Our shocking research has revealed that staining a favourite item of clothing causes us similar stress levels equivalent to that of breaking up with a best friend.

Psychologist Donna Dawson revealed that Brits have an emotional attachment to our favourite items of clothing, which we love and treat just as we would a lifelong friend.

Dawson's revelation comes off the back of extensive research conducted by stain experts Dr. Beckmann into our clothing habits.

Our study of 2,116 Brits, revealed what is really inside our wardrobes.

30% of Brits have wardrobe contents worth over £1,000 and the average cost of a Brit's wardrobe contents is £1,327.

People aged 25-34 have the most expensive wardrobes in the UK with 38% having wardrobe contents over £1,000 - the highest percentage of any age category.

According to government census data, there are 17,568,407 women aged between 20 and 65 resident in the UK with at least one wardrobe. That means the total value of women's wardrobe contents in the UK is 23 billion.  

Brits just can't bear to part with clothes, as two thirds of us keep items we will never wear again. Women in their 40's are the most likely to hang onto these clothes.

It seems that Brits are creatures of habit as 63% of Brits wear only half of their clothing on a regular basis showing the love of our favourite pieces.

Men are as style savy as women with a staggering 88% knowing how many suits and pairs of shoes they own.

Despite the emotional attachment Brits have with their clothes, it seems that they don't know how to take care of them properly. Over a third of women (37%) revealed they would simply throw away a stained item of clothing than attempt to salvage it with a stain remover.  

Dawson explains:

The clothes that we choose reveal to the world who we think we are, or who we want to be. Our self-image and our self-esteem are bound up in the things that we wear.

This makes certain wardrobe items 'meaningful' beyond just their colour and fit.

Clothes are not only an extension of our personalities, but they also hold the memories of the places they were worn and the state-of-mind and emotions that we were feeling at the time.

That is why it is so difficult to deal with a stain in an item of favourite clothing, it is emotionally equivalent to breaking up with a best friend.

Steven Simpson, marketing manager at Dr. Beckmann commented on the research study:

It's clear that Brits love their clothes and we certainly have an emotional attachment to our favourite oufits.

We predict that consumers will consolidate their choice of products to buy. We will invest in key pieces of clothing so we will need to learn how to love, care and maintain them.

But we were shocked to learn that a massive 37% of women would throw away an item of clothing if it had a stain on it rather than try and rescue it - that's a lot of wasted garments!

Dr. Beckmann has a product to treat almost any stain so most items of clothing can be worn again prolonging the life of those beloved items.

*Total sample size was 2,116 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken in 2009 and carried out online by YouGov Plc.

Research statistics at a glance:

• The average content cost of a Brit's wardrobe is £1,327.
• 30% of Brits have wardrobe contents worth over £1,000.
• Two thirds of Brits keep clothes they will never wear again.
• 63% of Brits use less that half of their clothes on a regular basis.
• 88% of men know exactly what is in their wardrobes.
• 37% of women surveyed would throw away an item of clothing if it was stained.
• According to Government census data, there are 17,568,407 women aged between 20 and 65 resident in the UK having one wardrobe warth an average of £1,327 - this equates to 23 billion.
• And for men it's 17,111,044 equivalent to 22.7 billion.