Despite the fact that we donated, gave away and tossed a lot of our stuff before we moved, we still have too much for a downsized house. There was extra furniture, artwork, kitchen things, garden/pond supplies and of course clothing. My current clothes closet is a microscopic version compared to my last one.
I’ve always been good about doing the “Marie Kondo” with clothing and shoes but there were some sacred cows. Almost all my work clothes are gone which is as it should be. I’ve been retired ten years. Who wants old clothes that I don’t wear.
Then are those categories – wedding, funeral, and prom. I kept clothes for the first two occasions. I tossed all the “prom” stuff a few years back. That would include any long dresses or sparkly ones. If I can’t wear it to the grocery store, out it went. I haven’t gone to a formal event since I retired. Clothes go out of style. If I get invited someplace special, I’ll go out and buy something new.
Next came the funeral-wedding clothes. Funerals are much more casual than they used to be. You can wear black exercise pants and dress them up but I have some dresses too.
I looked them over and tried them on. I’m embarrassed to say that two had shoulder pads. Do you remember shoulder pads? When was the last time you wore them? Me too. Out they went. At the end of the day I am left with four dresses. More than enough.
Two are nice ones (silky fabric with beautiful prints and a perfect fit) and two more casual ones that can be dressed up for almost any occasion. They are LL Bean dresses which are my favorites (along with Lands End). The have one universal style that is very flattering for my body with a wide range of sizes. Pop on some fancy jewelry and you can wear them most anywhere. Use more casual accessories and shoes and you can wear it to a picnic or park. Cool, stretchy and attractive. What more can you ask for in a dress that is well under $100.
I have one more category to tackle. Although the bulk of them went a long time ago, I kept some blazers/jackets from my working days (ten years ago) that I haven’t been able to part with. They are classic styles (double-breasted navy jacket by Ralph Lauren among others) that work with jeans or dress clothes (that I never wear). These are my true sacred cows. Giving them up is like giving up my memories. Maybe today I will take a happy pill and go through them. If I’m lucky some won’t fit right or will be so sadly out of style that it’s an easy decision. Maybe I’ll give up the happy pill for a margarita and put on island music. That always makes it easier.
Really, I’m good at getting rid of things except for a very, very few sacred cows and no I don’t want to take pictures of them to keep.
Maybe I’ll need a pitcher of margaritas.
Author’s note: None of the retailers mentioned gave me anything but I’m always willing to accept something. They are brands that work well for my body shape.
Loved this idea “If I can’t wear it to the grocery store, out it went. ”
I’m getting close to “if I can’t wear it walking the dog….” But will have to retain a couple of “real clothes” haha
(And clinging to those wool Ralph Lauren blazers that go with everything…even in the semi-tropics here…I have hopes of cooler climates!….not quite as cool as here last year, please)
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Yes for funerals and weddings of course!
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You’re retired for 10 years and I’ve not worked on site for 12 years, yet I’ve hung onto dresses, skirt suits and pant suits all this time. I always thought “well what if I go back to work, Robb shuts the office – gotta keep them.” Sigh. I remember padded shoulders and I had padded dress shirts as well and so had double shoulder padding in some instances. Where I needed the padding – um, up front … so underwires and padding helped out in that department.
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They are probably all out of style now!
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Yes, I, like you, will have a tough time downsizing my clothes. I was a clothes horse back in the day, though you wouldn’t know it to see how I dress sometimes.
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Me too! I miss it sort of. I love the idea of dressing up more than I like dressing up these days.
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Yes, I used to plan the night before what I’d wear … the accessories, shoes … what a change to my appearance these days. What happened to the young woman who was so vain about her appearance that she wouldn’t go out of the house without her contacts in and makeup on?
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I know. I never would have thought I’d get like that either.
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That’s okay too – we had our heyday! 🙂
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We did!
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I am about finished with purging clothes for a while. I still cannot bear to part with a few sparkly things, still hoping for a sparkly occasion to wear them.
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I waited for ten years and my sparkly event never materialized.
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I still remember a dress that I gave to a friend when I was 18 because I gained those freshman 15. It has been a big regret. I felt fabulous in that dress, and I makes me smile just to think of it. It was the last dress I bought for fun instead of work and it brings a different feeling than all the others. Oh well. I hope she loved it as much as I did. There are few clothes since then that I loved the same way. I can understand your dilemma though. I wish you well as you parse though it all.
