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Original poster

When you buy an item of clothing, how long do you envisage wearing it for?

96 replies

TheOGCCL · 30/12/2022 21:32

A coat? A pair of jeans? A t-shirt?

If I truly wore my things until they wore out beyond repair, I wouldn't need to go shopping for several years and I think plenty of other people are like me. But the shops are always full and someone always needs something new. There always seems to be a new trend or twist.

I know plenty of people are trying to buy better quality but realistically how long do you think you will be wearing an item you buy?

OP posts:
Spendonsend · 30/12/2022 21:34

I aim for 5-10 years.

Whatyagonnadokatie · 30/12/2022 21:34

Coats, jackets, winter boots: 5 years

jeans: 2 years

dresses: 4 years

Augend23 · 30/12/2022 21:36

Indefinitely if I really like it and then get really peeved when it doesn't fit/wears out.

Insaneinthemembraneee · 30/12/2022 21:38

Spendonsend · 30/12/2022 21:34

I aim for 5-10 years.

Definitely this ☝🏼

I want wear out of it otherwise why would I pay over the odds?
Although I've noticed a lot of brands these days aren't up to that expectations & I've definitely payed over the odds for shite!

StrawHatOnTheParcelShelf · 30/12/2022 21:38

Whatyagonnadokatie · 30/12/2022 21:34

Coats, jackets, winter boots: 5 years

jeans: 2 years

dresses: 4 years

At least double that for me.

But that's because I have so many clothes they don't get the chance to become worn out, so don't look to me as some paragon of virtue! And I frequently add more to keep my look current (but not trendy).

pizzaHeart · 30/12/2022 21:40

I aim until it fits me and not too worn out. Jeans will be about 2 years, coat - much longer, T-shirt- until it can’t be worn.

roselune · 30/12/2022 21:42

The main reason I stop wearing something is that my size has changed a bit over the years. The only clothes that really become too worn to wear are some basic tops, leggings, tights and underwear. Other than that I'd happily wear something for 10 years and don't tend to follow trends.

thunderstruckk · 30/12/2022 21:42

Ooo that's a mind boggler.

Sometimes if I'm buying high quality expensive things, I expect them to lash until they fall apart like expensive shoes, cashmere / pure wool / cotton / linens (natural fibres) that sort of thing.

If I'm buying something to wear for work and it's a bit cheaper or more synthetic fibres then I tend to get a year before it's shapeless / worn out.

I really struggle (curvier side and very tall!) to find quality pieces that fit. It's once in a blue moon I find something that I can splurge on that I know will last, often I'm trying to bridge the gaps in my wardrobe with easily accessible clothes.

Reluctantadult · 30/12/2022 21:44

Coats = forever really, 10yrs+
Jeans = 3-5yrs maybe? I tend to wear holes in the bums!
T-shirts = a couple of years then they get marked.

LoveAHolidayOrTwo · 30/12/2022 21:45

2 years for pretty much everything apart from bags.

Blip · 30/12/2022 21:48

I assume forever but it doesn't work out that way.

I find cotton jersey or ribbed cotton looks tatty fairly quickly compare to woven cotton.

And knickers don't seem to last that long.

My body shape seems to change from year to year as well.

AinmÁlainn · 30/12/2022 21:49

Often until they wear out or I get heartily sick of them after years. I have a few thin merino jumpers that I wear under everything and I noticed today's has a run up one arm and a massive armpit hole soeve though neither is on show, I'll chuck it in the compost. I thinknits probably 7 years old now. On top of it was another merino jumper that must be at least 5 years old. Skirt was bought earlier in the month and I'll wear it until I've lost the covid stone i put on (I've worn it moat days since I bought it, it's gorgeous). The coat I wore today I only have a year but its from ebay so I don't know how old it was before I bought it. Boots are 4 years old. They are near perfect but I realised I hate them so they will go to the charity shop. I got new boots today, a completely different style to my usual and I expect to wear them for 3-5 years. I also bought proper running trainers but they will.only last a year or so because I actually run in them and my feet will be at me if I keep them.too long. They'll be retired to dog/school run walking for a year or two after.

Pootle22 · 30/12/2022 21:50

Usually until it looks overly worn. Often just one season for jumpers, can be a few years for jeans/trousers and I've coats that are over 10 years old.

I'm never very current but I will occasionally discard something because my taste has changed, although I'm more likely to stick it in a drawer and love it again in 5 years.

