London - Women are often criticised for their habit of complaining they have nothing to wear as they eye up their bulging wardrobes. But in actual fact, they may have a point.
A new survey has found that eight out of 10 women are hoarding millions of pieces of clothing that they can never wear. A deluded two thirds admitted they are keeping the clothes in the misguided belief they will one day be able to wear them again.
A quarter revealed that their weight had yo-yoed so much that they had been four different sizes across their lifetime – while one in 12 confessed that they still had all four different sizes hanging unworn in their wardrobes.
Among the women questioned who hold on to clothes that don’t fit them, four out of 10 hope that those clothes will come in handy again at some point.
A quarter keep them because they were so expensive they don’t feel they can part ways. One in eight deliberately bought some clothes too small in the hope of slimming to fit in to them – and never did. More than one in 10 also admit to holding on to clothes for sentimental reasons as the clothes remind them of a happy time in their life.
The survey, conducted in the UK, found that wardrobes are fit to bursting with surplus clothes.
Holding on to clothes that you don’t wear does more harm than good, warns top psychologist Linda Papadopoulos.
She commented: “Clearing out your wardrobe of sizes and styles that no longer fit and giving them away will help you to love and value the person you are today.
“People can also develop an emotional attachment or sense of nostalgia to clothes, making them hard to let go of – whether it’s the dress you wore when you got engaged or that lucky suit you wore for a job interview.
“Donating clothes to charity helps to release that reluctance to part ways with the item because you know that you’re giving someone the chance to have a better life as well as giving your clothes a new lease of life,” said Papadopoulos. – Daily Mail
TOP FIVE ITEMS OF CLOTHING WOMEN CAN'T THROW AWAY
1. Jeans (36 percent)
2. Occasion wear (36 percent)
3. Tops (28 percent)
4. Skirts (23 percent)