How long do you keep clothes for? People at work have made feel a bit shit

[TeapotCollection]

Work colleague was talking about her nephew earlier saying he’s started to get a bit mouthy. She said he’s 10 though so I guess it’s fairly normal. I said I’ve got clothes older than him and the 3 of them all looked rather shocked and said they can’t believe I’m wearing stuff that’s so old

Please tell me I’m not the only one

Stuff from 1982 ! 😀

My dp has a footie top he got for his 8th birthday
He’s now 46
He’s has stuff he wore at uni and still wears now-he’ll wear stuff until it falls apart
I don’t tend to hang onto clothes longer than two/three years but I buy from charity shops/eBay and re-donate when I’ve got to the point I don’t wear them anymore
I’m a firm believer reuse,reduce,refill,repair and recycle-it’s how I was brought up

Kookai & Etam were two of my most visited shops back in the day!

@mam0918

I was wearing a dress the other day that I was wearing in a photo of a holiday we went on when I was 10 (big holiday, only went once so I was defiately 10) so 23 years old.

No reason to throw out good clothes, I get called a horder but I honestly dont understand how people are so blase about ditching perfectly usable stuff.

But then I dont care about fashion trends and most of my stuff comes in and out of fashion every 5 or so years. That dress from the other day would be fashionable as its very casual 90s grunge style.

I also have several of my mams dresses from the 70s and 80s too... I though they where so cool as teen, not 'dated' or 'old'.

DH still has some football shirts from when he was a kid but DD isn't allowed to wear them as they are worth quite a lot.of money. It's good to know they are there if we suddenly need some extra cash

Hold your head up high and be proud op - far, far better from a sustainability and environmental point of view.

I've got clothes older than my 16yr old! And a beautiful heavy wool coat of my late grandmother's which is older than me!! Perhaps your colleagues don't look after their clothes as well as you do, or buy poorer quality in the first place...

@Scarby9

If they weren't just being thoughtless, I'd be tempted to comment that I was surprised they were part of the throwaway society. Reuse, repair, recycle... in that order.

Excellent retort! I must try to remember that one.

I've got stuff 10 or 15 years old.

And I'm not sure why theres an assumption that if you buy from primark, youll wear an item 5 times and throw it away? I've got primark stuff thats at least 5 years old, and one pair of trousers (admittedly a bit threadbare now) that are 15 years old.

I'm 50. I have a few items from my late teens, and they all fit beautifully. One of my favourite pairs of summer walking trousers (the sort with zip-off legs that can also be rolled up, if one cannot be arsed to zip them up...) finally gave at the seam yesterday, so those will be upcycled into housecloths (tatty cloth towels plus cotton backing layer = new, absorbent houescloth. We have different colours for different jobs, so that no one uses the cloth intended for mopping up floors for wiping down kitchen counters/work surfaces.

@BertramLacey I buy things which are stylish and/ or practical rather than fashionable so I never really look out of fashion, mainly because I'm not particularly in-fashion either. This. A sales assistant once tried to sell me a pair of shoes on the grounds they were "super trendy". Husband groaned: "Don't tell her that. You put her off......" I bought them because I liked them, and they were comfy. Wore them until they died (after re-heeling and re-soling them, obviously .

I bought my favourite dress when I was 16; I'm 52 now and I still wear it. And I bought it in a charity shop!

I'm wearing a horse of the year show polo shirt which is embroidered with 2000...
my ariat boots are a decade or so old and still perfect
And I had a musto waterproof jacket from age 16 to 32. Why bin and waste stuff if it's ok?

That's so weird!! My DD is fully engaging with the Y2K trend and spent last week on holiday scouring vintage shops.

My dr martens shoes are 22y old and still going strong! I dyed them last year in a new colour so they look all new again!

I have clothes that are 20 years old, easily.

I keep things until they start to fall apart, and I have always tried to avoid cheap/fast fashion, so most things I buy tend to last (I'm aware this is a privilege, as not everyone can afford the initial outlay even though it's cheaper in the long run).

If people are spending hundreds on clothes every month, they must either be chucking / giving away an awful lot, or their houses must be full to the brim!

I have & still wear a denim skirt & a pair of jeans I bought in 1986

I usually keep my clothes for many years if I like them & they haven't worn out. I also buy new clothes reasonably often, including those that are new to me but not actually new.

I tend to go through my wardrobe every spring or autumn and pull out things have haven't been worn for a couple of years and send them to the charity shop. My mother has stuff from the 60s that hasn't been worn since the 60s and I fail to understand why she keeps it bit she has yards of wardrobe.

I have items of clothing that are in their 3rd decade.

I've just remembered another - there's a donkey jacket at my parents' house that was my everyday coat in 1983 when I was 9. It was oversized as was then the fashion so I can actually still get into it - my mum dug it out once when they were having a bonfire, as obviously I didn't want my current coat covered in soot, and it's now my traditional bonfire coat . It wouldn't be wearable in daylight, though!

@heldinadream

I recently started re-wearing a cardigan I bought (in Asda!) probably thirty years ago. I stuffed a cushion with it and found it recently. I'm in love with it all over again! They are being ridiculous anyway - I've got clothes older than him is just banter.

I couldn't love this more! You stuffed a cushion with it and re-discovered it! Fabulous!!

I try to buy clothes I like (rather than what's trendy) and will then wear them a long time. I often go back to old favourite items after not wearing them for a while, too.

Everyone should buy things with longevity in mind as clothing production is very resource-intensive regardless of the materials and it's environmentally terrible to buy something just for a season.

I wear a winter coat, inherited from Late FIL, it is a Crombie circa 1960.
It still has the right shape across the shoulders.

I have a few things that I still wear that are 30.

My aged 40 years t shirt is very nearly 10 years old and I suspect the person who bought thought I wouldn't even wear it once! I have quite a bit in my wardrobe that's in the 10- 20 years old range. I'd be quite shocked by adults that don't have something they love that much as an item of clothing, but i guess if they're only buy I g things for the trend, rather than because they like it then they don't get attached to things.

I've a coat that I still wear that I've had for 30yrs.

Princess Anne is renowned for having stuff for decades.

Obviously having the space helps!