Is It Possible to Not Buy Any New Clothes for a Whole Year and Be Happy?

I went for years only buying clothes when absolutely necessary... Seriously, I would be down to 1-2 pairs of pants with no holes before I bought a new pair. Lol.

Now I work in a setting that requires business casual dress, so I kind of have to keep my wardrobe up-to-date... But even then, I'm not buying new clothes... I hit up Goodwill. Lol.

Would kids fit their clothes for a year?
Does everyone technically have "enough" clothes?

If yes, then yes.
Especially if the stakes are high. Like getting out of debt, paying off a loan, saving for something much needed.

Honestly, more Americans have SO much excess, this question is kind of funny...

I think it depends upon the ages of the children. My boys are still growing like weeds and go through several sizes in a year. So, no, they would not be happy trying to fit in the clothes they wore a year ago!

For me personally, yes, I would be fine. I tend to not buy on-trend and stick with classic styles, which means that clothes I bought 10 years ago are still in my wardrobe.

Um, yeah. Of course.

You should see my underwear.

But on a serious note -- Other than buying clothes once or twice a year for growing children, buying new clothes should not be a person's recipe for happiness. True happiness comes from much deeper activities. New clothes should be a nice perk, not a requirement for happiness. If your kids are bitching because you have decided they don't need any more clothes for a year, have them volunteer at a homeless shelter.

um.
sure.
?
khairete
S.

i don't buy clothing. my kids wear hand-me-downs, and i have gone for several years without buying myself clothing. we purchase clothing on a need to basis. (replacing socks and underwear when they are too holy to continue wearing.)
we are a happy lil family. (my kids are happiest when nude lol)
so yes a family can go for a whole year without buying new clothing and still be happy.

I probably buy clothes for myself twice a year ... maybe. I don't really think about it too much. I buy clothes when something needs to be replaced (hole or tear) or if something comes up. I try to buy things on clearance.

But the kids need clothes when they need clothes, so that happens when it comes up. I confess that I am patching jeans to try and make it to fall when I plan to buy the boys each a few pairs of jeans :-) My boys refuse to wear shorts. No idea why.

Going a whole year without buying new clothes might be hard. I'm not quite sure it's practical to buy absolutely no clothes. But I wouldn't have much trouble limiting what I bought.

ETA - I hate spending money on myself, so I try to buy everything at consignment shops or on clearance. Occasionally I find something at Goodwill, but they just don't usually have my style. Both Goodwill and consignment shops are hit or miss, so I have to go on days when I actually have time on my hands.

Do you mean new as in brand new? Sure. We could forgo new clothes. We can buy used or freecycle or trade with people. We can even forgo buying clothes in general if we planned ahead and had sizes stocked for our daughter knowing she will grow out of something. I don't do a big clothing shop for school. I'll buy her a few pairs of pants, new socks, and new shoes. She doesn't need a totally new wardrobe and neither do I. There are also plenty of other things I can do without.

My kids would be fine and not notice pants that are too short or shirts that are faded. I am a bargain shopper, so I constantly comb for the brands I like at a discount. I think it would be more expensive for me to not shop for a year and then have to replace everything once that timeframe is up.

Clothes do not determine quality of life for us. Health issues, living situation, having not enough food or medical access-- those things are quality of life issues. Priorities. By the way, this doesn't mean I'm anti-fashion or hate clothes, it's just that in the grand scheme of things, this is really, really low on my list.

I haven't bought new clothes in far longer than a year. I think the last time I bought new clothes was when I replaced the underwear and socks that my daughter's puppy chewed up last year.
I would be happy if I never had to buy clothes again. I hate to shop, would be perfectly happy just going naked in the summer, and I still have clothes that I wore in high school (I graduated in 1982) that still fit and I still wear them.

I bought a couple of pairs of shoes at a thrift store last month, which is the first time I've bought shoes in two years. I had to buy shoes because my dress shoes fell apart and I had a formal event to attend.

Yes.

