Tips on not buying clothing when all your clothing is tatty and/or falling apart and/or doesn’t quite fit right?
I’ve succumbed a couple times this summer; got some shorts on Thredup and have bought a couple of not strictly necessary shirts.
Since I WFH and can work in PJ’s and holey T-shirts and shorts that are bleach spotted and poorly fitting, I feel like I should just make do. But now and then I have a fit of “OMG all my clothing is gross and awful” (which is not even true, I do have some nicer things but I don’t wear those around the house usually) and buy something.
I feel this. I have only been replacing my at-home comfies and workout clothing that doesn’t fit, so once I go back to the office (if? when? who knows) I’m in for a rude awakening! I’m planning to do an inventory first to see what I have that is still useful/nice enough/fits me so I know where the gaps truly are. I suspect some of them are just due to not reaching for those clothes in a while and forgetting what I have. Then I’ll probably make a list and see what I can do with the usual round of fall sales. Also hoping to do a tiny bit of thrifting before being in an “unnecessary” store with a mask feels like a bad idea (might already to you).
Meh, I am still putting on a KN95 and going into most stores for now. We’ve been in the Brown Elephant, that place is huge with high ceilings like a movie theater, so that felt OK. (They also require masks.) They didn’t have any good clothing though. I went into Buffalo Exchange once and found some leggings I needed, but that felt pretty cramped. I was there on a weekday which helped.
I won’t go into Green Element though, which is the thrift store I like that’s up the street from me. It is tiny and packed and has very poor ventilation. That feels gross.
Honestly if I’m going to buy used I’ll probably just do Thredup. I’ve had really good luck there with fit, surprisingly enough. Only 1 thing I bought, a top, didn’t work for me. And, it fit, it just didn’t look right on me, the cut was wrong for my body.
And, I’m definitely not going back to the office so I don’t even have that argument.
The great thing about thredup is if something I order fits really well I’ll go back and filter by that brand and that size and see everything that’s available all at once. Huge time and headache saver compared to traditional thrifting.
I’ve been thinking about this too. One of the last “normal” things I did in 2020 was attend a clothing swap my friend organized and it was a godsend. I would definitely not attend something like that today but I want it.
I’ve been slowly replacing my clothes. Ill fitting clothes annoy me too much. But I’m trying to do it on-purpose and reminding myself that buying a few new shirts per year is something that I absolutely used to do on a regular basis.
Other ideas: mending any obvious things you’ve been putting off, washing your remaining good clothes more delicately, dressing up fancy for hanging around the house to rotate in a more varied wardrobe…
Oh, for sure. Especially useful with bottoms. I know that Old Navy is generally cut to match my body and I know what style of jeans are right for it so replacement bottoms are super easy.
Imo if something has unfixable holes - like a hole in the middle of a tee that can’t be sensibly mended, even if you like visible mending - that’s a very reasonable time for it to become a rag and for you to acquire something without holes. I keep my clothes for years and years, but that’s a line for me. Same for serious stains - dye it or mend it if you can, but if you can’t, rags and replace.
And that goes for whether or not you’re wearing it outside the house - this is about keeping items we own in good repair, and about finding new uses for items that can no longer be repaired.
Yeah, I don’t often wear nice clothes around the house because they will just get coated in cat hair when Girl Kitty decides to be my meeting buddy on my lap. Most of my nice stuff needs dry cleaning or hand washing.
But I should anyway! Since I am not going out much and it makes me sad to see pretty things ignored in my closet.
Does Girl Kitty like pillows? You could put a throw pillow or little blanket on your lap to keep your lap clean and give her extra cush. (We do this with our lap loving kitty.) And then less fur on your nice stuff!
I’m with @diapasoun…in this scenario, get new clothing. Clothes swap, thrift, then either shop sales or shop ethical brands, whatever your priority is.
1-3 pairs of sweatpants or athletic/pj shorts that look and feel good and a couple Tshirts will run under 100 and last years and make you feel so much better about everything.
