Oldest item in wardrobe

[scarfaced]

Today i’m wearing a dress I bought from Topshop in 1999 and it got me wondering - what’s the oldest piece of clothing you wear? I don’t mean something vintage you once bought, or something inherited from an older relative, or even an accessory like a scarf. I mean a dress, skirt, top, pair of trousers etc. I’m intrigued to know, particularly in the fast fashion world we live in.

I don’t think I can beat 1999! I think 10 years is the longest I’ve managed to keep anything. But I buy a lot second hand and then it goes back to the charity shop when I’m done with it. DH has a t shirt that’s nearly 20 years old and looks it.
I do get satisfaction out of repairing clothes and also re dyeing can give things a new lease of life. I also despair at fast fashion (and consumerism generally). Doesn’t mean I never shop high street but generally try to avoid it.

I have an Arran jumper that my first boyfriend’s grandma knitted for me when I was 18. It has a few snags from dog’s claws over the years but it’s still my go to when it’s cold.
I am 58.
Do I win?

I have my 'going away dress' so that is from 97 . Can't fit into it though!

You’re certainly in the lead! That’s pretty good going. Love the fact it was handmade too.

Ah. A sentimental keeper!

I have a jumper I was wearing yesterday (roll neck, green) that I bought in the sixth form (probably 1997). And a handful of other clothing from that era. I’m mildly annoyed at the clothing I junked around then as ‘too baggy’ that would fit beautifully now.

This is great stuff. I think my dress could do with a re-dye tbh, but it’s still passable. A faded black!

I have a top that I got for my 16th birthday in 1991. I probably only wear it a couple of times a year.

I have my prom dress from 1998. I definitely do not fit into it 😂

My 1999 top shop leather bomber is in regular wear, and has been ever since then. I’ve got a few dresses from 1989 that come out to play occasionally- Michiko cheap and chic / Katherine Hammett, both of which were affordable back then. I mean I still use my towel with boarding school name tapes from 1984 so I’m clearly very mean!

I've got a vintage dress that I bought when I was 16, I still wear it and I'm now 53!
So I've been wearing it for 37 years (although the dress is probably nearly 60 years old!)

I regularly wear a coat I bought from a charity shop in 1993. It is quite distinctive and still gets lots of positive comments.

Last year I wore my wedding shoes to a smart event. We were married in 1990.

At this moment I am wearing a nightie (from British Home Stores) which is at least 20 years old.

(Oh - ditto some Joseph sweaters from the late 80s - they’re going to get worn this winter, huge and very patterned. Incredible quality back then, and not wildly different to high street prices in the sale)

A Regatta fleece jacket. I wear it to work every winter and its 34 yrs old.

I have a dress I occasionally wear that I bought circa1990/91 ish.
It's an M&S St Michael with proper facings.

Do bags count? I have a backpack I bought to go to a festival in the late 90s, it’s been on most holidays with me since then.

Also a skirt from the 90s, a long cotton thing with an Indian style print. I wear that every now and then.

A varsity sweatshirt from 1995, wore it on Monday!

I have a chunky black cardigan that I bought from a neighbour's catalogue when I was 14 in 1976! It cost me 50p a week I think.
It comes out every winter. I've had to sew up the cuffs a couple of times but it's not in bad condition considering it's 48 years old!
It smells terrible when it gets wet though, like a damp dog! 🤮

My (male) oldest item is a blazer from 1998 and a shirt from the same year. About half of my shirts are over ten years old and my indestructible (but very smart) work shoes are 11 years old. I've just retired a pair that are three years older. Another 11-year old pair are at the cobbler.

I have a Crombie overcoat that I've had since 1999 but could be way older as I got it in a charity shop and it looks very classic.

Other than things that tend to wear out quickly (e.g. socks) I hardly ever buy clothes and I have a nice wardrobe.

I think men do well to buy good quality, classic clothes as men's clothes don't date as much as women's. And stay the same size, of course. I just hope Shein, Temu etc don't make that impossible by driving the quality out of the market 🙁 In my town there are only two specialist menswear shops left.

I have a silver vest top I bought when I was young (15?), cool and thin. Probably 1997? It's only from New Look, but it was the first strappy top I could persuade my mum to let me wear.

I still love it, and would definitely wear it if I fitted into it! More likely my teens will nab it though.

I have a winter skirt that I bought in 2003, from H&M. Very smart and warm. Needle cord and fully lined. Comes out every year for office wear.
I also have an Arran jumper that I knitted in 1990 and wear every year. My daughter used to 'borrow' it until I knitted her one too.

Have a pair of Armani jeans from mid 90s. Won’t ever fit into them again, mind you, so I think they are there just for nostalgia

Well I have one of my Granny's evening dresses from the 1940s and one of my Nana's tops from the 1979s. Then I've got my graduation ball dress from 1997 (can't get into it though, but my 13 DD has been eyeing it up!).
I've got a few Ghost dresses from the early nouties and still wear those.

I have a Debenhams fake fur jacket that I bought in Oxfam in around 1997 and still wear on nights out in the winter - it often gets compliments!

I also have an oversized handknitted cardigan (Kaffe Fasset for those in the know) which my Mum knitted for me in 1992. I haven't worn it for a while but it comes out every few years still and my daughter has borrowed it several times.

I regularly wear a kimono/ dressing gown that my parents bought me from Camden Lock when I was 14 in 1981. I also have a Westwood corset that I had for my 21st in 1988 - I only wear it occasionally though, if I can wrestle it back from DD!