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Original poster

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

252 replies

TeapotCollection · 09/08/2021 15:22

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

OP posts:
Stopsnowing · 09/08/2021 20:05

Wearing shoes which are 30 years old!

Violinist64 · 09/08/2021 20:06

I have some clothes from the 1980s. I buy clothes from charity shops and eBay. I have a couple of cardigans with the old St. Michael label, so probably pre-2000. I have my own eclectic style and if I feel nicely presented, am dressed appropriately for the circumstances and look as good as I can, then surely that is all that matters. As we get older, it is more appropriate to dress elegantly and stylishly rather than to be a slave to the latest fashion, which looks ridiculous on most people after the age of twenty-five anyway.

LuluJakey1 · 09/08/2021 20:09

I have clothes from when I was 18/19 and I am 42- not lots but some nd I still wear them occasionally. M and S opaque tights, a couple of Next shirts, a lovely patterned quilted jacket from John Lewis, a couple of short skirts, a lipstick pink short mac, a Barbour jacket. I have loads of things more than 10 years old.

clarepetal · 09/08/2021 20:18

One of my favourite pairs of DMs I wear are 24 years old and I'm proud of them.
Your work colleagues are materialistic and stupid.

50ShadesOfCatholic · 09/08/2021 20:21

Your coworkers need to learn about slow fashion.

ElinoristhenewEnid · 09/08/2021 20:23

My oldest top dates back to 1978 and skirt from 1979.

Loads of clothes from pre 2000!

Don't fix what is not broken!

WhiskeyNeverStartsToTasteNice · 09/08/2021 20:28

I'm shocked that they were shocked. Sadly I don't fit into many clothes from over 10 years ago 😆 but I do have a Gap dress and some boots I bought in around 2002 that I still wear. Also, isn't "I've got clothes older than that" just a fairly well known jokey saying? Surprised it got any reaction really.

omgthepain · 09/08/2021 20:44

I agree with what people have said if you buy good quality things they last for years
Cheap stuff doesn't

I have lots of nice things I've had more than 10 years x

badlydrawnbear · 09/08/2021 20:49

I wear most of my clothes until they fall apart, then I moan about not being able to replace them with the exact same item.
I have quite a lot of clothes that are older than DC1 who is 10.

BecauseMyRingBurnsSheila · 09/08/2021 22:25

Ha! I've got clothes from 6th form so 20+ years old! I have no problem wearing 'old' clothes!

MayorGundersonsDogRufus · 09/08/2021 22:35

I'm saving the dress I wore to my university graduation ball to give DD. It's a gorgeous backless pillar back red floor length number. I'm too far and droopy to wear it now, but I'm sure she'll look stunning in it in ten years! I've already saved it twenty years and it's In great condition. She regularly asks me to save things for her.

I do also have clothes ten years old that I still wear myself. Grin

MayorGundersonsDogRufus · 09/08/2021 22:36

*pill box red, not pillar back. WTF?

MouseholeCat · 10/08/2021 01:18

I'm 30 and have quite a few things that are 10+ years. I'm currently sat in a t-shirt my DH wore in high school, so it's 20 years old. My MIL saw me in it when I last stayed there and couldn't believe her eyes that it still existed!

I try and buy stuff from brands that last and are more timeless- Birkenstocks, Barbour, Timberland etc.

When I'm home I just wear whatever old stuff and save my newer clothes for when I leave the house. DH and the cats don't care.

RainbowMum11 · 10/08/2021 01:23

Crumbs - I'm 41 and wear some of my Gran's old clothes, and my Mum's clothes from the 70's & 80's so not even looking at clothes that I bought myself, I have clothes older than I am!!!

BlackForestCake · 10/08/2021 01:44

Prince Philip was in the news a few years before he died for having a pair of trousers altered that he'd had for 50 years.

It wasn't like he couldn't have afforded a new pair.

HarebrightCedarmoon · 10/08/2021 03:44

Ask them if they have ever considered the environmental aspects of fast fashion, the absolute ocean-going wankers.

Plus my 16 year old DD is an absolute fashionista and shops in charity shops. So tell them to get over themselves, the ignorant arseholes.

Kinsters · 10/08/2021 04:22

I've got jeans and jumpers from when I was at uni 10 years ago. The jeans were a bit big when I bought them and I've always liked baggy style jumpers so they still fit great. Plenty of dresses I've had for years as well. Not all expensive stuff either - I've a maxi dress from new look which has been going strong for years.

newnortherner111 · 10/08/2021 07:03

You are not the only one OP. Your response could be that you are not a supporter of fast fashion and that Greta Thunberg would be proud of you, or something like that.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 10/08/2021 10:59

And I had a musto waterproof jacket from age 16 to 32.

@NotMyCat I bought my Musto Combination (which they don't make any more, more's the shame) in the early 00s. It needs some waterproofing spray on it as some of the seams have started to leak but other than that it looks almost as new!

NotMyCat · 10/08/2021 11:24

@BrightYellowDaffodil

And I had a musto waterproof jacket from age 16 to 32.

@NotMyCat I bought my Musto Combination (which they don't make any more, more's the shame) in the early 00s. It needs some waterproofing spray on it as some of the seams have started to leak but other than that it looks almost as new!

Mine was the musto blouson! When everyone was wearing them
MrsClatterbuck · 10/08/2021 12:27

I have a camel coloured wool coat from mid nineties. Still fits and is a classic. Also I have lots of clothes over ten years now. I have decided to buy minimal clothes now and wear out the ones I have.

IWillWashTheGreenWillow · 10/08/2021 12:33

I've been thinking more about this. I think my oldest thing is still the leather jacket, but I also have a black sparkly batwing jumper from the same time (1989 ish). I wore a shirt I bought in Camden Market in 1991 until it fell apart on me after multiple darnings in 2011. I have my DH's gran's beautiful faux fur coat from the 1950s. My "best" shoes are still my wedding shoes (summer outfits) and my party shoes (winter outfits) bought in 1999.

Using and reusing old clothes and textiles is far easier if you can sew. DD wears a top I bought immediately after DS1 was born (so it's 20 years old about now) and recently made an old linen bedsheet of DH's Gran's (that had been patched too often to use as a sheet anymore) into a pirate shirt. I used the remainder to make bias tape.

I've also passed things down between the DC.as we have an 9 year age range from oldest to youngest. DS3 (now 11) has had hardly anything new except pants and socks!

DeadButDelicious · 10/08/2021 12:38

Some of my clothes are donkeys years old. I wear quite a few things until they are no longer fit for purpose. Old t shirts and leggings get relegated to the PJ pile, when they are too knackered for that they get relegated to the 'hair dye' pile or cut up into dusters, used as stuffing for craft projects, I cut the legs off leggings (once they get holes etc) and wear them as anti chafe shorts. I regularly give clothes to charity as well.

RestingStitchFace · 10/08/2021 12:43

If I could still fit in my clothes from 10 years ago, I would. Buying quality and making it last isdefinitely the way

BeefSupreme · 10/08/2021 12:57

I’m 28, I’ve got a 17-year-old T-shirt that is still in good condition. (It was a VERY baggy T-shirt then and very tight now but it’s still wearable).

It’s annoying All the charity shops seem to sell is fast fashion. I’m not paying £5 for a second-hand primark or boohoo top that’s probably one wash away from disintegration.