Giving Up Too Early

When I was in grad school, I gained quite a bit of weight.  I'm not sure how much of that was due to:
1) Stress
2) Cookies that were at every seminar and journal club
3) Trying different BC pills (the ones that made me cry also made me gain weight)
4) Cheap Beer

At some point I just gave up on my skinny self and accepted that I would be just a bit overweight.  In this acceptance I gave away all of my cute skinny girl clothes.  How sad life can be.  It was almost the act of giving those clothes away, that made the lbs melt from my body.  Well actually, getting pregnant seemed to be the secret to my weight loss.  I was so sick with the 2 pregnancies that the lbs melted away, well they turned into a baby.  So now I have little clothes in my new size.  I have been buying clothes since Z was born - but finding clothes that do not look like I have jumped out of a Micheal Jackson video from the 80s is tough.  What is wrong with 'classic styles'??  Maybe I am not a total Fashionista, I admit, I want to buy stuff that will last into next year.  Call me practical.  I would be happy to jazz up a plain sweater or t-shirt up with a junky scarf or socks.

I find myself looking for that great pair of jeans or sweater just to remember that it was lost.  So now I have lots of clothes that are too big, how long do I need to keep them?  Fovever?  Who has the closet space for that.  Maybe I never learn my lessons.