Hold Off Buying New Clothes?

I keep telling myself that I 'm going to wait until I reach my goal before I buy myself new clothes. What do others do? Do you indulge your current size or do you wait until you reach certain goals before rewarding yourself?

Thu. Jan 18, 11:43am

a link to an earlier thread on the topic. there are lots of threads about this topic, actually.

i currently have clothes in most sizes ranging from 12-20. sometimes i get rid of stuff when it seems that i feel defeated instead of inspired, but i'm trying to only get rid of the large stuff (haha). it is a frustrating issue for sure!

Link

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 11:47 AM

I buy new clothes when the old ones are too big (i.e. replaced my black pants that were unflatteringly baggy with ones that were much tighter; now those are getting loose too!)

I don't want to waste money on "in-between" clothes, but it's too hard to stay motivated when all of your clothes become shapeless and outdated. I add a few fresh things to my wardrobe every season, to stay updated. And, as for the basics, I update them when the old ones don't look good anymore.

For "in-between" clothes (between your starting weight and your goal), you hope you won't be wearing them for long, so I tend to shop discount stores or less expensive stores, so I'm not wasting a ton of money on them. And I tell myself that once I reach my goal, I can start buying nice things again.

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 11:55 AM

I didn't wait to buy clothes when i was losing weight, and it was a good thing-

first, my old clothes hung off me really badly and made me feel fat. replacing them with newer, size-appropriate clothes made me look and feel better.

second, buying newer clothes gave me a benchmark- if they started to feel too snug, I knew I was in trouble and could redouble my weight loss efforts.

third, buying new clothes made me feel like I was moving forward rather than putting my life on hold while I worked my way down to my "ideal"

my 2 cents.

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 1:39 PM

I'm with 1:39 completely, on every single point.

What held me back wasn't the expense, but the fear of trying things on and having nothing fit.

My family complained about how bad I looked in my fat clothes, to the point where they said I wasn't fit for public viewing. So I bit the bullet and bought a couple of pairs of pants. They said that I was way smaller than they'd realized, and shame on me for hiding it. It meant a lot, coming from people who don't pull any punches when it comes to constructive criticism.

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 3:19 PM

if you are trying to save money, you can definitely find nice pants cheap at places like goodwill. so, if you are not at your goal weight, who cares how much you spent for them! then, don't forget to donate your old clothes when you can't wear them anymore!!

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 4:09 PM

Old Navy, Marshalls and TJ maxx are a great resource- the clothes are crap, but they're stylish and cheap, and allow you a decent bridge until you can afford to replace your really nice items.

I discovered that Old Navy's jeans actually don't suck when you star buying the smaller sizes...

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 4:33 PM

I posted the letter below about a month ago in a daily log. I feel liberated!
Richelle

A letter to the Levi's 501 jeans I wore 20 years ago:

Dear Skinny Jeans,

After 20 years, I'm throwing you out. I don't need you anymore. I don't need you mocking me, telling me I'm not good enough, thin enough, young enough, that I'm just plain not enough. You are part of 2 chapters of my life that have been closed for decades.

Why have I let you hang around? I remember wearing you 20 years ago when I played in the snow with my college boyfriend. Then I gained some weight and forgot about you for a few years. Anticipating my wedding, I dropped 15 lbs and wore you again for a different man (although you were a little tight) the night before my wedding. I only remember you there because of all the pictures taken of me, slim, trim, young and about to marry the wrong man. I started binge eating a LOT after the wedding and never wore you again.

Through 3 states, 7 moves, many boyfriends, many jobs, lots of heartache, lots of joy, you've hung around, unworn, mocking me, telling me I can wear you again someday, when life is perfect, when I'm thin again, I'll wear you again when I deserve it. Well, I'M SICK OF YOU! You're a liar. I AM good enough right now. And YOU'RE out of fashion anyway! I wouldn't wear you again if I could since I no longer prefer '80s button fly!

