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People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

theguardian.com

31–40 of 165 posts

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#31
post #16

Something that is consistently reducing the lifetime of my t-shirts is that they tend to get small holes on the front side at the height of my trouser belt. I can't figure out what is causing this, as the both the belt as well as the trouser buttons do not have sharp edges.

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/style/a10339153/why-...

This article claims it's abrasion due to pants and poor quality fabric

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#32

The biggest changes to my wardrobe and what require me to buy things most often are external factors. For instance I went from a business casual office environment to working form home, I lost a lot of weight, I took up a new sport, I have a new injury requiring different sorts of footwear. I’m not sure how to work around some of these issues without buying more clothes. My main rule is that if I buy a piece another…

Between business getting more casual in general, no longer regularly going into an office, and doing a lot of (lightweight) travel, I have piles of dressier clothing and what at least used to be stereotypical business casual (cotton chinos, button down shirt) that I wear on a pretty occasional basis. I have a good stack of "daily wear" clothing, often picked up at holiday sales, that are still in their original packaging from literally years ago.

Stuff doesn't really wear out/get ratty very quickly when you hardly ever wear it.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#33
A guest on my podcast -- Lorna Davis, the key leader behind the largest B Corp to date, Danone USA, and a c-suite executive from Danone and other multinationals -- committed not to buy clothes for a year. Within a few weeks she started getting rid of clothes she didn't wear and even relationships that were distracting her from more meaningful ones.

Within months she was sending me contacts of other high-powered executives from big corporations who were following her lead. She sent me pictures of clothing she repaired that she would have thrown out before.

When she was invited to give a TED talk that year, she told me she felt liberated from wondering what to buy to wear, instead getting to feel like herself and focusing on her message.

Hear for yourself. Our conversations, before and after: https://joshuaspodek.com/guests/lorna-davis (also a great primer on B corps, given her significant role)

Her TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/lorna_davis_a_guide_to_collaborati...

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#34
My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer heavier undershirts, kind of like t-shirts.

My everyday shoes are suede military boots. I don’t think they last a decade but they last a long time and can take quite a beating. They are certainly worth the expensive retail price though I typically get mine for free. I will ultimately end up replacing the laces 2 to 3 times before replacing the boots.

Many of my shirts last well over a decade. I prefer business casual long sleeve button up shirts. They wear less quickly because I only wear them over undershirts. I have one shirt I still wear that was from my first year in college more than 20 years ago. The thing that kills my shirts are stains. Stripes and plaids show less stains than flat colors and thus last much longer.

What doesn’t last: running shoes, jeans, and watches. The battery on my Timex watch is only good for 3 to 5 years and that is about how long I hold onto my running shoes. My jeans are good for about 4 years and then they see to completely fall apart. I don’t even care if they get minor stains.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#35

My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer heavier undershirts, kind of like t-shirts. My everyday shoes are suede military boots. I don’t think they last a decade but they last a long time and can take quite a beating. They are certainly worth the expensive retail price though I typically get mine for…

It's actually incredibly easy to replace a watch battery on most watches (certainly Timex), you just need a tool to pull the back off ($10ish on Amazon right now) and a battery that fits, which you can pick up at any Wal-Mart for $4-$5.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#36

The biggest changes to my wardrobe and what require me to buy things most often are external factors. For instance I went from a business casual office environment to working form home, I lost a lot of weight, I took up a new sport, I have a new injury requiring different sorts of footwear. I’m not sure how to work around some of these issues without buying more clothes. My main rule is that if I buy a piece another…

The real solution is to buy 2nd hand clothes. Most people hate the idea of wearing someone else's clothes... Having visited a small town in south western Ukraine, no shops even sell new clothes - everywhere is selling 2nd hand clothes, and they sell it by weight. Underwear is one price per kilo, and everything else is a higher price per kilo. Even then, a kilo (2 lbs) of clothes (maybe 3 items) cost around $1.50, whi…

For me I have no problem wearing used clothes and grew up effectively always shopping second hand. My issue is _time_. I hate shopping for clothes. Finding something that fits, is in good condition and meets my needs involves searching for hours at second hand shops.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#37
post #33

A guest on my podcast -- Lorna Davis, the key leader behind the largest B Corp to date, Danone USA, and a c-suite executive from Danone and other multinationals -- committed not to buy clothes for a year. Within a few weeks she started getting rid of clothes she didn't wear and even relationships that were distracting her from more meaningful ones. Within months she was sending me contacts of other high-powered execu…

For women: it may be worth your while checking out Project333. I have searched for a respective project for men, but haven't found something similar/worthy.

When I finished listening to the Minimalists podcast (first 120 episodes) for the second time I was already immersed in minimalism. I donated 90% of my clothes, I now have 5 t-shirts, 4 sweaters, 2 jeans, 10 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of shoes, and some snow/skiing related accessories (hoods, etc.)

I also have "office clothes" which I don't count as clothes, I treat them as a uniform, when not in the office, they don't exist for me (and Coronavirus-->remote working was a great 'gift' for me on this area)(I hope the deaths stop and we continue the WFH).

I see fashion as a "subscription" scheme. You spend £€¥$, you get clothes and after X seasons you need to spend another load of £€¥$ to renew your "trendy-ness".

I can never forget that in the term "fashion VICTIM" the word that sticks with YOU is the word "victim".

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real solution is to buy 2nd hand clothes. Most people hate the idea of wearing someone else's clothes... Having visited a small town in south western Ukraine, no shops even sell new clothes - everywhere is selling 2nd hand clothes, and they sell it by weight. Underwear is one price per kilo, and everything else is a higher price per kilo. Even then, a kilo (2 lbs) of clothes (maybe 3 items) cost around $1.50, whi…

For me I have no problem wearing used clothes and grew up effectively always shopping second hand. My issue is _time_. I hate shopping for clothes. Finding something that fits, is in good condition and meets my needs involves searching for hours at second hand shops.

(Not promoting/affiliated to eBay) When I made the decision to buy second hand clothes, I only though of eBay (have been buying stuff since 2001(?). I always seem to find a nice sweater etc, I don't mind if the size is a bit off, I can always resell. I would love it if anyone can suggest any other online stores that sell 2nd hand clothes at the volume/options that eBay (it's sellers) can provide.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#39
post #35

My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer heavier undershirts, kind of like t-shirts. My everyday shoes are suede military boots. I don’t think they last a decade but they last a long time and can take quite a beating. They are certainly worth the expensive retail price though I typically get mine for…

It's actually incredibly easy to replace a watch battery on most watches (certainly Timex), you just need a tool to pull the back off ($10ish on Amazon right now) and a battery that fits, which you can pick up at any Wal-Mart for $4-$5.

By the time I need to replace a battery on my $30 Timex, the band is usually going and the watch face is all scratched up.

Re: People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

#40

My underwear was a decade old. It was in shambles. The wife finally convinced me to buy new underwear recently. This is boxer briefs and undershirts. I prefer heavier undershirts, kind of like t-shirts. My everyday shoes are suede military boots. I don’t think they last a decade but they last a long time and can take quite a beating. They are certainly worth the expensive retail price though I typically get mine for…

That's some good underwear :D

I buy new clothes only when my old ones are visibly faded or start getting ripped (or when I spill something that can't be washed). May be the influence of video games, but I've got standard outfits for different situations and travel distance, so I buy 2-3 of the same clothes (wear one set - wash the others). I see other people try to wear something different/new every other day...

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