Ohhhh, I miss clothing swaps. The other day when we had a lunch date out on a restaurant patio I wore this gauzy black dress I got at a swap and I felt so elegant.
I think strategic clothes shopping is the way to go. DH is in the same boat as many here in that he has comfy home clothes but some gaps in his work wardrobe now that he’ll be going back to the office soon. I have enough clothes for any human woman, lol.
I don’t know if this will be useful but here’s how I shop for us. I think it’s pretty efficient!
Clothes shopping strategy
Pull out everything you own, clothing and shoes and underwear and outerwear.
Sort out the definite keeps first. Now everything that is left needs to be assessed. If it’s a maybe, try it on. If it fits physically, fits lifestyle needs, and is not too worn it is a keep. Everything else gets put in charity or dispose. If it is an “essential item” going into dispose, like socks or bras, write down what you’re throwing out and how many.
Remove charity items from the “keep” room.
Look at what’s left. Divide into categories. For husband this is pretty much: fitness, work/date, home, fancy.
Think about how many outfits you can make from what you have in your “keep” room.
Begin a list to fill in the gaps. My husband’s brown belt is fine, but he needs a black one. His black shoes are fine, but he needs brown shoes. He has some shirts, but could use an extra white button down. He needs at least two sweaters and two more pairs of dress pants, and he could use a couple pairs of jeans. His winter coat is fine but he needs a rain jacket.
Itemize each needed clothing item, write the color and style you want it in and sort the list by season. I try to do an entire year in advance so I can shop all the sales. Go back through each item and (if you can) write where you think you’ll get it, the brand, and the size. This step may be less necessary if you are shopping for yourself and it’s all in your head. I do it this way for my husband but not myself.
Make a list of next buys, which is the stuff you really need to get through the next three months. Shop for that stuff first and check it off your list as you buy (but only once the item is in hand, fits, etc.).
Each retail sale season you pull out your organized itemized list and get the missing things!
Reassess the list twice a year at the season change from cold/hot and hot/cold. This helps you not get into a situation where you need a ton of stuff desperately. The most expensive way to shop for clothes is en masse and in the season that is happening. It’s better to buy a couple of sweaters in May for the following winter (even if some of your sweaters are still ok) than to wait until every sweater has a hole and you have to buy 5 sweaters in October, when they are the most expensive they’ll be all year. Variety also helps you not wear through things as fast. It took literal years to convince my husband that it doesn’t actually save money to only own one pair of shoes.
I’ve been thinking about channeling my money saving mindset lately, and here are some things I’ve been doing.
Taking public transit instead of Uber when I can. This included taking BART instead of Uber for the journey from SFO to San Jose when I was in the Bay Area a few weeks ago. Instead of spending $60 on a ride, I used up leftover money on my clipper card (public transit pass): very satisfying. (Sharing with the caveat that I’m fully vaxed, in an area with high % vax rates, not at high risk for COVID complications, and wear a mask - I know others’ risk calculations would look different).
Trying my darndest to use credit card points and flight credits to book travel, even when logistically very annoying. My wife and I are going from Denver to upstate NY for a wedding, and it will be “free” (well, prepaid, but you know). It may have taken over an hour to figure it out, but it was worth it.
Being strategic about buying supplies for house projects: we don’t have cash flow issues yet, but I want to avoid them.
Cancelling a few monthly subscriptions that I don’t use: not $$$$, but feels helpful in the scheme of things.
Here are some things I’ve been willing to spend money on, because they make my life better:
$530 for a gardening class: I’ll be taking the master gardener coursework through Colorado State.
$?? for supplies to host family and friends: we sought out deals where we could, but still needed to buy a bunch of new sheets, towels, air mattresses, etc. to host people.
$?? for activities with my wife’s family, who is in town now: they are more frugal than we are, so they didn’t want to do anything too spendy, but it felt good to let go of paying attention to grocery or restaurant costs this week (I think we picked up 1-2 restaurant meals, so nothing bananas).
$300ish for a new air filter: the air where we live has been horrible and I’m really sensitive to it, and my wife picked up a new air filter. I’ve been feeling much better.
