The other day I went to Mom's (independent care, mild Dementia, Narcissistic) and she opened her closet (packed with clothes) and said I have nothing to wear. She finds fault with each article of clothing. She wants me to "drop her off" at the mall which I refuse to do. NOT SAFE. She buys beautiful tops and over and over says "I have nothing to wear. That top is not "me" anymore." So far, I just listen to her. I try to pick out 2 or 3 outfits for her before I leave. (I visit twice a week - she's well cared for - bather, nurse's aide, etc.) I just don't know what the right thing to do in this situation. I will call her doctor, however also wanted to know if anyone had ever heard of this before. Another factor, which could very well be at play, is she's had bladder infection after bladder infection this year. So it could be this behavior is temporarily appearing because of the bladder problem. The doctor just put her on another medication for the bladder problem because on Friday her culture came back positive again. Poor Mom. I want to help her however I don't think it's proper to just endlessly buy clothes because she says she has "nothing to wear". I also wondered if this was a social anxiety issue. Having nothing to wear means you can't participate in social activities. Thank you so much for your comments. I am new to this site and appreciate your advice.
So, the dementia and narcissistic personality played a huge role in this problem. I did start going to the second hand clothing stores as it was much cheaper. But, even though she had so much, she would deny it. When I took her shopping, she would buy clothes and then later didn't like them - it had become a pattern. So, I understand your frustration. And my mother couldn't afford to be doing all this shopping. The second hand store did help as I could frequently buy her different items more frequently. I tried to make her as happy as I could. Also, I would continually redirect the conversation. Thinking of you and hope you find something that works. Take care.
Can she afford more clothes?