Getting rid of work clothes

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disneysteve

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I'm sure I'm not the only one who had to decide what clothes to get rid of after retirement.

I worked in a dress shirt every day for 30+ years. Also a tie the first 6 years but none since. Typically I wore a long sleeve shirt in the colder months and a short sleeve shirt in the warmer months, though at my last job, it was short sleeves all the time because it was always warm in the clinics. When I finished my final shift last year, I had 40 long sleeve shirts and 20 short sleeve shirts in my closet. A few months later, I did go through them and got it down to 30 and 15. I do still wear a button down shirt on occasion with a suit for appropriate occasions or just going out to a nice dinner or a party or attending religious services. But I know I don't need 45 shirts so I need to go through them again.

How did you all decide what to keep? I don't want to just keep a handful and always be wearing the same shirts when I do wear them but I don't need half my closet taken up by shirts either.
 
I donated the stuff that I wasn't crazy about and had some clothes altered. My next project will be to jettison some uncomfortable shoes.

I may not, however, be the best person to ask. Theoretically speaking, DH may have built me a second bedroom closet and converted a spare bedroom into a walk in closet. :hide:
 
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One dress shirt for funerals and one suit/shoes/tie.
One dress shirt for wedding and sport coat or suit.
A few nice shirts/slacks/shoes for going out.
Tees, shorts, footwear for hanging around.
Look like a hobo the rest of the time.
Coat/blue jeans for winter.

No iron stuff.

I'm a sweatshirt freak and wear them Fall, winter and spring. I have many going back to 1973. (my fetish)
 
Go for 10 & 10. Nice round numbers, and probably still more than you need. Ditch anything stained, worn out, uncomfortable, or difficult to maintain (that might even include unusual buttons that could be harder to replace.) Then, from whatever remains, pick the ones in best condition and/or your favorites. Remember that if you wind up having to buy a shirt or two in the future it isn't the end of the world. Donate now so a young college grad or lower income person can put them to good use!
 
Some techniques:

Take them all out of the closet and lie them on the bed or something. You then have to actively put each thing back IN the closet to keep it - which makes the decision slightly more clear vs. just taking each item out one at a time.

Keep only the ones that:
  • Are in spotless perfect condition. No fading, no loose buttons, no neck marks, no "eh maybe it fits". Donate anything that's still decent in this category, but bin anything with a tear or real stains.
  • Are things you go "oooh yeah I like this one!"
  • Ones your wife/spouse/partner says she likes you in...
Donate the ones that:
  • Your partner defines as "its' fine" (bonus tip, let them just have say 5-10 things to get rid of no questions asked, guarantee you there's stuff in your closet them wish disappeared).
  • You think "it's perfectly good" but don't love it
  • Needs dry cleaning
Repeat annually.
 
Since my usual retiree attire is shorts/T-shirt or long pants/T-shirt/flannel shirt, with tennis shoes or boots; I only kept 2 pairs of nice pants, and 4 nice shirts. Also 2 pairs black dressier shoes. I guess I do have to also claim 2 sport coats and a few ties. That's as formal as I get, and as rare occasions as possible. I prefer to be and look like complete casual. Not impressing anyone and don't really care what others may think.

So short answer to OP is clean out almost all of it. You won't miss it. Keep enough for those occasions you want to dress up some, but strive to minimize the number of those.
 
I wore company provided FRC (fire retardant clothing) for 30+ years. I still have boxes of work clothing embroidered with the logos of a few oil companies, . And boxes of Arctic winter gear. All of it quite expensive. I now use expensive heavy FRC coveralls when I change the oil or work on my truck.

Funny story, years ago I donated a box of my work clothing to a local charity. I had changed companies and the former clothing had been replaced with stuff showing I belonged to a new master. One of my work peers saw a homeless guy on the streets in Anchorage wearing one of my old work shirts, embroidered with my name, company logo and my work assignment (engineer). I don't know if it helped or hurt his attempts at panhandling by the roadside. Passersby were probably wondering why a engineer couldn't find a job.
 
DH and I both did a big clean out right after retirement. And we still go through once a year and find a few things to toss or donate.

A good rule--if you haven't worn it in a year, get rid of it. (unless it is a formal type dress or suit/tux that may only get worn rarely anyway--but probably don't need more than 1-2 of these type clothing)
 
I had to do it in stages because I am irrationally attached to my clothes.
I went through and tossed anything that was looking too warn. Picked out some pieces that I thought would fit my younger sister and that she would wear- she was thrilled to get them.
I took most of my work suits to goodwill. I kept a few “just in case”. That was 3 years ago. After a year I took even more and finally last summer I pared it down to one skirt suit, one dress, and a few skirts, pants, and blouses that are nicer than every day. I’ve only worn the “nicer” clothes a few times over the last 3 years. I mostly wear t-shirts and capris.
 
