WEAR YOUR NEW CLOTHES

Introduction

Do you ever get a fantastic gift for Christmas that’s so amazing that you feel tempted to save it for the perfect time? 

Well, you’re not alone. 

It happened to me in my junior year of college, when I got this amazing Carhartt sherpa sweater for Christmas.

Every day, I remember looking at my closet and wanting to wear the sweater, only to tell myself that today wasn’t the “right day” and pick something else. 

Before I knew it, it was April and I still hadn’t worn the sweater!

Now, Kentucky April, at least to someone from Chicagoland, was WAY too hot to wear a sherpa sweater, but I had run out of time, and I had no choice but to wear it then. 

Sherpa was quickly going out of style, and if I wanted to keep my reputation of being fashionable, I had to wear it soon.

So I wore it to class that hot Kentucky day, only to be exhausted by how hot the sweater felt and how out of place I looked. 

I was so disappointed by how much happier I could’ve been if I had worn it as soon as I had gotten it rather than waiting for the “perfect time.” 

If I had worn it the first day back, not only would it have been regarded as cool - I wouldn’t have been sweating in class!

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder why I did this to myself. 

Why do we save nice clothes?

To me, it seems there are two main reasons why we delay wearing nice clothes: culture and fear of diminishing value. 

Culture has a large shape on what we wear, and how we think about wearing it. 

In the West, delayed gratification is celebrated in our working culture, as people who can put off comfort in favor of working toward a raise or promotion receive praise.

Now, I’m all for delaying enjoyment to reach a goal, but you can't do this forever.

If you keep delaying joy, you run the risk of never letting yourself be happy.

This impacts the way we dress by training us to feel guilty for indulging ourselves without an excuse.

Yes, it’s practical to want to keep something nice for a special occasion, but with the pace of fashion trends, it’s important to make sure you don’t wait too long.

The problem with waiting too long

When you wait too long to wear something nice you fail to maximize it's value.

Assuming the item you got is a seasonal item that isn’t wearable forever, like most shoes, jackets, and sweaters, if you end up waiting too long you risk missing your optimal window of dressing. 

Most clothing that you receive declines in value because of the weather and fashion trends.

For example, that sherpa sweater I got was a lot more valuable when I first got it because sherpa was a new trend then. Forcing myself to wait until the “right time” caused me to miss out. 

Likewise, if you want to make sure that you maximize the amount of enjoyment you get out of something new it’s important to act with a sense of urgency to ensure that your new clothes are worn while they’re in style.

Wearing something that’s out of style because it’s out of season, the wrong fabric fabric, or an out-of-date color is nowhere near as fun as wearing something while it’s in. 

Conclusion

Thankfully, I learned my lesson. Whenever I get anything new, I wear it IMMEDIATELY. 

For example, (not to flex) I got this BEAUTIFUL shirt from EXPRESS for Christmas and I wore it my first day back in the office. 

I’m happy that I’ve learned from this mistake and no longer wait for the perfect time to do something, but I feel like I constantly see people making this mistake with new clothes - especially in January.

So if you have a new piece of clothing that you got for Christmas please wear it. 

Don’t do what I did and wait for a made-up “perfect time” because today IS the perfect time. 

I read a blog post that said this…

“Life’s far too short to wait for a special occasion. Life IS the special occasion.”

… and I completely agree. 

Every time I look at that sherpa sweater, I’m reminded how much happier I could’ve been if I hadn't waited to be happy.

You deserve a life filled with clothes that make you feel confident and excited to be seen.

It can be scary at times to let yourself indulge, but I'm trying to get better every day.

What about you?

If there's something you've been saving for the "perfect moment," you should wear it soon.

You deserve it.

-JM

P.S. – Happy 2025! I’m committing to making my blog posts as personal as possible because I know this is the key to growing the blog.

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