HOw long could you make your current clothes last until they were actually worn out?

[PaulHollywoodsleftbollockhair]

I was just having a think about this having watched Wartime Farm.

How long could you wear your current collection of clothes and shoes before they were worn out and needed replacing?

I have a capsule but even so I could probably go at least a decade before I would actually need anything.

Anyone else ponder this?

Yes, at least a decade.

I've new lightweight waterproof work boots for outdoors that ought to do ten years, my old leather biker jacket, some decent outdoor warm jackets and jeans. And about fifty tee-shirts, vests and shirts - and lots of hoodies - so if I had to, I'd be ok.

Plus I wear my (young adult) DC's left behind clothes.

I'm not really a fussy dresser though, tbh.

A long long time.

I could probably do a couple of years in my tops and about 5 years in shoes (with reheeling), but my jeans rub through at the thighs and things like pyjamas, leggings, underwear, vest tops and socks would need replacing within the year.

I say a couple of years in tops, but they'd be bobbly and misshapen if I cycled through them without adding any new or donating some.

Oh I often think about things like this!

I tend to buy quite good quality clothes and wear them until they die (I have many items more than 20 years old) BUT even so they suddenly do look terrible after a while. If I were in that situation, I hope I would be sensible enough to ration my things out for the long term and thus keep the most useful ones for as long as possible - but that would rely on being able to see far enough ahead.

I imagine at some point I would end up wearing a ball gown to feed the chickens in, or whatever!

20 years I reckon.

I can’t remember the last time I wore something out.

Seriously....

That’s quite alarming 😮

I've worn certain items I loved until they were motheaten and repaired to hell, or misshapen. I think sadly the fact that a lot of accessible clothes are made cheap and fast means they aren't built to last.

Rest of my life, probably.
Helps that I wear a uniform for work.

Five years maybe? I always wear my clothes out before buying new ones. I recently bought a few new things to replace when was previously worn out so I have a while to wear everything out but Urey not to have too much clothing st once because it takes up too much space.

Most of my things would last me for ages.

Just bought a new raincoat, and have got at least four other coats in very good condition. Plenty of pairs of boots. At least five decent pairs of jeans. Enough dresses and skirts for work for a good while.

I think my jumpers would need replacing though. And knickers.

I think my wardrobe could outlive me. I don't buy fast fashion but I am guilty of buying things because I fancy something different.

I recently realised I was wearing the same clothes as I was in a photo from before ds1 was born (he's 12).

So, a long time. I tend to wear the knees out of jeans but skirts last for ages.

Interesting.

With me any trousers rub at the thigh so jeans (which I wear on weekends only) last around a year. Same for linen trousers or cheap leggins - the Boden ones are the only ones not to go see-through and threadbare at the thighs.

Things like shirts, dresses, cardies and coats would last 10 years or more. I have worn 2 dresses until the fabric in the waist fastenings wore off and was beyond repair.

My legs are different lengths so my shoes wear off very differently. Not every shoe can be reheeled or resoled and I have found through painful experience that it's not worth wearing shoes till they have holes or gape. Good fit and good support are more important IMO.

Wear and tear of other things like socks, tights or knickers is significant... I am surprised that some pp say they have never worn anything out.

If I really had to do it I could probably last 10 years! I have plenty of clothes and don't chuck stuff out lightly. Leather jacket is 15 odd years old, and I have a gorgeous trench coat which belonged to my mother.
However I do ruin socks and shoes at an alarming rate (tough toenails and a wonky walk...) So I would end up barefoot within 2 years!

Honestly they'd probably last the rest of my life apart from underwear!

We were skint for a really long time. Cheap jeans and clothes worn regularly only last about two years before they are disintegrating, cheap shoes may only last six months before they get holes in if you are walking miles everyday.

I suppose the 'advantage' of these wartime periods is that a lot of the clothes were better quality and more easily repaired.