You said "NEW" clothes. You can go to a consignment store and get store credit from items you no longer like and use the credit to buy stuff that you want/need. This is especially easy with kids stuff that they out grow.

Shoes for kids would be hard. I do not find good used condition shoes that I need for them. There might be a cute pair of boots or some 'fun' show that was not used, but shoes they need to wear to school/PE would be a challenge to find at a consignment store.

For a person, yes.
I've done it.
In my teens and twenties shopping was a thing for me.
I eventually got over it.
Now I just get something if something has worn out.
And that doesn't happen every year!

If you've got growing kids - they out grow things and that means they need more clothes that will fit them to replace what no longer fits them.
Whether you buy new or consignment or do hand-me-downs the kids need something to wear.

New clothes as a factor of a quality of life?
I'd have to think about that.
It's one thing to just be able to 'go buy' when ever your heart desires.
But there are such things as shopaholics - it's the acquisition of possessions that's the thrill for them.
It's a constant whirl of items in vs items outs - the closet/garage/attic/basement/bedrooms fill up after awhile if you don't keep pace with it.

In my 20's I didn't think I could go more than a few days without visiting a mall (online shopping hadn't been invented yet) even if it was just to window shop.
Now I go whole YEARS without setting foot inside a mall - and I don't miss it.

It depends on a child's growth.. in our house, I buy the clothes with some growing room..also, my son, although he likes to dress nice, he isn't a big shopper and prefers me NOT to spend too much nor does he need designer wear. In my case, I used to spend money all the time on clothes, but when I discovered via a 12 step program that I am a compulsive spender, I STOPPED.. but not cold turkey, it's taken a tight budget and lots of work to no longer spend like I once did (and much of it was on others) I just wish now that I would have come to my sense earlier :)

With growing children I think it would be hard because they outgrow their clothing. Even if they have stopped growing clothing items like underwear and socks would need to be replaced as they wear out.

Personally for me I easily go years without purchasing clothing. In fact most of my clothing (minus bras, underwear, and socks) comes from the consignment store. I think its pretty easy to go without buying things new. When my kids were young we use to hit up tag sales and watch the for sale ads (back before craiglist) to get most of their toys and bikes.

I have to say yes, as long as you are not a clothes horse and not having growth spurts. We went over a year without new clothes except coats for my youngest since they outgrew their old ones and longer pants. I was unemployed for a year almost and then we had catching up to do paying bills. We only replaced what absolutely had to be and only bought new if we could not find used.

Well K., it depends. DO they have whole rooms of clothing that fits them? DO they have enough clothing to cover all the seasons and stay warm in winter and cool in summer?

Why do they need new clothes? Have they outgrown all the rest? Can they pass their clothes down to younger siblings?

I don't buy new clothes all the time for the kids or myself. My husband has a couple of pairs of pants and a couple dozen shirts. He wears pretty much the same thing all the time.

Could I not buy clothes in a year and be happy? Sure.

It's not realistic for us. I need to replace/update some pieces and logo shirts for work. My son generally needs new work boots annually and my daughter is always getting new shirts for sports and church things. Could we be happy without this stuff? sure

What a great question. I say yes, but honestly probably would not take on that challenge!

New clothes do not equal happiness or "quality of life".

By "new" clothes, do you mean NEW clothes from a store, or do thrift store clothes count?

The only way you could go a year without buying clothes at all is if all the kids are done growing, no one's weight changes and no clothes wear out during the year that need to be replaced.

Depends on if the kids outgrow stuff or not. I'm not sure I could go a full year without buying new clothes and still keep my kids clothed in things that fit them. Kids wear through knees, something tears, something gets stained beyond saving. I don't think anyone would be happy with clothes that don't fit and are torn apart.
I wouldn't be happy not buying myself clothes because I have changed sizes and need clothes that fit me. And again things wear out, get torn, whatever.
Now, if the question is new vs used from a consignment, resale or thrift shop. Yeah. I could go a year buying clothes from places like that and nothing new beyond things that shouldn't be bought second-hand like underclothes, socks and shoes. You can find all sorts of wonderful, name brand, sometimes even new with tags in second hand shops. People buy too much people change weight and size etc.

