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

[TheOGCCL]

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?

I buy a lot from Seasalt and find it washes and lasts really well, apart from cardigans which never last wherever I get them from so I just get from Next clearance now so at least they don't cost much

Jeans and jumpers are usually second hand, they just last. Non stretch jeans, wool jumpers. I don't over wash. Tops are 100% cotton.

Until it wears out or doesn’t fit properly. It isn’t always weight change I’ve found. Age brings changes in body shape not just size. Sometimes things just don’t fit properly anymore. Some of the things in my closet are 20 years old and still perfectly functional. Some things get worn or faded within a couple of years. It’s hard to predict what will last. Some of my stalwarts have actually been very cheap purchases.

How are you getting years out of jeans?
I wear through the thighs in about 9 months.
Or do I just need more than 2 pairs?

But yes, basically, I either wear it to death, or discover after 2 or 3 wears I don't like it, and it sits in the cupboard for a year or 2 before I send to charity.

My jeans last a long time as I am fairly bandy legged ( not thin though just fairly tall size 14) so they don't get any friction rub between the thighs like a lot of people's do, so it would depend on your bone structure with jeans and trousers.

Until it wears out. I had a cardigan for about 25 years that I got from an old lady who died, so it was probably pretty old when I got it - M&S - quality stuff.

I haven't changed in size as I have aged, so yes, I wear things till they are too worn to wear anymore.

I'm quite taken by this thread that people seem to regard 5 to ten years as a long time.

That time range is probably among my younger clothes!

I have a top I got for £1 that has last me about 20 years!

I wore my summer pair everyday for at least 9 months this year. Currently wearing another pair to work and a third at weekends, except for when I wore winter hiking trousers in the cold snap. Jeans are non stretch, I wouldn't expect jeggings or similar to last.

It depends how many clothes you have.

I dress for style, not fashion - my budget doesn’t stretch to couture and I loathe synthetics - so I’m more likely to be found in a 20 year old “mud coloured” crew neck cashmere jumper than the latest print or colour.

Unfortunately I am ahem “muscular of thigh” so have to get jeans with elastase otherwise I have yards of waistband - and of course the trade-off is my “muscles” rubbing through the thighs in months.

Leather boots last decades and I tend to pick up secondhand (usually brand new!) - great buys have been brand new max Mara and brand new durangos for £30.

Trail shoes only seem to last 18 months or so.

i only buy leather bags so have 4 in rotation - unless I get a mulberry in next year’s sale, I don’t expect to replace any in my lifetime.

Until it wears out, and even then, I like to mend if I can. My work dresses are around 6 years old now and still going strong. Jeans are getting thin at the inner thigh after 4 years wear but I can mend that. And so on.
I’m not into fashion though, so I have the same wardrobe year round, year after year! And I hate shopping so it’s an incentive to make the clothes I have last!

Until one of falls apart or gets too fat.

It's not necessarily cost though, DH's fleeces and Asda £6 jeans seem to last forever

DH has a much loved fleece jacket which he bought in Debenhams in the 80s which has been through 60c washes if it had been really dirty

OP, I'm going to suggest that you're not going to get a full range of answers, as everyone on the thread so far has said a really long time, and absolutely nobody has admitted that they buy things for one occasion and never wear them again 😁

I'm trying to buy for longer, but sometimes it doesn't work. My current costs are all Zara and about 6/7 years old. I got John Lewis boots last year that I really like, but even now they're looking tired, so I've bought some new for smart, and relegated the others to casual wear. I also have tops that I might buy that are fashion tops, and what I bought a few years ago I most definitely wouldnt wear now- cold shoulder tops anyone? (I never actually bought one, but it's the first example that came to mind!)

Until they wear out. I try to buy second hand so they probably wear out more quickly than new but I'd be hoping for at least 5 years even with second-hand.

I try to get 5-10 yrs minimum.
I buy lots natural fabrics… cotton, linen, merino , cashmere.
winter coats I have had 20 yrs plus.
I have developed bunions feet so I can’t wear some of my lovely shoes anymore!
I have lots clothes and shouldn’t buy anymore but find such joy in them!

Have some clothes older than dd. She's 25.

@anon2022anon Indeed! I think maybe I should have added 'if you are interested in fashion'...

I wear jeans into the ground (thigh gap so no issues there) but even I can't make them last 10 years and nor am I sure I want them to. My style has evolved over time and the things I was wearing 10 years ago wouldn't look or feel right now. They also end up shabby. But I am impressed with people who don't change their style very much, and want to be more sustainable so hoping to pick up tips, but would also be interested to hear from people who know what they are buying won't last years.

I’m the same size/shape that I’ve always been as an adult so in theory I could be wearing things until they fall apart. In reality I’ve got a few items that are 5+ years old (comfy jeans, a smart coat) and still wear but I find a lot of clothes just end up looking worn out. I do find it hard to find clothes that tick all of my boxes: fit well, age and lifestyle appropriate, reasonably priced so don’t buy loads of stuff. One resolution for this coming year is to try and buy more in shops rather than online, I’m starting to find online shopping an exercise in disappointment. At least if I go to the shops I can have a nice lunch/glass of wine rather than wrestling with packaging, returns labels and a queue at the post office.

Post dc, I imagine I'll wear it untill I loose and arbitrary amount of baby weight. This worked for the first one, still totally theoretical after the second.

Coats one winter
Jeans probably a year
Shirts two years
Jumpers one winter
Boots forever if I actually find a comfortable pair
Then I donate the old ones to charity because i soon get bored of clothes.

I knit and sew so I can alter stuff or embroider it or (if I knitted it myself in the first place and it’s not machine made and cut and seamed so it just ends up a pile of short bits!) unravel it and knit something else.

I am kind of interested in fashion although I probably have a bit of a dorky librarian/jumble sale style really - I’m interested in clothing and fabric, anyway.

Depends what it is. I still wear t-shirts to slob around in which I got as promo freebies when I worked in bars as a student in the 90s. Good quality jeans just improve with age and are at their best the day before they fall apart. Underwear, socks, trainers, wellies all get worn until they die.
Smart, presentable work clothes need to look smart, obviously, and get demoted when they no longer look the part.

Pretty much forever!

When I was younger I expected to wear things until they wore out or didn't fit anymore. Now it's much the same.