I like Aerides' advice with the exception of the first -- I would say even if it is new or in perfect condition, you must ask yourself, do I (or spouse) really love this? If not, find it a new home.

I'd check your lifestyle. There are times when you may need, beyond the funeral suit and the more festive suit or sport jacket. Besides regular weddings, there are other events like destination weddings, reunions, cruises, fine dining, fine resorts, special church days and charity galas and events. These can really tax a single suit or blazer (discounting a funeral suit). Also consider a lightweight one for summer versus dark, more formal colors for winter. Start with these choices, and whittle down the dress shirts. You probably will need less than 10.

I'm getting ready for the purge myself.
 
Since so many have donated their dress-up work clothes, get rid of yours and if anyone is needing a suit or similar for an occasion - just go to the thrift store :giggle::facepalm::biggrin:
 
I'm not sure whether it is retirement or current fashion, but one thing I'm finding is that I have a lot of occasions where I need dressy casual clothes. I kept a couple of work buttondown shirts that fit that need well, but have had to buy a couple of more shirts.
 
It was easier for me to do it gradually, every year or so I would pare down more as I was more sure of what I might ever need again. In the end I just kept a few nicer dresses and skirts that I thought would be suitable for weddings, funerals, or the very rare dressier dinner or event. And even those are rarely worn. But I dress very casually unless absolutely necessary.
 
I kept 2 suits and one blazer. Two pair of dress shoes. Three white shirts, 6 ties (all presents from my kids). Three pair of dress socks. Everything else went to goodwill.
PS- I still have not worn one of the suits!
 
Just one note to the "toss it all and live in sweats and shorts" crowd:

Pay attention to how your spouse/partner/bf/gf like to dress when you go out together. It is good to "match" whatever bar they set.

For example, if your partner likes to get a little dressed up and makes some effort to go out to dinner, even a somewhat casual place, wear something that goes along with that, not something that looks like you didn't know you were going somewhere. It's nice, and they will most likely appreciate it.

You can never go wrong with being slightly overdressed for the occasion.

(and I say this as I sit here in sweats and a tee shirt, but we're having dinner on the sofa).
 
Thanks everyone. Good tips all around. I think the 10 and 10 advice is a good target for me.

My first round already eliminated the worn out and didn't fit stuff. What's left is the ones that I liked, were in good shape, and fit well, so culling those was more difficult. I'll attack it one of these days.
 
I was in the Oxford overload situation, like Steve. The first pass, I got rid of duplicates and ones that I never really liked. Then DW took over that space. Second round I got rid of those I didn't touch in a 3 year span. Then DW took over THAT space. I'm done. I might BUY a shirt some day, and have nowhere to put it :)
 
We rarely...very rarely...go anywhere where we need to 'dress up'. Mostly weddings and funerals and at our age its mostly funerals. So when I retired I kept one sport jacket, a couple of ties, two dress shirts (one short sleeve, one long sleeve), two pairs of dress pants and one pair of dress shoes. I've since converted from the black dress shoes to a pair of black soft SAS shoes. Everything else went to Goodwill.

My wife has one remaining dressy outfit that she will wear when absolutely necessary! :clap: Otherwise we're both essentially shorts or jeans and t-shirt people. I will wear a collared golf shirt if we're going out to a fancy restaurant like Olive Garden:dance: or to a movie but we don't go to many movies these days. We are going to OG for lunch on Friday for our anniversary. Jeans and a golf shirt for me and pretty much the same for her.
 
You may find your style changes as you distance yourself from your work identity, and then it’s easier to let go of the trappings of your past self. There were great suggestions upthread about keeping clothing that fits, is in good condition, easy to care for, feels good and makes you feel good. My suggestion is to pretend that you are going on a month-long trip and create a capsule wardrobe that can mix and match without repeating a look. Use your phone to take photos of the different looks!
 
Easy for me. I got sick and lost so much weight that nothing fit anymore. Got rid of it all. I'm building my wardrobe. I had one blazer that I had tailored but, as you said, wearing the same thing all the time doesn't appeal to me. Thankfully, I lead a very casual life. Still, my weight has been stable enough that I will probably get a nice suit, another jacket and a couple pairs of slacks. That and some appropriate shirts will do me fine on the dressing up front.

If I had 40 shirts that fit, I'd probably pick the best ten and leave it at that.
 
I gave most of my suits and dress shirts away a week before I retired. I kept two suits and three dress shirts. I still have 60+ ties left that I need to pare down to four. I have six expensive dress shoes that I'm loathe to part but haven't worn since retirement. I wear mostly shorts, t-shirts and flip flops these days.
 
We had uniforms, T-shirts, polos, button ups, Jackets hats... Everything with the county name on it got brought back to the office. Kept the pants and work boots.
 
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