Context: I noticed I have some clothes from 10 years ago that are still good to wear, and some newer things I have barely worn yet. I wondered if I reached a point where all the clothes I own would be enough to last for the rest of my life. There is a dresser and a closet worth of things.
For the sake of this question, let’s say you can’t buy, borrow, steal, receive as a gift, find, or make anything new to wear. All you get is what you have now. Is it enough?
Maybe 5 years? I beat the shit out of my pants, I could probably patch them and make them last longer but their days would definitely be numbered.
As a fat lad, I’d get maybe a year out of my trousers. But I’d probably get 20 years out of my t-shirts. I just had a clear out last weekend, and finally threw away a bunch of old t’s I don’t wear anymore, some of which were pushing 15 years old.
I guess for 10-20 years. I have 2 pairs of jeans I wear regularly, but could shift to any other pants if necessary. I dont have a job where I need to dress up nicely, so I can basically wear whatever. T-shirts are my passion so I have at least 50 of them. Problem would probably be socks and underwear, maybe shoes.
Yeah exempting underwear, socks, and significant change in body size I’d likely be good for a few decades
The last clothing I purchased was two packs of white socks and some boxer briefs this past year. Outside of that all my clothing is a decade or more old. I’m in my mid forties and still have three shirts from when I was in high school that I wear occasionally.
I currently need to get some new undershirts and will need more dress socks in the next year or two but for outer wear I have four pairs of Levi’s, six slacks, twelve button up shirts, three belts, three blazers, four pairs of dress shoes, two pairs of sneakers, and I think seven ties that are all 10-20+ years old and showing no wear. I can’t imagine a reason I would need to buy clothes ever again except for boxer briefs, socks, and under shirts and my last purchase of those lasted for just at 10 years with the first replacements being the new socks I bought.
Pants wouldn’t last too long. I have enough free t-shirts I could Donald Duck it for at least a century.
Mmh, maybe around 20-30 years.
I have a Karl kani hoodie that looks like new and I bought it like 18 years ago, some things last ages.
Exactly this. If you buy quality products and be considerably careful with them, they figuratively last forever.
Depends entirely on if I’m allowed to mend my current clothes, and to what extent. If I’ve replaced every panel in a shirt, one at a time, have I made a new piece of clothing? Depending on the answer, potentially until I’m disabled enough that I can’t do small, detailed crafts anymore.
Considering I still wear shirts I got in the 90s, I’m probablty set for life. Pants wear out faster tho.
Surplus clothes.
In highschool I liked having a lot of storage. So I liked things with pockets. Cargo pants were my jam! Turns out, military surplus BDU pants are somewhat cheap and VERY durable for around $30-$45 a pair. They can survive a tumble or two, can be repaired, wash easy, and breathe well depending on the blend.
Outdated or impractical camo is a fun aesthetic (can be punk as heck) and olive drab is a lovely color. (Thankfully I was never cringey enough to strut around in actively deployed uniform patterns unless it was on an airsoft field haha.)
Oh yeah, I have one of those funny tall-lanky bodies that you can’t department shop for pants for. Tac-pants come in a huge variety of fits.
I also hated shoe shopping. So a sturdy pair of combat boots lasted me ages without falling apart, were all-terrain, and supported the ankles! These boots were made for wear, so I never had to be upset over scuffs.
The BEST part? No (visible) brand names.
I still have some of those pants I wear since I graduated in the early 00’s. The ones with more cotton are a little threadbare now though. I just need some basic colors and my everday casual wardrobe is filled out. Acquiring replacements doesn’t break the bank either.
Form and function. Durability and mobility. Picking up some groceries or hiking the mountains. Incredibly versatile.
I don’t understand how the fashion industry continues to con people into expensive sweatshopped single-ply polyester that turns the wearer into a walking douchey billboard.
Was looking through some old photos recently and found one of me holding my son as an infant in a shirt I still have. He’s 20.
Granted it progressed from clean and nice to covered in paint as it transitioned to something to wear when doing dirty chores.
But, if I can get an Old Navy shirt to last two decades I think I’ll be good forever. Assuming I can maintain my figure and don’t outgrow them, that is.
No, I go through socks fast enough. Also I need new boots.
Yeah, socks and undies tend to disintegrate over time, so perhaps 4 years for socks, 6 for undies?
The rest of the wardrobe could (and has!) last decades.
I personally think spending enough money to get boots that can be re-soled is worth it, but then I have a local shop that does that sort of thing. If you don’t have a local bootshop, kind of a moot point, for sure.
It’s down to finding a pair that I like enough. I’ve got wide feet and fit is important, and really only need winter boots, so it comes up late December and by the time I get off my lazy butt, it’s spring and I don’t care anymore.
Maybe this year.
I have wide feet, and I can’t stand having my toes squeezed. What you want to look for is a boot with stitchdown construction. Your most common decent boots have either a storm welt or a Goodyear welt (basically the same thing, but storm welt is better in wet conditions). This involves the upper material wrapping most of the way around your foot and stitching it to the welt (a strip of material around the perimeter of the boot) and the midsole. The welt is then stitched to the outsole. Replacing the outsole then just involves popping those stitches. A cross section of the boot turned sideways looks like a “þ”.
