fat clothes

I read an e-mail today from a writer who is researching an article about people who save their fat clothes. It got me thinking about my wardrobe. I still dress like I'm trying to hide something. Now we all know that no matter how baggy the clothes, we're not actually hiding anything. If you normally wear a size 2 and you go up to a 4, then maybe a loose fitting top might fool someone but for those of us who are a bit larger than that, baggy clothes don't fool anyone.
I wear loose fitting tops not so much to try to fool people as to protect myself from the embarrassment of showing off how fat I am. It's not that I think people don't notice that I'm fat but that they just don't have to see the rolls around my middle or my protruding belly so I choose to wear a flowing top to "protect" them. But I surely don't think I'm fooling anyone.
So why do I dress like I'm hiding behind my clothes? Because I am comfortable that way. Belts, tucked in shirts, clingy tops....not for me. At this point in my life, a firm body will not be the end result of weight loss and exercise. So there's nothing to "show" hence the more comfortable loose clothing.
But should I save my fat clothes? The stuff that is too big...too flowing. Does saving that wardrobe imply that I expect to get fat again?
Well, it's happened before. I've been down and I've been up. And I've been way down and I've been way up. I've surpassed my fat clothes a few times but refused to buy bigger sizes. I still own a few pieces of my skinny clothes. I would wear them today...they're timeless in their style...if I could ever fit into them again. Alas, that is not going to happen. My body has changed (it's gone south) so that no amount of weight loss will help me get into those lovely pieces of fashion history.
Bottom line: I save my fat clothes. History has a way of repeating itself. I want to be ready.

Skinny Clothes

My advice: Don't give away your skinny clothes. We've all got a wardrobe of various increasing sizes. Every year, I go through the closet performing the emotionally destabilizing activity of trying on clothes in last year's size. Ugh. I'm not even sure they fit when I bought them but one year later, they don't. That's for sure.
Save or recycle? Depends. I usually take them to the resale store. I figure there's no reason to save them. I'm never going to fit into them. Well, never arrived today. Even though I haven't lost that much weight, some old stuff fits. And fits well. Fits well enough that they might end up too big in a few weeks. Wouldn't that be a kick???
Most of the old stuff is gone. Long ago. Bags of clothes dragged off to the resale store near my house. My clothes sell well. I must have good taste or maybe it's just that they're practically brand new when I take them in. Nothing ever fits me for more than one season!
I'm thinking I might go buy back my old clothes. Silly. I could buy them back at a discount and get some money back for buying them. But, no, that makes no sense at all.
So hold on to the skinny clothes. I mean, we all hold on to the fat ones because we're fatalistic. We just know that one day we will fit into those again! Well, when this is over (when will it be over?) and I've gotten to my goal weight, I'm tossing the fat clothes. Giving them away. Hasta la vista huge sizes. Bye bye baggy tops. Ciao elastic waist pants. No. Not the pants. They're comfortable. Perfect for dining out. Not the pants.