Like Jessless, I've done this a few times. I have lost a fairly significant amount of weight...Gave away all my fat clothes, gained the weight back and had to go purchase new fat clothes, (With my head hug low in shame.)
So this time I have saved everything except for any clothing with rips, holes or stains...or just plain ugly. Underwear also got tossed. I've dropped 12 dress sizes, (size 30 to a 6) so as you can imagine I have quite a load. I have them all packed neatly in totes in the attic.
At one point I decided my kids could sell them/donate them at my estate sale, (When I die...
) But I have now found a fun new hobby that I'll be using many things for, (only items made of really nice fabric). I am really glad I decided tro keep them.
I'm refurbishing them. I have made a few "new" wrap-around skirts out of a couple big skirts/dress for summer, and now I have a few winter skirts all cut apart and pinned on a patten to make "new" fitted skirts. Just waiting for another rainy day to finish them up. The fabric is absolutely gorgeous, and I loved these skirts even when I was fat, so I'm really excited to have new ones made from them. Nice fabric is a fortune to buy, so I'm saving some $$ and sharpening my sewing skills. I also saw some throw pillow ideas in a magazine that I might make with a few of my old blazers and tops. It's fun.
Just a little warning though, if any of you try this and go out and buy a patten...beware. They do NOT vanity size on most patterns. I wear a size six in most every store I go into, BUT I wear a size 12 in McCall's and Simplicity patterns. YIKES!