Like so many others I still have clothing in my closet that I have not been able to wear or used for years and I have difficulties getting myself to give it away.
I give my larger work clothing to a co-worker, but I really have a problem letting go of my personal larger clothing, I think of the money spent buying them, events that happened while I was wearing them, but mostly I am terrified that some day I will need them again.
Do you find it hard to get rid of your big clothes?
Not at all, I found that buying larger clothing the only things I could find were unattractive, expensive and matronly. I was happy to get rid of them.
I've kept one pair of jeans (that I hated wearing and were super unflattering) for my "look I can fit into one pants leg" photo. Everything else is gone. I don't want to give myself any leeway to gain the weight back either. I don't need that kind of safety net.
Most of the clothes I wore at my highest are gone. I have an outfit well a couple of pairs of pants( one jean, one work pant) just to compare. Everything else is gone. I didn't want to get rid of them but I don't want to wear them again. And as far as the clothes that continue to get to big as I lose I'm not as attached to them so they are getting out of here too. I gave them to people I knew could use them. There were a few things that I just didn't want to see anyone I know wearing(things that I just loved) that I threw out or donated.
I love shopping for new smaller clothes but only at reasonable prices because I'm still losing and don't want to waste money.
I just dropped 4 bags of "fat" clothes in a Goodwill donation box Sunday night. I kept a couple pairs of jeans from when I was at my heaviest as a reminder. But other than that, I got rid of everything bigger than the sizes I'm currently wearing. This chick ain't gaining her weight back.
I had such a limited wardrobe when I was heavy, and a what little I had was frumpy and unflattering, so I was happy to get rid of things. There have been some things that I altered along the way as I got smaller, but most went to charity.
I found a plus size resale shop and I've taken a lot of my better clothes there. It's been fun to go in and shop for smaller sizes and pay nothing or very little because I had store credit. The shop gets 60% of selling price and I get 40%.
It wasn't easy to find cute clothes in sizes up to 24. I considered hanging on to some things, but I really want to keep the weight off and if I don't have anything to wear, a 5 lb gain could be a crisis!
Let those big clothes go. That's not you anymore. You're CHANGING!
I've packed about half of my largest sizes away. I think it's telling that I haven't actually gotten rid of them. Maybe, deep down, I'm afraid that I'm going to eventually fail and gain all this weight back.
The clothing I haven't packed away is my favorite stuff. Some of it is just my old comfy, kind of worn clothing that I wear around the house. Some of it are my favorite sweaters that I like so much I just hate the notion of getting rid of them.
I finally did break down today and buy a couple of comfy things to wear around the house. My former clothing is really starting to look like a clown suit on me and is too ridiculous to even wear around the house.
Last edited by Garnet2727; 10-16-2012 at 08:57 PM.
i havent gotten rid of any of my larger clothes...because (of all things!) i think that i still fit them...i got SO excited about pulling out my very favorite winter sweater this last weekend, only to find that it's not only fashionably loose, it's ridiculously big and all that extra fabric drives me nuts....i was SO bummed that i couldnt fit it/didnt like it anymore ive become used to wearing more snug, form-fitting clothes as i've lost weight and so many of my favorite clothes, i can no longer wear but i still keep them around because, in my mind, i think i can still fit them....only to find out i really cant lol
I too was really attached to my larger clothing for the following reasons:
1.) They were my only clothes for the longest time since I've never not been large.
2.) They were super hard to find and some were expensive being that plus size shopping for cute clothes is neither easy nor cheap.
3.) Each item was selected lovingly and for a purpose as I like clothes and have a no-sweats-out-of-the-house-or-gym policy.
4.) There are happy memories attached to them or I bought some from vacations to places I may never go back to..
5.) Some of them were my favourite things even though I couldn't wear them anymore.
6.) What if I re-gain the weight? I'll be nekkid!
In the end, in July, I broke down and had a massive give away. There were cocktail dresses, barely-worn suits, several blazers and jackets, the most perfect jeans ever, button downs, floaty tops, tunic tops, custom-tailored cotton print dresses and skirts, cashmere cardigans, all sorts of things. I gave away everything! It ranged from size 10 to size 22/24. It was tough but I did it and even though I felt bad for the day, I felt so liberated by the following day. Now I have extra incentive not to go back to my old ways... I have nothing to wear, nothing packed away, nothing to fall back on.
It wasn't easy but it's been so worth it to make the space in my closet, to free myself from old trappings and to believe in myself that this life change is permanent and I'm not going back.
I'm not particularly attached to most of my larger clothes, given that they were more of something to uncomfortably hide behind rather than wear with pride. I guess I'll be fickle that way . . . moving on to things that not only fit better, but actually make me feel better about myself instead of worse.
I've held on to two shirts: a dressy top I eventually plan on taking in (an old friend bought it for me and it's one of the very few pieces I've always loved), and a tee I designed myself years ago (at my highest weight) that's too ratty to wear anyway. I've also held on to one pair of jeans, just to remember that they were once too tight to wear (and I wasn't even anywhere near my highest, although I wish I'd have been able to save a pair from back then but I was too big for jeans).
When I moved to a new place a few months ago, it actually felt good to donate and throw away clothes that no longer fit.
I'm a jeans and tee-shirt person. And sweaters and sweatshirts in the winter. I dress in jeans for work and only buy dressy clothes as needed, so it's not to hard to detach emotionally from standard every day clothes.
I really think it's important to get rid of bigger sizes as soon as they are loose. I did keep a couple hoodie sweaters from Old Navy because they look kind of cute all big and loose - but I bought the same exact sweaters in the size that fits because they were favorites. When my DD was about 5, she went through a phase where she said, "I hate you" every time she was angry. I tried to explain that we don't do that because it hurts feelings, it isn't polite, etc. She kept doing it. So one day I simply told her she wasn't allowed to say it. Simple as that. She was not allowed to say it. She stopped immediately. I think of getting rid of the old clothes as the exact same thing. It tells me I'm not allowed to gain weight. I think it helps. Get attached to the cute new clothes in smaller sizes.
And maybe there's a way to completely re-purpose something if you have real emotional attachments - Wool sweaters can be "felted" and made into tote bags and mittens. Fancy clothing could be made into elegant throw pillows. Stuff like that.
This time as I lose weight I give away/donate stuff. I have some really cute clothes. I really don't dress "casual" alot. So I do have an attachment to my clothes. A lot of my stuff I give to someone that will also appreciate them as much as I do.There is someone that jokes with me when I wear something she likes (she gets my 18/20s). She says something along the lines of " I can't wait to get that!" I smile but in my mind I say "And I can't wait to give it to you too!"
I have a full wardrobe of 14/16 waiting for me. I am going to act a plumb fool when I get out of that size. Party likes it's 1999
i moved recently (about 4 months ago) and got rid of about 4 large garbage bags of clothing. some of it, stuff that i couldn't bear to let go of- i gave to people, because when i bought clothing- even at my largest size, i love them, they were like family, and I wanted them to go to a new home. I see the girl that I gave them to, and I see facebook pictures of her in those clothes, and it makes me happy.
Other stuff was donated. Although there's still quite a bit of larger stuff that I own that gets worn to the gym (casual stuff).
I have also re-worked some of my tunics from my largest size, because they just look like short dresses now and I wear them with a belt and boots.
There are some clothes I have that I've had a tough time giving away. I've kept a few of my favorite t shirts, that I can't replace to use as sleep shirts with a pair of sleep separates pj bottoms. I will be keeping the pretty dress I got married in, even once it gets too big.
I know they're just clothes, but the memories the evoke are strong.
Emotional Attachment to Larger Clothing
ive become used to wearing more snug, form-fitting clothes as i've lost weight and so many of my favorite clothes, i can no longer wear 