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I had one dress like that. It didn’t have an event but I bought it anyway. Eventually I was able to wear it but a few years back I gave it to my granddaughters to play dress up. I was ready to give it up but it took a long, long time.
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Ugh. You’re reminding me to go into my closet and do the same. I weeded all my suits right after I retired but still kept more than I need. I’ve only worn sports coats to the occasional restaurant, and even then only a handful of times. I really don’t need the six or seven suits I kept. Thanks for the extra work you’ve given me now! 😉 – Marty
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It was painful saying goodbye to some of my upscale business clothes. However, I’m glad I’m retired.
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And no shoulder pads to boot. 🙂
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Some of those clothes added a good 2″ to my shoulders! Yeowza!
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It’s hard to toss them when you spend a lot of money on classic suits! Even though pant styles are completely different now (and way more comfortable!) I have a hard time letting go.
It was easier to let go of the gorgeous dresses from our dance competition days. Mainly because I didn’t fit into them anymore. 🙂
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Not fitting is an easy decision!
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I used to love clothes, casual clothes. Nice jeans, cool shoes and paddock boots and nice tops. I always tucked in and wore a belt. All I have now are sandals, one pair of jeans, long shorts and short capris. A few nice tops and a lot of 3/4 length sleeve shirts. Nobody better die or get married because I’m not shopping for clothes. The only things I have purchased lately are bralettes (purchased online) after years of not replacing old tired worn out bras. SSNS’s closet is full of men’s lululemon shorts, Life is Good tees and Teva sandals. I miss Fall.
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I think my husband has a 25 year old sport coat he bought for his daughter’s wedding and I’m not sure it fits. He’s lost weight over the past several years. He is butt-less. Hard to find pants for him.
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I get it. I have a stuffed mouse I’ve had since I was a kitten. I just love the feel and smell of it, even though I don’t play with it anymore. I can’t get rid of it.
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You need to keep it just don’t let Salem get it.
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Getting rid of clothes that have happy memories attached to them is really hard! I sympathize. But hopefully your closet has enough room now that you don’t need to do much purging for a while!
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I need another dose of purging for my pants. Some of my pants are too big (I lost weight). I’d like to whittle it down to only ones that I actually wear.
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You will get to it – no sense is pushing to get it all done at once!
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Pants are easy. I don’t get attachments to them like I do to jackets and tops. I’d like to have one large pick-up so we can all heave a sigh of relief.
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That would be pretty good!
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I think I have a few “sacred cows,” too, and in my most honest moments I know I’ll never wear them again. I have a good friend who takes photos of her clothes and sells them on eBay. It sounds like a lot of work to me, but she has done this for years and there’s a market for almost everything in clothing. I suppose it’s possible shoulder pads will make another appearance? Must say, however, I hope not!
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I don’t mind the small pads that fill out your shoulders but these were the big football version. Sadly they were attached to nice clothes that were timeless in every other way. You just can take them out as there would be all the extra fabric at the shoulders.
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I go through my clothes each season and donate some, but there are items I keep even though I know I’ll never wear them again.
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Those are the ones that I’m working on. I’d like it to be only one or two instead of a rack full.
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I am impressed at your clothes purging. I have too many clothes and so many don’t fit, but I am an optimist and hope they will- by then they will be out of style. 🙂 Although none have shoulder pads. 🙂
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If they don’t have shoulder pads they are at least less than 10 years old!
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I’ve never been a clothes horse so getting rid of fancy clothes is easy for me. It’s the “kind of nice, just in case we go out to dinner somewhere fancy” clothes that stump me. Do I need them? Will ever socialize like that again? No answer.
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I kept just a few for that. I can always throw them out at the next round.
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You just made my endless TO DO list a little longer, Kate. I donate a ton of things each month, yet somehow my closets and dressers are still packed. 😦
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I swear they reproduce when we are not looking!
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Good luck! I need to do the same thing, even though we don’t have a move in the foreseeable future. Through the pandemic, I really haven’t bought much (and then, mostly online) because I have way too many clothes and I tend to wear the same 10% over and over.
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Me too. I wear black, navy and blue jean color bottoms every day yet I have shades of green and khaki. I’ve gotten rid of all my khaki pants and am seriously thinking of getting rid of the greens. I have a few like purple and turquoise but I don’t wear them much either. I reach for the same old comfort.
