Photo by My Father
Muffy Aldrich's SALT WATER NEW ENGLAND

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Clothes you keep but will never wear?

 A reader question:

I was cleaning out some closets and got into a, well, let's call it a debate with my significant other.  Do readers keep clothes that they will never wear?  If so, what, and for what reasons?

 

 

27 comments:

  1. I have a Gloverall camel-colored duffle coat (the "Monty") purchased from J. Peterman Co. in 1992, and also a Smythson "Maze" handbag from 2013 -- each has only been worn once or twice, but now they're stored as iconic items, enduring symbols of a past better time in my life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! Way too many wonderful memories attached to them! Thank you so very much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes. Without question for sentimental reasons. I don’t have an attic and closets stuffed full of the items, but there are things that I just will never get rid of because of some sentimental attachment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I kept my wedding gown. Maybe my daughter will wear it one day - maybe not. Either way, it has sentimental value.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Got a red university stripe Oxford shirt bearing a label from the Harvard Coop. Too small for me now, but will never get rid of it — it'll be up to my executor to deal with it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I never keep clothes that I never wear (and never will wear). I donate them, and never sell them. As my grandmother said, "one doesn't".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What are some of your grandmothers other aphorisms?

      Delete
  7. Oh, gosh, yes! Sore topic because I probably sell them or hand them down to the nieces. They range from a couple of evening dresses, a gorgeous Bottega Veneta handbag, a Lotuff with my initials (since an accident 4 years ago where I broke my shoulder, it's been uncomfortable carrying heavy leather bags unless they are crossbody), to pairs of like-new Ferragamo pumps due to problems with the feet now. The shoes are the only ones I would readily sell; the rest are difficult to get rid of because of the sentimental value attached to them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ancient sweaters from college, vintage Lilly shift dresses, Vera Bradley tote bags from the 1980s, a scarf from my grandmother. All still in use, all still treasured.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My Fence Club scarf.

    ReplyDelete
  10. A Dooney bag that I just can't part with and two coats--one my high school band coat and another that was from a now retired auto racing team which I probably should just sell. Otherwise, anything that no longer serves a purpose or will in a certain amount of time is fair game.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My Columbia Cap & Gown. Since they are Pantone 292, they aren't rentals. Should I ever be invited to an event that requires academic dress, I'll be ready.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do not. My wife does. I am ruthless. She is sentimental.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yes! Something I have been thinking about a long time (and wrote about the other week, too!) Too many things to count, but especially some beautiful pieces of my grandmother's.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Streamlining your wardrobe is surprisingly liberating. Keep only the things you love and use.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My father's Army pants and a skirt my mother brought me from Provence that I intend to make into a pillow someday are the only items that I don't wear. There are things that I rarely wear and should probably move up or down the food chain.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happily, my spouse and I are on the same Marie Kondo page. Each Christmas we give away anything that has not been worn in the past year. As a result, our closets and drawers are ruthlessly but delightfully efficient. This year, however, we did make a COVID exception for evening wear!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Spouse's wedding gown in a box, my mom's old mink coat hanging in a closet. Kept for sentimental reasons.

    ReplyDelete
  18. A leather flight jacket issued to me when I entered Naval Flight School in 1969, and a bespoke Savile Row suit from the early 1990's. Neither currently fit!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Very rarely. We moved from Virginia to Austin, TX and most of my winter wardrobe was donated. However, I did keep a camel Max Mara coat, my trusty Burberry trench, and one Barbour wax jacket. It pays to be prepared in case we have another snowmageddon event!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Yes and no. At the end of winter and summer, I review all my clothes and send anything I did not wear that season to goodwill. The exceptions: A seersucker suit that I bought to wear to a summer wedding. We are in one of those phases in which my daughters and nieces and nephews in her age group are married and our grandchildren/grand nieces and nephews are not of marrying age. A few are growing near so I keep it in case a summer wedding presents itself. Also, I have a Navy Blazer and Grey Suit from Suit Supply that still fit well but that I just do not find occasion to wear much anymore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hard to imagine life without occasion to wear a navy blazer.

      Delete
    2. When the house gets cold, I often pull on a flannel blazer or tweed jacket. Both are extremely comfortable.

      Delete
  21. Yes, to giving things I don’t wear to Goodwill. Like another Anonymous, I don’t sell anything. My grandmother would say: “We aren’t shopkeepers.”

    ReplyDelete
  22. It's hard to say what you'll never wear again, unless perhaps you've lost a lot of weight. I haven't worn a suit since before I retired and even then, I rarely wore one. I did wear a dress shirt and tie, though. I still wear the dress shirts, only not the white ones. The last time I wore a suit, I think, was to a wedding. The next time will probably be to a funeral.

    ReplyDelete
  23. My old high school bathrobe, class of '57. It was used during days home from college, and navy leaves. Fit then, not now.,,

    ReplyDelete
  24. I don't own anything I don't wear. Probably comes from my less well off days when I couldn't afford to have a closet full of "stuff". And I learned early on to invest in quality so while I don't own a lot of clothes, what I do have keeps me going for yonks, as the kids say.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated.