When do you give up on clothes you don’t fit into any more?

[Rainallnight]

I’ve been holding onto some lovely clothes that I’m too overweight to wear. I’m not huge by any means but they definitely don’t fit.

There’s a good chance I’ll lose some weight, and am taking steps in that direction but I’m 50 and doubt I’ll ever get totally back to my old weight. Or can I?

And how long should i hold onto them for?

What do you do about weight gain and clothes?

(DP and I have different opinions so I’m interested in what other people think!)

To give you some hope: I kept all my thin clothes and I’ve finally got to target weight and the joy of fitting into them is wonderful. Of course some 25-year-old hipster rise boot legs are not going to work anymore, however. Don’t give up. I’m putting all my larger clothes in vacuum bags in the loft with an angry note to myself to not open them. (Not brave enough to chuck!)

p.s. Mounjaro.

Im 64 and I e just lost 5 stone on mounjaro at long last. My beautiful thin clothes are now too big. Ive given them to the charity shop.

In my mid sixties, I finally (sic) worked out what foods agree with me and what to avoid, so I now fit into the jeans I was wearing at uni. Fashions have changed so much that I don’t actually wear any of the clothes I kept “for when I fit into them again” but I keep one pair of denim shorts as a private check to make sure I don’t regain.

one of the best parts of loosing the weight was knowing that I can fit into everything in my wardrobe. I had not realised what a ‘weight of disappointment’ storing those clothes was in my life.

I'm at the very start of WLI so it will be months away before I can ( hopefully ) fit in my old clothes that are up in the loft .
When that time comes I do plan to treat myself to a whole new wardrobe of clothes , however I'm sure I will come across a few things I won't be able to part with .
Well done for the weight loss .

Can you put them away in the loft?

Mind you, when I finally lost weight my old stash of clothes didn’t appeal anymore and I wanted to move on with new ones.

Since I brought new, if they start feeling tight I know I’m eating too much and I’ll go easy for a bit until they’re comfortable again.

Are they fashionable? What would you wear them to? Park the weight thing and really think - is this dress a good length or these jeans a weird colour?

It depends on available storage space really.

I don’t have much storage so I’m fairly ruthless. I lost over five stone last year on Mounjaro. I wore some things on the way back down, but am now significantly slimmer than my “thin clothes”

What I have done is saved a handful of bigger pieces just in case. So a favourite pair of trousers and two work outfits. Aside from that, if it is too big now it gets Vinted.

How was the weight loss journey on MJ?

Well I've still got a lot of mine because I hate clothes shopping and can never find what I want that suits and has my size in stock so if I did lose weight, I'd be able to wear them and not have to go out and find more clothes.

I have recently lost quite a bit of weight and it could well be that all those clothes that I was a couple of stone too heavy for might fit me soon, so I'm glad I've kept them.

I think this depends on whether you plan to go on WLI. I am 53, post menopause and dont plan to go on the jabs. I could probably go down a dress size but no more at this stage of my life, so I have given away my clothes from pre-menopause.

I have clothes in the loft that I wore as a teenager in the late 60s - early 70s. They haven't fitted for donkey's years - and at my age I'd probably look a bit odd in hotpants...

However they fetch a good price on Ebay!

You could also take them to a vintage clothes shop . Seems a shame they are sat there unloved . It would be nice to know they have a second life .

I have this conundrum at the moment. I have kept hold of all my bigger size clothes for about 15 years. I piled on the weight through pregnancy and haven't been able to lose much (even mounjaro has had limited effect). I am about to hit a milestone birthday so feels like I should just give up the hope of fitting in to them now and ditch the majority (will probably keep a few bits, mainly because I hate the fact I spent so much money!), but it's so hard to make the final push.

I have been storing a lot and got rid of some recently as I reviewed them all and decided some of the ones I had kept, I wouldn’t opt to go back into even if I was the perfect size for them.
How much space do you have?! or Money? Creating a new wardrobe is a very expensive endeavor.

It depends how old they are as little details do change. Do you still love them? If not sell them on e bay or vinted and buy some new.