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Good for you! I need to do some serious sorting through my clothes. Someday I will.😼
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I was forced by space to do this. I’ve done it faithfully over the years but obviously not with enough vigor.
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Been there, done that, but I can always do more. Appreciate the humor and the reminder. 🙂
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Yes, and the pain. Such sweet memories are now residing in my donation box.
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“… but I’m always willing to accept something”. Hahahaha! Kate, you crack me up! 😆
I too have been retired for 10 years (how did that happen so quickly?!), and admittedly I still have a few sacred cows haunting my closet. A few pairs of shoes, a dress from a black tie event about 15 years ago, and several other bits and pieces. And don’t get me started on jewelry of all sorts … fake, ‘good fake’, and good. I have way too much of each. I’m almost embarrassed. Almost.
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I did a pretty thorough jewelry sweep before we moved. I wear the same stuff all the time so I got rid of a lot. I did shoes too. The sacred cows saved from work days are the hardest.
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I kept one navy blue suit jacket that pairs well with jeans and some dresses. The rest = GONE!
Good luck.
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Do you wear the jacket? I kept a handful yet I reach for a hoody when it’s cool or maybe a jean shirt or cardigan.
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I wore it to a funeral once. Most of the time, it just watches from the sidelines.
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Mine too.
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I wear jeans and sandals most of the time, but i too have my sacred cows. I applaud your courage and am inspired to do a little closet cleaning.
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I have a real designer dress from 35 years ago. Another sacred cow (with shoulder pads). I have to move that to the donate pile. Maybe after another margarita.
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This is a very timely post for me. I do go through my closet each season and cut several pieces from the team. I did this again two days ago, including shoes (go me)! But I too have many sacred cows and realize that there is much more in my closet that I am truly unlikely to wear. Thanks for the reminder!
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It’s like they are fantasy clothes that I will wear on the veranda during a cocktail hour! (None of that happens much here. First off, I don’t have a veranda!)
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I own one frock and two skirts, everything else is jeans (2 pairs) or joggers with a couple of easy wear trousers and some leggings. I have plenty of tee shirts, but not any tops to wear with said skirts, and blouses are well out of my wardrobe and have been for 20 plus years. I had to laugh as the wife of the couple who bought the cottage intended to make our third bedroom a walk in wardrobe. She would not have been able to have a door access from the adjoining bedroom as that was the only wall the bed could go against!
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The more room you have, the more you keep. I don’t have any skirts and no truly “dress pants” with zippers. I have found that what they call athletic wear (not the skin tight stuff) does just fine for dress with a nice top.
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Yes we tend to grow into the room(s) we have. There was a lot going for living on a boat!!!
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I tossed a lot of stuff too. But I kept one 3 piece outfit that I thought would be good for funerals…a sleeveless shell, skirt and cardigan combo in a sombre grey knit. Good thing, because I’m flying back east tomorrow for the funeral of my BIL – who made a point of always dressing formally when the occasion called for it, no matter what everyone else was wearing. Luckily I kept one pair of sensible black wedge heels (also thinking of funerals). My shoe wardrobe consists of Birkenstocks, Hunters, Tevas or Doc Martens, these days…Hah!
Deb
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Shoes are a whole different post. I cleaned them out good. I have sneakers, boat shoes and some sandals. I used to keep a pair of “dress shoes” but I found that I have no use for them. They go out of style before I get much wear so if I’m invited to something super special, I’ll try sandals or I’ll buy something. I found a long time ago that it’s good to have a funeral outfit. People die at the most inconvenient times to get out shopping.
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I need to do a lot of sorting through and rehoming or tossing stuff too. It is difficult – very much like getting rid of memories.
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Exactly! I can only do so much at a time. It wears me out.
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What’s funny is that each time I sort again, I always wonder why in the world I kept some of the things I did last time. I guess that means I’m ready to let go of them finally.
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I do that too. For shoes anything I kept I made myself wear within the next few weeks. I was surprised that some were no longer comfortable. That made it so much easier.
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A retiree’s wardrobe is a lot simpler than a working one. I like your adage if you can’t wear it to the grocery store…out it goes.
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I have even lost the desire to shop for clothes. No place to wear them so no point!
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👍🏻
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