I assume the shops are full of people who like to be fashionable or just like wearing new things all the time. It not exactly sustainable, but they're doing nothing wrong either.

candlelightflora · 30/12/2022 22:20

I don’t tend to follow trends so I’ll usually keep things until they wear out or get damaged (e.g. I managed to dye pink splotches into a top the other day by washing it with something red 🙄 )

Typically, tops will last around two years but most other items keep much longer. I just recycled a dress which had bobbled and lost its shape as I’ve worn it so much, it was about six years old.

Floisme · 30/12/2022 22:45

I expect (though don't always get) at least 5 years out of pretty much anything except underwear. But like a previous poster, I have a lot of clothes which spreads the burden.

LlynTegid · 31/12/2022 09:43

Outer garments, years. I wore a jumper yesterday I am sure I had before I moved to my present house over ten years ago.

WhereIsMyRollingPin · 31/12/2022 09:50

A very long time, but depending on quality and if they can be repaired. This morning I am wearing a jumper which is six or seven years old, and which I have darned under one arm. I'm also wearing my favourite very comfortable leggings which are twelve years old.

I regularly wear a coat I bought from a charity shop 28 years ago.

Socks and knickers are renewed fairly frequently though.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 31/12/2022 10:01

Coats/jackets at least 5 years. But all of mine are 2nd hand in the first place.

Jeans until they wear out, so usually 2 or 3 years.

I've not bought a new dress for years, they all come from Ebay. I'd hope for a few years out of them but I only wear dresses to very formal occasions, or else sum dresses on holiday. I did buy a new dress a few years ago, made of Jersey fabric, and it went bobbly over the bust after two wears.

I buy jumpers and tops new, and expect them to last 2 or 3 years. My favourite jumper is 10 years old, it cost a fortune but is lasting really well. Today Im wearing a relatively new sweatshirt but it's also gone bobbly and looks like a dishwasher so it will probably go to recycling at the tip.

Nothingbuttheglory · 31/12/2022 10:16

Hopefully until they fall apart or are so scruffy they're actively embarrassing. I had to buy some new clothes recently when changed to a job with a v different dress code.

Sometimes things hang around so long my tastes have changed, or I realise that I bought it more for a fantasy life I don't actually live, and then I let things go due to limited cupboard space. It's always depressing to realise how much money I wasted doing that though, rather than buying nicer clothes I'd actually wear.

I do find it hard to predict what I'll end up wearing the most. A beautiful classic coat sat in my wardrobe, unworn, for 4 years because it was too nice to wear, until I mislaid my usual one and had to wear it recently. The sky didn't fall in so I'm trying to get more joy out of it now. On the other hand, what I thought of as being a fairly edgy t shirt (it really wasn't) strictly for nights out became a staple I wore anywhere and everywhere.

Many of my clothes are in the 5-10 years bracket, at least. As a pp said, if I actually wore everything I bought until it wears out, I wouldn't need new clothes (except underwear) for decades, and i don't think I have an unusually large wardrobe. I think I read somewhere on the Internet - so it must be true - that the world currently has enough clothing to last the entire population for the next 10 years.

MrsSkylerWhite · 31/12/2022 10:17

Until it wears out (or doesn’t fit 🤣)

Nothingbuttheglory · 31/12/2022 10:17

relatively new sweatshirt but it's also gone bobbly

Bobble shavers are your friend.

LoveAHolidayOrTwo · 31/12/2022 15:16

Don’t you app get bored with clothes, I really try not to but after one or two winters or summers of wearing something I can’t face wearing it again? I’ve always been like this. A few months ago I decided to stop buying as many if any prints as I think these are what I get sick of.

RedRiverShore2 · 31/12/2022 15:24

Depends how many clothes you have, a pair of boots worn every day will last less time than if you had 5 pairs that you alternated so it is difficult to say a timespan of so many years

Caspianberg · 31/12/2022 15:29

5-10+ years.

Things like jeans I would aim to wear a few years nice, then once holes or faded they become gardening clothes a while longer.

Theres often something on looking for though so would still browse if in town. Ie I have been looking for a thin pair mittens for ages as old ones holes been fixed too many times. I’m wearing thicker winter ones atm, so no rush, but if I see something il get ready

DisforDarkChocolate · 31/12/2022 15:32

Years, I don't buy any fast fashion at all. I just wear what fits until is worn out. I aim for fabrics that I can compost because that brings me joy.