Honestly, I would get rid.
I also finally lost weight via the injections. I had beautiful clothes that I had packed away, some 10 years ago, some 5.
When I unpacked them, I found that I didn't want to wear them. Styles had changed and I had changed. A gorgeous silk dress which had an A-line skirt and fell just above the knee, now felt too "girly," too childish, and not fitting with me or my style.
I wish I had sent them to the Charity shop ten years ago, so someone would have had the benefit of wearing them and enjoying them while they were still in style.
I now think it is selfish to hold onto these things, when they could be out in the world bringing others joy, rather than stored in a bin-bag in the attic, potentially getting damaged anyway. Mice found their way into one bag and everything had to go.
I would consider whether wanting to keep them arises from a, perhaps quite deeply hidden, sense that you won't have enough in the future, that you might not be able to buy new clothes when the time comes, so need to hang onto these. I find that kind of thinking quite unhealthy. Trust that you will be able to buy the clothes you need - perhaps a tiny tiny capsule wardrobe, perhaps thrifted or Vinted - that will suit you at your new size. Don't hold onto the past because you already imagine a future of scarcity. That's no way to live.

I kept some of my favourite ‘slim’ clothes packed away in the loft. They’ve been there 10+ years and 2025 was the year I got back in to them! Obviously as someone said upthread there were a few things I should not have kept but on the whole I am thrilled that I’ve got them. I have sent all my ‘fat’ clothes to the charity shop.

When I haven't fit in them for three summers.

My weight peaks in January and drops about 5 kilos in the spring. Last summer it was hot and I lost 8kg. Lots of my summer clothes fit with room to spare.

I’ve recently lost over six stones and had held onto the majority of my old huge wardrobe from 20 or so years ago. It all fits now but trawling through multiple pairs of low rise boot cut jeans and cords which are too long for me was not life affirming. It’s satisfying to know that it all fits but I’ve spent energy, sorting it, storing it, wondering about it and now have tried putting it all on Vinted where nobody really wants it. There are a few bits I’ll wear now but I’m not sure how I would ever have discerned this years ago. I do intend to wear a jacket I got married in for a significant event later this year and that feels nice. Good luck to all on this bizarre journey.

I’m nearly 64 and over the last few years I have lost 5.5 stone - not injections. I’m thinner now than I’ve ever been. Size 12, healthy bmi. You can do this!

This really depends. I am totally ruthless when it comes to clothes that follow some fleeting trends or stuff that is not made to a very high standard - think oversized fluffy Sézane jumper made of polyester blend - I list it on Vinted and forget it as soon as it’s sold. I keep and wear vintage clothes, some are over 40 years old that are made of good quality, classic materials and are more or less always in fashion.

I’ve kept a few bits for years and years and have worn them on a few forays into being slimmer. Am wearing purple velvet flares today that I bought in a charity shop at least 25 years ago.

Some fabric really does deteriorate so things I’ve wanted to wear have become frail and unwearable.

Having yo-yo’d between size 12 and size 16+ I’m now back to size 12. I’ve now lost two and a half stone on Mounjaro and I’m down to size 12 again. I’d still like to lose another half a stone. I’m selling all my bigger clothes on vinted or giving them away to charity. The smaller clothes I had have gone too as styles have altered or I no longer like them. So, I’d say get rid! It’s quite liberating actuallly.
I’ve ended up buying a small capsule wardrobe which I’ve changed twice during my weight loss journey.

I kept all sizes for so many years, I couldn't use the wardrobe and work from the laundry basket :(

Then I did decide to tackle the weight and when I went down two dress sizes, I sorted the wardrobe.

I did hang on to the pieces I loved - for another 2 years - and now they are gone

Well not gone, my loved pieces that are now too big, Ive vac packed and stored

A lot of the beloved pieces I slimmed back into , just are no longer me

The way I went, was when I was a snug 14, I dumped the 18s and vac packed the 16s' and when I was a 12, off when the 16's and vac packed the 14's

I was so looking forward to wearing the 10's 12's and 8's again, but alas there's very few pieces Ive salvaged - too young, too short, just dont suit this older body

My wardrobe is now sparse and Im having to learn what suits

Please tell me how you did it!!