A lost cause ? I hope not...
I'm not sure but for the Insim, have you look at all the options of the "wardrobe adjustor" ? Because I remember the outerwear wasn't in a regular submenu. I have to see in the 2.7 version to be sure however. :roll:
It's strange because I haven't any "plan outfit" option with the hall stand juste "change outfit". But for the Maxis dressers, you are sure to have 2 (or more) outfits for this category ? And all families of your game have this problem ? If it's the case, try to delete the .cache files of the Sims 2 folder maybe. And before abandon all hope, try to reinstall. Perhaps it will give some regulation...