My husband and I've done it. We weren't happy about it, but with limited funds we had to prioritize.

I wouldn't be able to do this with my 3 year old or my 6 month old since they're growing, although I've put them in lots of hand me downs. I've even put my 6 month old son in my 3 year old daughter's old clothes.

Can I go on a massive shopping spree before the year starts?😉😆😃

Are you referring only to brand new clothes or second hand clothes as well? If I can buy used clothes I rarely even need to buy new clothes. I only buy new clothes when I can't find what we need used.

If everyone had everything they needed, and nobody grew out of anything, then yes, it would be easy to go without buying new clothes for a year. It would affect quality of life if the family didn't have clothes that fit or clothes appropriate for the weather.

Absolutely. We actually did that this year as a test. Guess what? We're fine and perfectly happy! (Full disclosure, I did buy 3 pairs of sneaker socks for a total of $4 at the discount store, and my husband bought 3 pairs of underwear because the waistband was stretched and ripping on the old ones - which were more than 4 years old. But not one stitch of clothing that really shows or is for pleasure. He's a runner and I think he will have to replace his running shoes soon, due to no tread.)

Growing kids - you might have to buy, if you can't live on hand-me-downs or thrift store finds.

But I really can't stand the big rush to buy overpriced name brand items and have a store's logo plastered across one's rear end, especially in a child. And going for the cheap stuff made by near-slave labor in 3rd world countries, and finding it falling apart in the washing machine after 6 wearings, just makes me nuts.

But I think a lot of shopping is like comfort food - doing it for the feel of it and not out of real need. We don't get our needs met by a friend or a spouse or a boss, so we go "treat" our unhappiness with stuff we don't really need. Talk shows have all these segments about great deals or "what everyone's wearing" and we feel we're not in the groove if we don't get some too. What I hate about the Oscars' red carpet interviews is that there is no talk about the women's performances, only their clothes ("Who are you wearing?" and all that), as if that's their main job.

I think it's very liberating to wear classic clothes and not keep adding to the closet!

Good question! I just went shopping in my closet and realized I could be happy for years or get rid of them. I chose happy.

It's possible. My family of origin did. Clothes were of little interest to them. I felt deprived as a child. I bought lots of clothes once I was an adult and working. I could go a year but with great difficulty.

I can. It would be rough on my son to wear shoes and boots that were too small for his (constantly) growing feet.

Hubby and I? Sure....my three kids who are still growing? It's possible but probably not an option. It MAY happen if they grow slowly or the clothes they have don't get too many holes, stains or tears, but I wouldn't bank on it.

Not sure I understand the question. But I'm not up on the latest trends nor am I into shopping. I'm perfectly content to just be clothed. I like nice clothes, but I don't have to shop regularly. In fact, I prefer not to. I've always bought the same kind of simple styles which I can easily wear for more than a year. SO .. yes, I guess is my answer :)

Edited: My family ... yes. My husband hates shopping and tends to do once a year anyways, and except for one child, same. Only if we are doing a mad search for something they've outgrown or torn do we tend to shop unless it's for back to school.

Don't see why not.

Best,
F. B.

My boy just grew 5 inches in the last 6 months. So, no. We have to buy clothes for the kids.
As adults? We have gone YEARS without buying new clothes.
I didn't know happiness was based on what kind of clothes you wear.

Not us, but I wish. My daughter is still growing and I am tyring to replace her clothes now. I am having trouble finding her style and size to make her happy.

A whole family or just adults?
Of course an adult can go a year without new clothes and maintain the same quality of life.

Kid however have an annoying tendency to grow and their clothes don't fit after 6 months. So they typically need new clothes.

ETA: I'm assuming new means "new to me". I can easily go without shopping for clothes for a year (including second hand). My kids are young so almost all their "new" clothes are from a second hand store. I only buy completely new if I can't find something specific they need at the second hand store (eg, a certain style and color of baseball pants for my son's baseball team).