I still have a couple of silk dress lengths -- large pieces of fabric from which to make dresses -- dating from the 1980s, and a swath of blue Chinese damask from the '50s that would once have made a wonderful jacket lining. Not so sure about that now -- its pattern (coolies and pagodas) would not please the modern taste.

But I don't wear dresses much any more, let alone dresses expensively tailored from fabric that must not go in the washing machine. What's more, I have no idea where I would find a dressmaker willing to take on such a project now. So the fabric remains at the bottom of the barrack box full of clothing that I have yet to face parting with, such as two wedding dresses (both mine) and my father's dressing gown.

Someone should draw up some Rules of Decluttering, starting with the Law of Tenure, to wit: The longer an item has been in your possession, the harder it is to part with.

Charmion's Corollary to the Law of Tenure: If an item is inherited, the difficulty of parting with it increases geometrically with every generation through which it has passed.