Got a Corner in Your Closet Labeled “Regret?”
“But it looked so good on-line, or in the store” we say to ourselves as we look at what’s in the “regret corner” of our closet. Most of the clothes hanging there still have their tags on them, but we’ve had them too long to be able to return. And we really don’t want to return them. We just might wear it someday. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves. In the end, we don’t wear it, but we don’t get rid of it either.
It’s typically more of a problem for women than it is for men, simply because most men have less in their closet. But it is a problem that knows no boundaries. We all have things in our closets which when we look at them, we ask ourselves, “But why did I buy it?”
Researchers–yes, they research things like this–say there are three reasons we keep adding to our closet’s “regret corner.” And you can be sure that retailers know these three things:
1. The sale was just too good to pass up. Jan, my wife, and I were in this situation just the other day. My favorite men’s store is having a big sale–a moving sale at that–and we stopped to check it out. It was a great sale and, even though I didn’t need another shirt, “it was just too good to pass up.” I got a beautiful shirt, and I will wear it–no regrets for me. But retailers know the power of “a sale!”
2. Sometimes I buy something to wear that represents some wish or desire within me. It might be something that feels sexy, or makes me feel younger, or look thinner. Combine that with a great sale and I think I can now afford that designer dress or necktie. Once I get it home, though, I find that it just doesn’t work with the other things I wear. Or I try it on and the material feels great, but the style or colors are just “not me.” But I don’t want the hassle of returning the item, and who knows, on another day it might just “be me.”
3. Some of us are “emotional shoppers–we shop when we feel down, or blue, or bored. The purchase seems to make us feel better, but when we look at what we bought, once again, it’s just isn’t going to work. We get buyer’s remorse because the item no longer provides the emotional lift we felt in the store.
Here are three things you can do if you have a regret corner in your closet:
Get someone to help you clean out that corner. Recognize that you can’t do it on your own–or you could, but emotionally you can’t. This means someone else will see your regret corner, but confession is good for your soul, and having an objective helper (not your spouse) will make the difference.
Delay buying. If you see something you think you like, ask the clerk to hold it for two days. See how you feel about the item two days later.
Don’t shop, call a friend and meet for lunch. Connecting with a friend will do more to fill an emotional need than even a successful shopping venture.
Question: Do you have a regret corner in your closet? Which of the three reasons have fed “your corner?”