You've been upgraded. I stuffed you, along with many many clothes in smaller sizes, into 6 garbage bags today and unceremoniously dumped you into a bin at Goodwill. Then I drove immediately to The Avenue and the 2nd and 3rd pair of jeans I tried on fit me perfectly (and in a smaller size than anticipated!) so I took them home with me.

Goodbye, Skinny Jeans! I'm not listening to your lies of "someday" anymore! Someday is NOW, according to my 2 pairs of new jeans. And when I get to size 8/10 again (and I KNOW I will), I'll buy WOMEN'S jeans instead of men's cut jeans this time. YOU never did appreciate my womanly hips anyway! Good riddance.

Signed,
This Woman Taking Back her Life

p.s. I'm not crazy. This just felt fun to write. While reading Geneen Roth's book, "If You're Going to Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair", she advised throwing out all clothes that cut off your circulation. I was shocked and dismayed when I read that chapter! How could I give up those jeans that I've had for 2 decades, waiting to fit into them again? Then I realized those jeans represented a fantasy for me. They're not who I am now or what I want anymore! Plus, why in hell would I want all those clothes that are out of fashion anyway? As I drop sizes, I want new clothes!
I am currently a size 20-22 and I can't even pull up those jeans over my thighs! I'm trying to respect the me I am today and only hang clothes in my closet that fit now. I did slightly deviate from Geneen's advice and kept the clothes I really liked that fit just 10 lbs ago. However I did take them out of my closet and put them in a box. And it felt SO good to buy new jeans that fit!!!

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 5:10 PM

I say treat yourself! Just try to buy clothes on sale. I always buy clothes when I need them Unffortuately I haven't had to buy a smaller size. You dserve it if you go don a size!

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 6:21 PM

5:10 poster. You brought tears to my eyes. I'm so happy for you!! I used to buy clothes that were too small for me and told myself that I only deserved to wear those clothes in that smaller size. What tourture! Love yourself now, and tell yourself "I'm worth it". You're awesome! Keep loving yourself!

To the op. I bought 2 pair of pants and 4 shirts at my new size to hold me over until I get to my goal. If you have nice stuff...go get it altered for a few bucks at the tailor! Good luck!

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 6:45 PM

What 4:33 said. You can find cute clothes for really cheap these days, what with the lower-end stores getting stylin' and all. Especially when they go on clearance. All you need is a few things to tide you over until you get to the next size.

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 9:13 PM

To the 5:56pm poster, I completely disagree. It's a letter celebrating the woman she is right now and knowing she deserves new, more fashionable clothes as she continues to move down in size. It's not about giving up being in shape and living at a healthy weight at all.

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 11:28 PM

Here's a link to a rant about "dressing for success".....

Link

Thursday, January 18, 2007, 11:50 PM

OP here:

Thanks everyone for their thoughts! This was helpful to me. I suppose buying clothes that make me feel good (and also recognize the progress I have made so far). Plus I get to replace some of the more tired looking clothes I've had for years with new ones :)

Friday, January 19, 2007, 9:19 AM

To the OP--

I'm the one who wrote the Dressing for Success "rant"-- for years, I was letting my "fat body" mentality take over-- I had started wearing long skirts (instead of the mini skirts that I like)--covering up so much of my body in big formless shapes that I had just grown to see myself as a "big boned" (but in reality, FAT) person.

Now-a-days, I am getting carded at bars and stores again! Part of it is because I replaced some of my plainer and less attractive clothes with ones that flatter me, and part of it is my new-found positive body attitude...I'll be 40 this spring but more often than not, people think I'm closer to 28 years old... (while dressed down for a retreat at my university this past week, several students mistook me for an undergrad-- boy, did that boost my ego--AND give me further motivation to keep on working out!)

I feel 100% better mentally....and have kept better tabs on my own health and well-being...

Besides, I think you should celebrate what you've done so far-- as you start to re-vamp your own body image in your head, you'll give yourself motivation to continue your path to weight loss and success... :-) And a little reward for your progress won't hurt! ;-)

irissvb

Friday, January 19, 2007, 7:36 PM

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