Whenever I see “Stanley” on a cup I can’t help thinking of the tartan vacuum flasks my grandparents used for picnicking. There are lots of brands that have become popular with the fashion conscious young that 20-30 yrs ago they would neither heard of or been seen dead in. Barbour and Burberry spring to mind.
I have a 40yr old Barbour jacket, bought for their original purpose, country pursuits. My son wears it ( it was a unisex design) because it has obviously been worn for shooting and beating and has been retreated multiple times so has the authentic colour and smell. Apparently the vintage ones are sought after. Who knew it would be worth more than I paid for it 40 yrs later.
Some brands that were timeless country classics have not faired as well. Hunter wellies are now rubbish. Niche quality products made to last don’t make profits. Mass production after effective marketing is often the downfall of these brands.
I avoid anything that plasters its logo in big letters on the outside. I refuse to advertise their product for free. So no Chanel, Gucci, Christian Dior. A lot of the quality brands use small discrete logos that you can usually remove. But I prefer the small boutique brands because you are less likely to see anyone else wearing them. I like Thought and Part Two knitwear often made of recycled cotton.
Sports wear worn any other time than to play or train for sport is tacky. Although smart joggers are an exception. Definitely no cuffed joggers that are fashionable currently. DS wears Canterbury stadium pants all the time but would refuse the cuffed ones. He won’t wear Jack Willis, Tommy Hilfiger or Superdry. He has tapped into a hoard of vintage Adidas and Nike that my DH refused to throw away from his competitive sports days. We recently cleared out the loft and found a stash of old Levi’s and Ben Sherman.
His prize possession is an old Umbro football training top, he recognised it as an Oasis style top and proudly wore it when he went to one of their concerts last year. He said he had a ton of compliments from the older Oasis fans, although one told him it was the wrong colour, he calmly informed him it was faded because it was original 1990s.