simpler all round.

babysbreath · 11/06/2013 13:19

I am so glad that I am not the only one that does this.

I was starting to do the home clothes / good clothes with my DC, but then I find that they have grown out of the "best" clothes and only worn them a couple of times, so I am really trying to not do this - but it is hard still.

For me it is more of a struggle!

AuntySib · 11/06/2013 23:08

I've finally worked out it's more cost efficient to spend more on everyday stuff than party clothes, so that i now have decent t-shirts and tops, presentable work clothes etc, but party clothes are often charity shop, or ordinary clothes plus heels, bling and make-up. I've also finally bought a decent rain jacket that I'm expecting will last for the next 15 years!

jennifersofia · 12/06/2013 00:36

Well, just don't be like my grandma. When we cleared out her house that she had been living in for 60 years, we found (wrapped in tissue in the bottom drawer of her bureau) a beautiful peach coloured silk camisole slip with lace edging. She got it for her wedding in the '30s and 'saved it for best' - and never wore it.

MyBoysAreFab · 12/06/2013 08:53

That's the way to go Aunty. Having read this thread I went out and bought 3 or 4 plain everyday tops which I can chuck on without thinking - they are nice enough to dress up with a cardi, jewellery but easy wearing and plain enough not to feel to dressed up every day. It's amazing how much easier it is to get up and bung something on without thinking about it!

CatherineofMumbles · 20/06/2013 08:44

This thread has given me the kick I need to start wearing things Grin. I is hard, (eg yesterday, on my own, warm evening in the garden, put on a lovely maxi I rarely have reason to wear) but am getting there...

Ilovewaleswhenitrains · 20/06/2013 08:55

I was brought up having "good clothes" for best, and every-day clothes. I had a leather jacket as a teenager which was very fashionable, my mum would not let me wear it very often because it was for "best". As a result it went out of fashion and I didn't want to wear it. So, if I buy something I wear it as often as I like. My mum used to keep on about me having "playing out" clothes when my children were little, she thought I was mad dressing them in nice clothes because they would get dirty.

freddiefrog · 20/06/2013 09:41

I used to

I used to have loads of clothes I'd save for best, while slopping around in the same old jeans and hoodies. The 'best' clothes hardly ever got worn as I'd never go anywhere I felt warranted them.

I caught sight of my reflection in a shiny shop window one day, and thought why on earth am I wearing shapeless jeans and this tatty fleece when I have lots of lovely clothes at home

I binned all my old uniform and started wearing the 'best' stuff day to day.

Now, I never buy anything if I think I'll keep it for best, I think about how I'll wear it, what I already have and how it will fit in with my existing wardrobe so I can wear it day to day.

I do have going out-out clothes, and smarter clothes, but they're a tiny proportion of my wardrobe, and can be dressed up or down so I can still wear them all the time - eg, a smart dress that can be worn with heels and bling for a night out, or black opaques, flat boots, scarf and denim jacket to wear on the school run. The only thing I have I don't wear all the time is a pair of black coated skinnies

mignonette · 20/06/2013 09:48

I am the keeper-of-the-shoe-for-best person.

I have a pair of lilac nubuck T bar Kickers I bought in Brittany aged 12-13. They are now 35 years old and almost spotless because i hardly dared wear them so proud was I of owning them.

I was convinced I was the only British girl to own a pair when I bought them Blush and basked in the envy of my female friends Blush....

I have a pink tweed classic Chanel jacket bought in the Notting Hill Housing charity shop back in 1992. I never wear it because it is 'for best'. Ironically, it would look totally wrong in a 'for best' situation-far too bourgeois. It needs to be worn with jeans or shorts!

freddiefrog · 20/06/2013 09:49

Oops, posted too soon

I think my problem is I'm not very good with compliments and attention. If I put on a nice top or made an effort and someone commented on it I was very self conscious. In my uniform of jeans and hoodies, I was invisible and blended into the background. No one noticed me

mignonette · 20/06/2013 09:56

My DH finds it hilarious that I will go out to to the gardening or dig the allotment in my good day clothes and come in with heels covered in mud, twigs embedded in my jacket and not care at all yet I have closets full of 'special' clothes!

i just cannot be bothered to change into gardening clothes.

mignonette · 20/06/2013 09:57

Freddie Sad to read that. Go forth and be noticed....Smile

QueenCadbury · 20/06/2013 10:32

I'm guilty of this definitely. Sometimes I'm scared to wear nice stuff in case it gets ruined but I am get better now that the youngest dc is getting older so I don't get quite so covered in snot/food etc.

I do like to have 'best' clothes though for going out. I'm not one of these people who finds it easy to dress things up or down. I like to have separate going out clothes to feel different on the rare occasions that I do go out if that makes sense. But I don't have loads of going out clothes, just black trousers, jeans that need heels and a few tops so they do all get worn.

madmomma · 20/06/2013 10:58

My problem is I have slowly but steadily put on weight over the last few years, so the investment buys I made 1, 2 and 3 yrs ago don't fit me and I'm left with stretchy tat :(

MarshaBrady · 20/06/2013 11:01

I don't buy and not wear, but rather wear it all until it is not looking good anymore.

The only thing is a couple of dresses that require formal occasions. Bit tricky in Sainsbury's but otherwise everything else is fair game.

Most of my clothes are fairly casual even if some are expensive.

MickeyMouseHasGrownUpACow · 20/06/2013 13:14

I have always been guilty of this. However a long illness requiring being housebound for the best part of a year, means that now I'm well enough to go out I wear whatever I damn well like.
I'm not fully better yet but knowing I look good instead of wearing my usual scruffs, makes me feel better health-wise too.
LOADs of people have commented on how glam I look. They don't need to know I've been curled up in pain all morning.

shopafrolic · 20/06/2013 13:30

I used to be guilty of this, and then had a massive wardrobe clear out, and things I'd been keeping for best had become so dated they had to go :(
So now, I buy it and wear it hard Grin
I'm wearing a dress today (unheard of for me usually) but have been stopped twice to ask where I got it from. One of my friends has said "you look nice, where are you off to?" The answer is I'm not going anywhere, but I feel great.
Wear your best stuff and smile - it has definitely made me happier and now I don't feel guilt about something languishing in the back of my wardrobe.

xTillyx · 20/06/2013 13:51

I have a pretty small wardrobe, wear things to death and get rid. I like that feeling of having new things, so I buy a new wardrobe practically every season. I'm not talking expensive stuff. I'm just not one those people that keeps things for best or has 'old favourites'.

I got through last winter with a couple of jeans and jumpers, three jumper dresses and leggings. My Mum and Sister have loads of clothes and keep things for best, they think my wardrobe is shocking but it works for me.

Nagoo · 20/06/2013 14:02

I read an interview with Poison Ivy from The Cramps. She said she'd wear a ballgown to take the bins out, and I was inspired.

There is no point in having nice things if you get no joy out of them.

wear your clothes Grin

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 20/06/2013 14:11

Love this thread! My wardrobe is not arranged according to colour or anything like that. Oh no, but in "changing into after work clothes", work clothes, and going out/best clothes! No prizes for guessing which is the biggest and yet least worn section!

frenchfancy · 20/06/2013 14:19

Just a thought - one of the reason some of my clothes get saved for best is because they are dry clean only, and I really can't afford to get stuff dry cleaned on a regular basis. So I only wear stuff that will go through the machine. Some things with dry clean only labels I machine wash anyway with no real problems, but you can't really do that with jackets etc.

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