Clothes "for best" or not

[BasiliskStare]

I have just looked at my wardrobe ( very minimal ) and there are dresses and other stuff I have in my head are for going out , occasions etc. Well at my age ( 60) I don't have many weddings , we do go out for nice meals once in a while , but these things are just hanging in the wardrobe.

I am not talking about evening dresses / black tie sort of thing , but just have decided I am going to wear these things day to day and they will still work if I go out to meet friends at a restaurant or with family - One example I saw a young girl in one of the dresses I have and she wore it with a denim jacket and trainer type things. She looked great but but 40 years younger than me.

Does anyone keep clothes "for best" - not a great phrase but I suspect people will know what I mean.

If I wore my best clothes every day they wouldn’t remain decent tbh. I do envy the type of people who always look lovely but I’m just too clumsy, messy, accident prone…. Plus, if I’ve spent the kind of extra money on something for best, I want it to stay looking good. I kind of think it’s a waste wearing something really nice if I’m just going to Sainsbury’s and doing the school run!
Then again, what’s the point of spending money on something that’s just going to hang in the wardrobe?!

@MumMumMumMumMum1 - yes -yes - I get your point , but it seems a shame to have things hanging in the wardrobe not being used - not sure I would go to anywhere I thought it might be ruined but there are day to day things I could wear these clothes and just look better day to day. But thank you for your reply - that was my dilemma 💐

Sometimes I set myself silly things like not doing any washing for a month just so that I have to rediscover my wardrobe and wear things out of my comfort zone!

But yes, don't keep things for best, wear them, enjoy them and when they're worn and looking tatty, buy something new and put the old ones in the ragbag.

The older I get, the less I keep things “for best”. Wear the dresses, use the fancy cutlery etc. I’ve never liked high heels so I don’t have any put aside. This means I can be comfortable in whatever I wear.

Yes I still have a few things for 'best'. How can you not. Occasionally a dress for wedding or .... Dh's works Christmas do etc. No need to throw Something out just because you only wear it occasionally.

BTW the same goes for perfumes for me. I wear my best every day.

I have a few spangly little dresses or tulle skirts that I’d only wear over the festive season. I’d look an overdressed twat if I wore them at other times.

Otherwise, all my clothes have equal rights.

Yes I’m guilty as charged. I have lots of best clothes but wearing the tatty stuff.
Im a similar age to you so I wonder I’d it was something instilled in us as children?

Unless there are many opportunities for wearing ‘best’ then the clothes will just hang there until they’re out of style. Wear the outfit and accept the compliments when your friends tell you how nice you look.

Burn the lovely candles!
use the expensive hand cream!
eat the delicious posh chocolates!

every day is for best, don’t leave it too late, celebrate every day that you are alive

Wear the clothes! I don’t mean swan round Tesco in a ball gown, but otherwise get them on. I once read a book where the main character saved a lovely red dress for “best”, and best never came - she wore it in her coffin. It was the saddest thing ever.

Per @DillDanding i have a sequinned “Christmas skirt” that would look daft in August, but come December I wear it with a big cosy jumper and DM boots to make sure it gets worn.

Yes, wear the lovely stuff if it will make you happy 😃 why not!?

Don’t keep it for best! Wear it every day :)

Of course if I’m pottering about cleaning or tidying at home then I’d wear my scruffiest because I’m clumsy. But if I leave the house (even to the supermarket) I’d wear something that makes me feel good to be seen in.

@Fairyliz when I was a young girl in the 60s I definitely had party dresses and everyday dresses. So maybe it is an age thing.

The irony is when my brother got married a few years ago - I could not find a dress I thought suitable in my wardrobe ( actually one would have done ) but I borrowed one from a friend to wear. I had traipsed round the shops to find something. Maybe because it was "new to me " but it worked well .

I am going to just wear stuff - that's what it is for surely. And if it doesn't get tatty I can also wear it for smart occasions. I am not the Queen - I don't have to step out in a new dress every time I am seen in public.

@NORKS - yes very similar . I was given an expensive candle . I kept it for what ? Just used it and it was lovely.

OH and @LadyWithLapdog - agree with you about the cutlery and indeed plates - what use are they in the cupboard ?

Totally agree! I wear perfume every day, use candles regularly and try and wear most of my wardrobe daily.
We go out regularly for meals/ drinks but I don't overdressed...never heels, or dresses/ skirts....but always look good. I hate feeling overdressed.
Could be dead tomorrow....

I try not to, but it’s such an ingrained habit I do it without thinking. I’m worst on days when I wfh- which is 3-4 times a week, so half my time- when I always wear, not scruffy but very casual clothes, and then regret it as soon as I go on video with my boss, who always wears really nice stuff. The stupid thing is I’ve got loads of lovely clothes- more than enough that I could wear them all week- but I have this fixation with “saving them” to wear at the weekend. I’m going to resolve to stop doing that.

I had the exact same experience recently in my wardrobe!!

A lot of things, not even super fancy (have a couple of those as well), that I kept saving for better occasions. I don't have occasions! (Small family, spread out) It was like I wasn't worth it.

So now I wear my nice-ish clothes everyday 🤷🏻‍♀️ I like them!! They look good on me!! 😉 and they look less boring then tshirts and jeans all the time

I have a few things from black tie events and wedding cruises and christening and so on but I have found I have fewer best outfits recently as I just buy more lovely stuff to wear everyday. So a nice dress and boots that can be day or night and gorgeous Cashmere sweater.

I think this is because fashion has changed too and going out for the evening is a less dressed up affair than it used to be - I think that is across the board but might just be me- but the impact of this is that I can wear the day time stuff at night.

In fact I often dress up less going out eg for dinner than if I was just going out for the day. It's really Strange.

I don’t really have smart/occasion clothes as my life doesn’t need them often but I definitely save new or nicer clothes - I think I’m always paranoid an event will happen (talking lunch with friends or a weekend away not a royal wedding!) and I won’t have something to wear or I will have messed it up somehow. I realise this is a ridiculous attitude!

I've changed over the pandemic and the switch to spending so much time at home. I didn't feel great in my worst "home clothes", so I got rid of them. Aside from one outfit, my wardrobe consists of nice casual wear to nice day dresses that can stretch to casual evening wear, and I wear all of it daily now. It makes me happy. I am often now a little over dressed according to what some others might be wearing, but I'm ok with that!

@cherrypiepie Yes I also agree lovely sweaters , cardigans , shirts can look lovely in the evening .

I have one proper evening dress left - obvs I would not wear that out in the daytime but some other clothes I am going to wear them and replace them when they wear out.

Its a hard habit to break but beautiful things should be enjoyed. I have a weakness for silk (and cashmere in winter) and used to save stuff for fear of it getting damaged or stained. Now I wear my silk dresses etc every day, just styled in a more casual way. If my toddler covers me in sauce/mud/snot I just clean them. Getting a bit tatty from being loved and used is a happier fate than sitting pristine in a wardrobe until fashions change and it gets discarded or till it no longer fits.

I know exactly what you mean op. I think it’s something that parents who had lived through WW2 absolutely drilled into you. I keep asking myself what exactly I think I’m saving them for when I’m 65 but it’s very hard to change the mindset. Anyway yes, do it if you can!

Thankls all - I am going to do it and @DillDanding - I love the idea that all clothes have equal rights.