Why Do You Buy What You Buy? (The Psychological Effects of Hand-Me-Downs)

Yesterday I was reading the excellent Closet Therapist blog. She asks, ‘why do you buy what you buy?’ and suggests that some people (herself included) shop to make up for a childhood full of hand-me-downs. Whilst this is not quite true in my case, being the elder daughter I didn’t have anyone to hand anything down to me, I could well have been making up for a childhood of secondhand clothing. Much of my childhood clothing came from charity shops and whilst I love to hunt out a bargain now, back then there was a huge stigma attached to not having new clothes. From what I remember though, the things I did have handed down to me were from a neighbour across the street who is a few years older than I am. I think that because she wasn’t related, I thought it was cool to get her things and loved many of the pieces I was given. I particularly remember 2 items:
1. A white cotton jacket that was nothing special but I loved, possibly because I had never owned anything like it before. I was about 9 at the time and my little sister said it made me look like an ice cream man which was lovely of her.
2. A pink, heavy cotton (almost denim weight) drop waist dress with a stretchy roll neck and stretchy cuffs. I loved this dress and wore it to several birthday parties that year. I think it has always been at the back of my mind because when purchasing sweater dresses last year, I ended up with a grey one that bears a remarkable resemblance (in shape) to the pink dress of so long ago.