What does the tightness of our clothes say about our emotions? You’d be surprised

Desperate to be swaddled, embraced or comforted? You may find yourself reaching for a skintight T-shirt or some Kim Kardashian shapewear

Now that winter has arrived, with its bone-chilling winds and dark nights that start in the afternoon, I find myself reaching more and more for one particular jumper, which used to be loose-fitting and now is anything but. When I took it out of the washing machine and realised it should never have been in there in the first place – and that, as a result, it looked like something my toddler might wear – I felt angry and disappointed with myself for my mistake. But this soon transformed into elation when, after giving it a bit of a stretch, I found not only that it still fitted, but that it did so like a glove.

In shrinking, the fabric has transformed. Previously a lightweight spring number, the jumper has become a tightly woven, thermal-style top that keeps me toasty, letting no air in or out and giving very little, like a woollen wetsuit. In it, I am impervious to the cold – I don’t even need a coat. Wearing it feels like receiving a tight hug, which, in these dark days, is exactly what I want. The only problem is that the neck sometimes seems so constricting that it feels as if I can’t breathe.