Wear clothes once, then take them back?

[Massiveroastdinner]

Does anyone do this?

I remember doing this a lot as a teen, so I’d have lots of different outfits to go out in, but couldn’t afford. It was either from the catalogue or from shops.

Haven’t done it since, but was reading about how many fashion influencers on Instagram etc do

@Rangoon

I never did it. Apart from anything else, my mum would never have let me.

I think we were brought up in the same way!

Much better, though, are those high end clothes rental sites. Or we could stop fetishising people who have many, many clothes

^^ This. Instead of people thinking you have to have a different and new outfit every time you go out, shaming people who are seen in the same clothes more than once or calling it 'recycling' we need to go back the other way, and make it the norm that clothes are long term purchases as in you wear them for years until they wear out and if you do want something for a big even like a wedding, either rent it, or buy something that will do for multiple occasions and make a point of wearing it to every wedding, Christmas do, big birthday party, function etc for the next few year. What needs to be shameful and commented on is people who always have something new on.

I bought a dress that was expensive to me from Monsoon (was actually 'only' about £80 but this was about 10 years ago) when SIL wanted a 'dress up fancy' 30th birthday party.

I resented the expense but went along with it but then also wore that dress for at least 3 weddings, a couple of Christmas dos, about half a dozen formal dinners for my professional associations and best of all, SILs 40th birthday party.

I did get a couple of comments along the way, but I just shrugged them off or if it was a man who said it, I just asked them how many times they'd worn the suit they had on, which soon shut them up.

I went to uni with a girl who did this, she only ever wore stuff she was returning, didn't actually own anything. She had a whole system - spreadsheets, never go back to the same branch, and a sort of tag gun thing to reattach the labels.

I’d feel awful having to return something, that some dishonest git had already worn and returned, knowing that the staff were judging me as being that dishonest git! So they are effectively stealing and putting someone else in a really awkward situation too.

I have a friend who does this. She's even worked out how to remove the tags and put them back on. She doesn't see it as dishonest but it is. I think it's awful.

Someone might have mentioned this already but lots of products that get returned go to landfill. It’s cheaper for the company to throw things away then to clean it and put it back into the shop (whether online or an actual shop).

www.google.co.uk/search?q=do+return+products+go+landfill&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

You’re better off renting something nice.

No never. It’s just not right.

I must be lucky, because I've never noticed anything being anything other than pristine brand new when I've bought online, but I don't buy from fast fashion places, so that might reduce the risk.

Plus I'm always mega careful, because we have cats and all clothes in our house pick up cat hair and I don't want it on anything I send back - I don't plan to send things back, but realistically, as sizing is so variable, it's almost unavoidable. I always thought returned items items would be closely examined in good light on return to make sure they're still perfect, but it seems not.

I should say that my friend isn't a teenager. She's a woman in her 50s....

You also have people who do this sort of thing with food.....when I worked in tesco we had a regular woman (almost daily) who would bring pack the next day half packets of food. So say a pack of 2 burgers one missing. She even brought back a box of cat food with a tiny amount left at the bottom saying her cat didn't like it. She had a designer purse and lovely coat and I couldn't help but think she could afford these from getting so many refunds.

Instead of people thinking you have to have a different and new outfit every time you go out, shaming people who are seen in the same clothes more than once or calling it 'recycling' we need to go back the other way, and make it the norm that clothes are long term purchases as in you wear them for years until they wear out and if you do want something for a big even like a wedding, either rent it, or buy something that will do for multiple occasions and make a point of wearing it to every wedding, Christmas do, big birthday party, function etc for the next few year. What needs to be shameful and commented on is people who always have something new on.

Yes. I had a lovely Monsoon top that I wore to more Christmas dos and other events than I can remember. I figured no one remembers what you wore to the last Christmas do anyway. And I think that while fashion is transitory, but style and quality is timeless. Far better to invest in a few quality garments that will last than cheap disposable fashion.

Years ago, my mum’s mate used to do this regularly with stuff from M&S.

