Why Marie Kondo would have her work cut out with my friend

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I went to a 'reunion' of some online friends this weekend and we got onto the topic of decluttering. You could be forgiven for not realising if you actually saw my house, but I'm actually a big fan of the Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo. She's stirring up quite some controversy at the moment thanks to her series on Netflix. I don't have Netflix, so I've not seen it. One woman - I'll call her Alice though it's not her name - told me she'd 'done' her wardrobe a few years ago but one thing she refused to part with was her Ralph Lauren trouser suit that she'd had for about 15 years. She had worked at a really major London fashion store and bought it for £250 down from about £1000. "So does it really make you happy?" I asked her. Well, she hadn't worn it in over a decade but "It's Ralph Lauren, I paid £250". That apparently was reason to keep it. It didn't fit. Perfect reason to get rid of it. It was absolutely the wrong style - a double breasted trouser suit. If I wanted to profile the body type LEAST suited to such a suit it would be almost exactly her. Under 5 foot tall and VERY curvy. I recall my 'Trinny and Susannah' dressing rules (apologies to all outside the UK but they were the gurus of the late 90s and early noughties). Double breasted jackets, polo necks and halter tops, all strictly NOT for those with significant 'boobage'. Trouser suits on tiny short people - also not the best idea. It was totally out of fashion. BUT it was Ralph Lauren and she paid £250 for it so it just couldn't be got rid of. I suggested converting it into something - a cushion (on which the label would be prominently displayed - part of a patchwork, anything that might get it out of the wardrobe and on display. She remained adamant. Hell would freeze over before she parted with her suit. No great joy, no practical use whatsoever, and a long ago 'sunk cost' of £250 meant this would probably go with her to her grave. At least in her coffin somebody can let out the back seams and make it fit. She'll still look like a 'business Barbie dwarf' but what the heck, it's Ralph Lauren and it cost £250. When I next tackle my wardrobe I will sit down and think of Alice in her RL suit and be even more determined to free myself from past follies than ever before.