Stitchdown, on the other hand, rather than wrapping in on your feet, turns outward before being stitched down to the midsole and outsole. This results in more of a “D” shape, which is nicer for wide feet.
Not to shill a particular brand, but Jim Green has a lot of good boots (of the work and casual variety) as well as shoes that have a nice, wide toe box, and would be repairable/resolable by any cobbler.
I think underwear and socks are some of the worst culprits for poor quality nowadays. socks especially seem to get threadbare so quickly
As I posited elsewhere in the thread (source: I’m old), a big part of that isn’t even reduction in quality of materials but rather change in type of materials as new textiles have been invented.
I can tell you, my socks and drawers may not last as long as they used to, but god damn it, they’re the most comfortable sets of them I’ve had in my entire life.
You don’t want to know how it was wearing boxers, briefs, and socks in the 80’s/90’s, because it was bad and uncomfortable. I remember being embarrassed because I felt like I was endlessly adjusting my dick in them due to discomfort.
Modern socks and underwear are made from much lighter and more comfortable material, which in turn means that they simply don’t last as long because the material just isn’t as sturdy.
I can tell you when I’m underwear shopping I aim for comfort over longevity of material, because I prioritize basic comfort over the underwear lasting forever. I’m sure I’m not the only person who approaches it this way, I’d wager the majority of folks prioritize comfort of undergarments over longevity.
It’s okay for some items to be “wear items” while others are held to a different standard.
I think there has definitely been a huge increase in the use of merino wool. It’s nice and soft, doesn’t stink, and handles moisture well, but the fibers are so much smaller than most other types of wool, that they aren’t nearly as durable or warm.
The biggest improvement in socks since the '80s was when they moved the seam from the end of the toe to the top of the toe. That seam was the bane of my existence.
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Depends if you know. You can get some extra miles if you don’t wash them
This is something I’ve been spending a good amount of time thinking about. The fashion / textile industry has changed dramatically over the past fifteen+ years. Clothing has remained about the same price but, (see: shrinkflation) the quality of garments has decreased per dollar. It’s actually amazing that you can walk into a Target and spend $25 on a really decent t-shirt and a half-dozen pairs of socks.
How long your garments last depends largely on your activity level and how often you wear and wash them. It also depends on what materials they’re made out of. Fabrics made from plastics (practically everything) are not going to last as long as those made from natural fibers - assuming they’re cared for the same way. A lot of cheaper garments are made with thinner fabrics or assembled with poor stitching.
So, where you get your clothing, what you spend on it, how you maintain it, are all going to contribute to how long it lasts.
Honestly, I work from home so sometimes I’m wearing the same clothes for two to three days if the weather’s cool and I’m not seeing anyone. These clothes, regardless of material, are going to wear out sooner than the nicer clothing I wear out of the house and on weekends.
Any time I buy new clothing, I check to see what materials are used. I try to get stuff that’s made of 100% cotton or wool or canvas, etc. I’ve been getting my t-shirts from Solid State in NC and most of my sock are made from hemp or alpaca wool. I have one pair of decent Levis jeans that I’ve only washed once that are over ten years old.
Upfront, I’m spending more. In the long run, I might spend about the same in total on clothing but I’m producing much less waste along the way. I rather spend more money on something decent I can wear more often and have a smaller wardrobe.
To answer the question - if I were to lose 25lbs to fit in some older clothing I still have, the rest of my life, easily.
The only exception to this is shoes. I go through shoes way too fast (<3years) and they’re all trash now.
My dad let me into a little secret (which I found out to be fairly common knowledge) about shoes.
Buy Italian, they last longer and the handmade ones can easily be repaired.
My dress shoes have lasted for over 16 years now, and I can’t remember how long I’ve had my Scarpa boots for, I’ve got 3 pairs, and they’re nowhere near wearing out.
How about sneakers?
https://www.goral-shoes.co.uk/products/the-smugs-horween-natural-pre-order
Certainly out of my price range, lol. To make a long story short, though, sneakers (and all other athletic foam-based shoes) are inherently not durable, nor designed to be. To get long life out of footwear, you really need to wear more traditionally constructed (i.e., no foam) shoes or boots for 95% of the time, and save athletic footwear for when it’s needed. You don’t even really need foamy shoes for all athletics.
I’m lucky if I can get 700 km out of a standard pair of running shoes, but foamless (or foam-lite) “barefoot” shoes like xeroshoes have a 5000 mile warranty.
Yeah - I don’t think a durable sneaker exists. I live in the city and do a lot of walking. I can get about 18 months from a better pair of running shoes. I really hate finding a pair I really like then a year or two later they no longer make anything like that shoe and the replacement is either lower quality or doesn’t fit as well.
Will definitely give Xeroshoes a close look. That turns out to be something like 50 miles a week over two years which is almost double what I would walk. Thanks!
