There is something strangely familiar about having a favorite outfit hanging untouched in the closet. The clothes may fit perfectly, feel comfortable and make the person feel confident, yet they remain reserved for an occasion that seems important enough to justify wearing them. A birthday, wedding, dinner, vacation or celebration becomes the imagined moment when the outfit will finally leave the closet. Psychology suggests that this behavior may involve more than being careful with clothes or wanting to keep them looking new. It can reflect the way people anticipate, savor and assign meaning to future pleasure. Research on savoring, pioneered by psychologist Fred Bryant and developed with Joseph Veroff, describes how people can regulate and amplify positive emotions by anticipating, appreciating or remembering enjoyable experiences. In that sense, saving a favorite outfit may allow someone to keep a pleasurable possibility alive. The person is not necessarily refusing themselves happiness. They may be mentally attaching that happiness to a future event that feels more worthy of it.