She was a magistrate.

I don't like the idea of buying "new" clothes that somebody has worn once and sent back.

So no, I wouldn't do it.

[quote Massiveroastdinner]@SmellyTheSmeolaSmoteSmestika Yes, it definitely wasn’t a good thing to do, we all did it and looking back it’s awful.[/quote]
nope, we all didn't

My MIL took the outfit back after our wedding ! Her lovely Mum ( DH’s Nan ) told us quite proudly as she “wouldn’t want to wear it again “. To be fair it’s caused much hilarity in my family and despite my own DM’s fairly advanced dementia , she still remembers this story, so in a way I’m quite glad . It also set the scene as to how tight she was/is , so set my expectations low

make it the norm that clothes are long term purchases as in you wear them for years until they wear out and if you do want something for a big even like a wedding, either rent it, or buy something that will do for multiple occasions and make a point of wearing it to every wedding, Christmas do, big birthday party, function etc for the next few year.

I completely agree. And it doesn't need to be just one dress either. I have 3 nice dresses for events in cold weather and 3 nice ones for events in warm weather. Then a few that can be dressed up or down, which I will also wear to work or date nights or days out. None are trendy, they're just a shape I like that suits me. I've had them all for years and when I am invited somewhere I almost never have to buy anything to wear.

Can't believe this is even a thing!

Just no.
Don't even know how you got away with it - you certainly shouldn't have.

Don't even know how you got away with it - you certainly shouldn't have.

Some companies go through phases of accepting all returns.

@OffRoadFozzyBear

I did this once, with a pair of jeans, because the metal button failed and came straight through the denim.

I bought them one day, wore them the next day, returned on the third day. The shop initially refused to take them back as they’d been worn. Yes, they had, but they shouldn’t fail on the first wearing! I stood my ground and eventually they refunded.

I hate trying things on in shops so usually buy and try at home, and return whatever I don’t like/doesn’t fit. Would never buy clothes and return after wearing though, except if they were faulty like those jeans. I don’t know anyone who would.

That's totally different though (and perfectly acceptable).

Wearing something, intending to keep them, but returning them after discovering they were faulty is a genuine reason for retuning things.

I suspect this is an urban myth. I used to work in the underwear department of Marks and Spencer ( or as we called it “Lingerie”) and we always checked the condition of returns very carefully. It’s pretty obvious if underwear has been worn TBH.

IME a lot of stores won't accept returns of knickers, body suits or swim suits and warn you as such when you buy them.

I suspect this is an urban myth. I used to work in the underwear department of Marks and Spencer ( or as we called it “Lingerie”) and we always checked the condition of returns very carefully. It’s pretty obvious if underwear has been worn TBH.

Definitely not an urban myth. We were student nurses at the time so lived very close together. She told us she was going to do it, most of us were horrified. Another woman went with her, but held back from the checkout because she didn’t want to be associated with it, and saw her get her refund.

I had a friend who did this. I didn't realise what she was doing until a man ripped out her tag on a night out, to save her from embarrassment. However my friend was raging and said, how am I going to return this now?! I blustered, " but you're wearing it?!?! It's been worn!!! " I genuinely thought she was wealthy, as she always had a new dress to wear every weekend. But nope, it was the opposite, she was trampy.

I once bought an evening dress for an event. I'd tried it on in the shop in a different colour so knew the size etc was right. Had to order it online as the colour and size I needed was out of stock. When it arrived I kept it in its cellophane cover and hung it straight up. Evening of the event I got it out to put on and noticed water stains all down the front. It had obviously been worn and returned, but didn't notice due to the cellophane. Had nothing to wear that evening and due to the time I had it hung up couldn't return it without it looking like I had worn it out.

I once bought a pair of jeans in next, I got them home to discover a kit Kat wrapper and a USED sanitary liner in the back pocket 🤢 I can not fathom how anybody thinks it’s acceptable to take a worn product back, it’s disgusting and shows a lack of morals.