(for context, I can darn etc and fixed a lot of socks in that time but when the waistband wears away, or you get a whole in the crotch that is not usually properly fixable. By contrast, I've worn the same decent wool coat for twelve years and it's fine.)

Was very happy to go and buy some decent boots last week!

I would think just like now some would have struggled a lot more than others with cloth rationing, because they had less or less good quality items to start with.

I reckon most of my wardrobe would last more than 10 years or so but I might run out of socks and underwear before that, and might be wearing some strange footwear choices by the end of the decade.

I've been the same size all my adult life and I don't tend to wear things out particularly quickly. I always change into 'old clothes' when I'm at home so as not to wear out my decent stuff which helps a lot. I have quite a few things which pre-date my children (eldest is almost 15), and several things that pre-date my husband so must be over 20 years old. I have a nightshirt I wear regularly which cost me £3 from Primark. I figured it would do for giving birth in and then I'd get rid of it. That baby is soon to be a teenager!

I must be really hard on my clothes as mine tend to bobble or discolour easily - stains under arms or fake tan marks or rips.
I tend to buy suede boots and find they rarely look good after one year - I do wear them for longer but they would have water marks and scuffs and the heels wear down easily. Now if I really like something, I buy two or even three of it so I have back up.

I guess the other thing is it depends on whether or not you are handy with a needle and thread. I have replaced elastic, buttons, beading, I can darn and I can mend a tear. My overall look is also not completely polished so sometimes I will rock a very hole-y jumper and hope that I can get away with it!

I only just recently chucked away a few 10 year old socks that had worn at the heel. Tights when they ladder. Pants... I never seem to need to chuck these?! I have enough pairs that they get regularly rotated perhaps!

Apart from underwear and tights, my wardrobe could probably outlive me if necessary. I don’t have lots of clothes but I do buy good quality. Leather shoes and boots. I have trousers in my wardrobe that are 15+ years old and are still like new even though I’ve worn them lots.

My jeans always wear out after a couple of years of which I have around 10 pairs. I do get changed as soon I get home into more comfortable clothes so my nice clothes last longer and don't get food or wine dropped on them or something annoying like that.

I had a bunch of black t-shirts that seemed to last forever but they all wore out last year so I replaced them with a host of different cuts and styles of more black t-shirts.
I had tons of black knickers from M&S which also lasted for years and replaced them not so long ago with loads of new ones, about 30 I think. They are all rolled up Marie Kondo style in a large shoebox which is in my Chest of drawers on rotation
I've updated my wardrobe this season with 2 new Shirts, a jumper and a couple of winter jackets all of which I love.
My leather boots, trainers, sandals and shoes last ages. I haven't bought any new ones this year that I can think of. Oh yes I bought some fit flop flip flops in haviana style ie look like normal flip flops, in a sale.
I wear out my socks till they get worn out, they last a year, and my DM as requested by me, buys me new ones every christmas so I get some cool, interesting designs.
I have way too many clothes which is why I put a stop to randomly buying stuff I didnt really need so I can actually wear the ones I own and love.
That said if I see something absolutely amazing that fits and flatters me then yes I would be compelled to buy it.

20 years definitely

Bits of my wardrobe could definitely outlive me. Wool, I tend to shrink and throw away eventually.
Cotton fades and gets raggedy. Jeans eventually lose their colour, and then the shapes change, but polyester, oh polyester,
you will be there forever!

I’d need to buy socks again soon. I go through quite a lot of socks.

I've got tops and shoes that are at least 10 years old because i bought them pre-DC. Plenty of clothes that are around 5 years old. My current boots are falling apart but i wear them daily and this is year 3.

I tend to buy as things need replacing rather than for fashion, and if something hasn't been worn for a year it goes to charity. I buy "one off" clothes second hand or in sales, and sell them on again afterwards.

I was out of work for nearly 3 years and got very thrifty with clothes and accessories . It made me realise I'd been quite wasteful before.