do you find......

I’m envious of those who find good clothes in charity shops. I would like to. Not sure why but the charity shops in my local area don’t stock anything suitable. The things seem to be in poor condition.

TanaMa and HillyN many charity shops would love to receive these clothes. They usually put them onto specialist sites online e.g. vintage etc.

BigBertha1

I like to ring the changes and wear my clothes now obviously not 'going out for the evening' things but dresses, trousers, jeans, tops something different everyday. DH tends to dress the same .. jeans and shirt but I get him to change these regularly. I just feel we will get fusty and musty physically and mentally if we don't make an effort daily. We also make sure we dont spend more than one day at a time without going out to get some fresh air/have lunch/go shopping.

well that may suit you but it doesn't suit me. I put clean on every day of course but I have had a "uniform" for years. It varies according to the time of year and has evolved over time (sweatshirts and tunics rather than shirts and polo shirts and leggings and jeggings rather than no stretch trousers and jeans) but I know what i like and what suits me and that's that. When we were first married i travelled at sea awith my husband and had to fit clothes, toiletries and everything personal for 3 to 4 months into one suitcase. the "uniform" habit stuck and I must say I like it. I spend time working in my garden every day but I don't care if i leave the house or not.

I have to say that I've taken a somewhat opposite view. Since I haven't had anywhere to go, I've been wearing my "good" clothes even when cooking, ironing or shopping! No doubt my fellow shoppers at Lidl think I'm a bit odd! It seemed such a shame to have them and NOT wear them. I haven't worn the only obvious evening dress I still own, though! I thought that might be a tad eccentric for answering the door to the postman (the only person I'm likely to see).

I recently had a purge on my wardrobe, ruthlessly disposing of things that were too big (an incentive to not put back on the weight I have lost.) I also parted with the 'one day I will be slim enough to wear these' items....and my hopes of ever being a size 12 again.
I have kept a pile of old shabby tee shirts, planning to cut them up to make tee shirt yarn, which can be made into a rug. They will probably end up in the fabric recycling bin at the local tip, if I don't work up the enthusiasm to use them.
I have never been one for dressing-up. On the rare occasions that it's necessary I dive straight back into my 'comfies' as soon as I get home. Like many of you I live in my old favourites. Today I have on my Cotton Traders purple sweatshirt, which I dearly love. It must be at least 10 years old, and still going strong.

Me, too! So few people see me most days, though. I must admit that O do put something different on if I know I’m going to be seen. I’ve also been clomping round in walking sandals for months now and am dreading having to force my feet into shoes…

How about donating anything dated and sparkly to an amdram group for period plays?

Thankfully a lot of the things I go out to are starting again, so I am enjoying putting together an outfit. True, at home, it’s comfy stuff (but always lipstick) but I genuinely enjoy the process of matching things and looking on Instagram etc to see how people have put things together. Often I realise I have those items already and no need for further buying.
Maybe it comes from being a window dresser for a while (or display artists as we called ourselves lol?)

If you can be bothered, advertise them for sale on Vinted or ebay. Someone will love them and it's much better for the planet than disposing of them. Some High St stores will take their own brand clothes back for recycling, some maybe take any brand. Worth looking into

Riggie I was about to say the same regarding rags. It is a good extra source of income for charity shops.
I rip/cut t-shirts up to get a cleaning cloth size: dark for really dirty jobs and light for cleaner ones. The softer they get the better. Saves on my nicer dish-type cloths.
And JackieB perhaps someone could invent a clothing protector that doesn’t look like hospital wear or something my 19th century born Granny used to wear. I try and avoid bleach for this reason but sometimes it is necessary …same with curries and spag-flipping-bol ?‍?

I keep a small wardrobe of clothes now, if I need anything special I visit my local charity shop for it, wear it, launder it and put it back for sale. I am going there today to get a dress for the wedding of my daughter. When I worked I used to get my outfit for the garden parties, graduations, weddings and holidays that I went on from the same charity shop. It is really my extended wardrobe.

