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?
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.
I had a weird addiction to collecting Harley-Davidson dealer tshirts; I have about 20 or so, and say what you will about the brand itself or their image but their tshirts are pretty good. Nice thick cotton, really weighty, and pretty well-made.
Those alone would probably last me forever. I don’t wear them much, though.
Six years at best. New washing machines are really hard on clothes and wear them out.
Edit just bought a front loader last year
That’s just not true for modern washing machines
You’re probably thinking about archaic, inefficient, wasteful washing machines that only exist in one country
We bought a front loader last year and we can already see the extra wear in clothes. We went back and were told yeah that can happen since the machine runs so much faster then old machines.
Clothes are wearing out faster
Edit even after a few washings a t-shirt is showing wear signs
Which country?.
I would assume the older washing machines with a big metal or plastic agitator in the drum would be much, much harder on clothes than modern front loading washers. Modern washers just toss the clothes around to agitate, rather than using a big hunk of material to do it. That being said, I think some modern washers run longer cycles than old ones, so it could be a toss up as to which causes the most wear.
No, I go through socks fast enough. Also I need new boots.
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.
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 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.
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.
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?
Considering I buy clothes every few years at most, still have clothes from middle school and I’m almost 40, generally don’t throw stuff out when it starts getting worn just repurpose it, and recently started buying almost exclusively athletic clothing due to build and material quality, probably a really long time tbh.
I also don’t usually wear clothes at home, which helps. Bathrobe. I have five of those.
I’d bet I could survive the bulk of my remaining life without getting new clothes, but they’d be in rough shape by then.
You sound like me. Shirts at the end of their life go for sleeping. Is went the athletic route, but have switched back after realizing the plastic materials start smelling and get discolored easily (deodorant culprit likely).
I guess I haven’t really had the smelly problem (or at least nobody has mentioned it…). I have to use unscented detergents due to fragrance allergy, and I think thats a big part of why I don’t have that problem. The scented detergents leave so many residues to hold the scent that your own scent tends to stick more. Or maybe you just notice it more as it mingles with a scent you are used to. Not sure, but the unscented stuff at worst smells a bit musty.
When I get deodorant buildup or the musty smell, I do a warm cycle with enzyme detergent (usually wash on tap cold, but when I do a warm cycle I use dirty labs unscented enzyme detergent. I’ve tried others, including scented, before I found that and they worked decently too) and it clears right up.
If you have the smelly problem with bedsheets or towels or anything, look into laundry stripping. You can do it with natural cotton and whatever clothing as well, but it requires super hot water so it does cause some damage to the fabric.
To clothe myself for an office, maybe 2 years until my work shirts are too ratty.
To clothe myself for going out in public, maybe 5-10 years until my pants are all worn out. Underwear would be pretty horrible by this point.
After 10 years I’m just sitting at home in raggedy t-shirts and sweatpants.
William Gibson pointed out that during the Depression someone could buy a workshirt for about 35 cents and wear it every day to the coal mine, until it was time to pass it on to their kid.
Clothes were built of sturdier stuff back then as well, even t-shirts. Modern fabrics that are soft and thin are relatively new inventions. Even t-shirts from the 80’s/90’s are a different story and a lot less comfortable.
A massive amount of effort has gone into making things comfortable in the last 40 years. We don’t have have itchy tags inside t-shirts anymore.
Finally, when you pass it on to your child, either it fits both of you very badly, or you’re re-sewing it to fit the new person.
People also used to repair clothes a lot, darning, elbow patches, etc.
Thank synthetic fabrics for today’s lack of durability.
I have an Atari 2600 Pacman T-shirt I still wear.
But socks don’t last 1 year. I’d need to start darning.
I’m a nudist, so
A while
You have entirely new skin cells every two to four weeks. The dead cells are shedded regularly.
So technically your clothes only last two to four weeks.
But skin cells are not cloth/fabric. Skin is an organ.
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.
Perhaps several years due to socks and shoes wearing out. The rest should last several decades, assuming I quit using the dryer.
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.
I have like 3 full wardrobes full of different sizes of clothes. I got my skinny normal and fat clothes so all id have to do is change weight to get access to new(ish) clothes to wear. That being said, probably not long.
Yeah exempting underwear, socks, and significant change in body size I’d likely be good for a few decades