TanaMa, I have a similar problem to yours, lots of posh frocks (in my case wedding outfits) that I will never wear again, too good to throw away but charity shops won't want them either.
I've been toying with the idea of making them into party dresses for my granddaughter. Anyone else got any better suggestions?

Lately I seem to be wearing the same clothes every day too. I have half a dozen pairs of jeans in black, dark blue and light blue, and I just wear them in turns with the same half a dozen shirts/sweaters. And then they all get washed before the cycle starts again . (I used to tell my boys when they were angsting during the teenage years: nobody's worrying about what you're wearing, they're all worrying about what they're wearing. And I think that's true of most people at any age.)

It’s worth checking charity shops if you have fabrics which are not good enough to sell; our local hospice shop accepts bags of clean fabrics for recycling.

I'm wearing the same clothes all the time - navy blue sweater, jeans and sandals.

I've just looked at a photo of myself from the 1960's, and I'm wearing - navy blue sweater, jeans and sandals!!!

I have one pair of joggers which I keep for doing the cleaning. Otherwise I wear either summer dresses or jeans with jumpers etc. I’ve always loved buying clothes and have already invested in 2 new pairs of jeans, 1 very dressy jumper and a new bag. I know many would disagree but this is something I enjoy doing. I’m not a foodie and don’t drink or smoke so this is my vice!

I have about 8 linen shift dresses, and I have been alternating them for months. They rarely need ironing if they are line dried. I am still wearing them, and plan to wear them with bare legs and open shoes until the weather changes. I do have a lot of other clothes, but I find these dresses the most comfortable for everyday wear. If I am going somewhere a bit special I will find something in the wardrobe. I have bought very little this year.

I don't know whether to keep them or demote them to cleaning rags. You can't give them away.

Actually you can, *JackyB". Many charity shops will take rags as they sell them on. They can be processed and are then used for things like mattress fillings.
Maybe ask at your local and bag them up separately so they don't have to sort them.

I glad I'm not alone in this. Comfy trousers tunic tops or long blouses has become my usual uniform. I rarely go out socially. Have a black skirt and several tops . That's as dressed as I can be nowadays. I was never really interested in clothes anyway, so little change there.

I am the same comfy pants now fleecy tops if I am going out I will put something smarter on. When I return I put my pants and top back on.
If we are going out for a meal or drinks I like a nice dress on. I have recently bought three light knitted dresses from TU at Sainsbury’s good enough to go out in.

I rarely buy new clothes except for trousers. I’ve just lost weight so need the next size down but I’m keeping the larger ones for putting on weight.

The only other thing I buy regularly are knickers and socks but I’m currently working through my large supply.

It all just goes to show how few clothes we need rather than want

We had planned to go away for a few days this month and as usual I started panicking about what to wear.

Looking through my wardrobe I found more than enough and I’m going to make a serious effort from now on to cut down on buying new outfits and make do and mend as they say. Will only buy something new for a special event or occasion.

I have lots of clothes and I wore most of them during lockdown. I wore matching earrings and scarves too, despite not seeing other people every day. I still felt I wanted to look my best, despite the problems all around me. How I look affects my mood, and I've never wanted to feel that I've given up on myself, even though I'm an older person.

Have many 'special event' clothes I will never wear again. After I lost my husband and a mutual friend lost his wife, I would sometimes accompany him as ANO to some if his quite 'posh' events. Unfortunately he now has dementia so these outings are no more. Don't think many of the cocktail and evening wear, including shoes etc, are what charity shops would want. So really don't know what to do with them - any suggestions?

I work from home and wear cropped joggers and t shirts/tunics every day. None of them need ironing which is a bonus. On the rare occasion I go out I get a bit more dressed up but more smart casual.

I can't remember the last time I wore a dress, although I must have a least ten in the wardrobe, some with tags still on.