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People who haven't bought clothes for a decade

theguardian.com

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

#141

Post by thaumasiotes »

jcheng wrote: post #59
ghaff wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LL Bean used to have a "lifetime" guarantee but like others (e.g. REI) have backed off considerably. I'm not sure how much of that is because quality has in fact decreased as so many of these brands have shifted manufacturing to the Far East--and how much is because people in general are probably more willing to abuse things like return policies. I suspect it's a bit of each.

They used to have lifetime returns ! Regardless of condition, no questions asked! This American Life did an interesting piece on it, I was surprised the degree to which people abused—or, I guess, took advantage of—the policy. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/591/get-your-moneys-worth/a...

I wonder if it has to do with the spread of e-commerce more generally. L. L. Bean is a mail-order company. Returns are one way to reassure customers who can't even look at the clothes before buying them. (And Amazon has a pretty generous return policy on clothes now for that reason.)

But people are used to buying things sight unseen now; maybe the ironclad return policy doesn't have the value -- to the company -- that it once did.

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

#142

Post by nradov »

spodek wrote: 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…

That doesn't work for athletes. Clothes just wear out in less than a year of hard training. The only way you can go a year without buying new clothes is if you already have more than you need stored away.

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

#143

Post by nradov »

HenryBemis wrote: post #37
spodek wrote: 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…

Having extra clothing beyond the minimum allows me to put off doing laundry (or going to the dry cleaner). It's a significant time saver, a "life hack" if you will.

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

#144

Post by madhadron »

ves wrote: post #93
madhadron wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had the opposite experience. Darn Tough has replaced a half dozen pairs of socks for me because I end up with big holes in them in about nine months. Which is a shame because they're quite comfortable. For pants, I was using lululemon for a while and just accepting that their build quality made them last about 18 months to 2 years, while the warranty was five years, so I would just have the company swap them out…

Arcteryx is the way to go, in my experience. The only prana pants I’ve liked are the continuum, which are bulletproof and fantastic even though they’re just cotton canvas. I’ve shredded them against granite and you can barely tell that there’s some wear.

Thanks! I would have probably just gone with the Arcteryx but my wife really likes me in jeans...

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

#145

Post by nradov »

phaus wrote: post #129

From my experience all of the clothes I buy, whether they were expensive clothes from a place with a stellar reputation for longevity, or cheap clothes from Walmart, nothing lasts more than a few years. I buy a $20-40 dress shirt. After about 2 years the cuff splits or an elbow spontaneously explodes. I could patch it, but the surrounding fabric is still threadbare and it will just rip again. I buy a $100+ dress shir…

You really shouldn't wear the same pair of leather shoes two days in a row. Keep several pairs in rotation and let each dry out properly. They'll last much longer, whether they're Allen Edmonds or any other brand.

This is one reason why minimalism taken to extremes is counterproductive.

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

#146

Post by phaus »

nradov wrote: post #145
phaus wrote: post #129

From my experience all of the clothes I buy, whether they were expensive clothes from a place with a stellar reputation for longevity, or cheap clothes from Walmart, nothing lasts more than a few years. I buy a $20-40 dress shirt. After about 2 years the cuff splits or an elbow spontaneously explodes. I could patch it, but the surrounding fabric is still threadbare and it will just rip again. I buy a $100+ dress shir…

You really shouldn't wear the same pair of leather shoes two days in a row. Keep several pairs in rotation and let each dry out properly. They'll last much longer, whether they're Allen Edmonds or any other brand. This is one reason why minimalism taken to extremes is counterproductive.

That's probably good advice, but I've had many pairs of leather shoes that didn't simply fall apart after 6 months.

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

#147

Post by pauljurczak »

nradov wrote: post #142
spodek wrote: 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…

That doesn't work for athletes. Clothes just wear out in less than a year of hard training. The only way you can go a year without buying new clothes is if you already have more than you need stored away.

True, but you can extend their life by reducing washing frequency and accepting less than perfect appearance.

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

#148

Post by pauljurczak »

zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #71

I hate shopping for clothes. Hate it. When I was growing up my parents made sure that buying clothes was as painful as possible and I never got over it. I still year the same members only jacket my father bought in the 80s and gave to me in the 90s - the lining could use some work but otherwise completely functional. I’ve had the same umbrella for almost twenty years - was a niche brand that built heavy duty frames a…

> I do have to say that buying clothes from amazon is a pleasure

I wish it was that simple. I tore a big hole in Columbia ski pants I got 2 years ago. I bought two replacement of the same size, but different color since the original one wasn't available. Both of them had up to 2" difference in waist or length from the original. I've sent them back. This has been my experience with many clothing items. 95% of items I try don't fit. I hate shopping for clothes!

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

#149

Post by Doxin »

Marsymars wrote: post #94
zxcvbn4038 wrote: post #71

I hate shopping for clothes. Hate it. When I was growing up my parents made sure that buying clothes was as painful as possible and I never got over it. I still year the same members only jacket my father bought in the 80s and gave to me in the 90s - the lining could use some work but otherwise completely functional. I’ve had the same umbrella for almost twenty years - was a niche brand that built heavy duty frames a…

> They remember your orders forever so if I’m not sure of size or brand I can always look at order history. Ironically, I've heard complaints from people who've re-ordered things this way that the fit changed between orders. > I’m sure that in another ten years I’ll just give Amazon my measurements and tailored clothing will magically appear whenever I order it. Other sites do this. I'll be a bit sad if Amazon crushe…

> I've heard complaints from people who've re-ordered things this way that the fit changed between orders.

When you start ordering clothes online you discover in a real hurry that sizing is agonizingly approximate on the best of days. The same size can be significantly differently sized between batches. I figure it's due to fabric being tricky to work with in a factory setting. One worker might sew the seam allowances a smidge tighter than another which can easily add up in a garment.

That said, there's nothing quite like knowing exactly which size of which model of which brand shoe to buy without having to go shopping. It has changed buying shoes from a weekend-long hunt to a 10-minute online order which gets me exactly the same shoes as the old pair. I've been looking for a good brand of socks to do the same trick with, If I can just find a single model of nice wool socks I can order online I'll be so happy -- cold feet and ill-fitting socks are no fun.

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

#150

Post by Doxin »

falcolas wrote: post #61
keiferski wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leather and denim are probably your best bet. Higher quality leather jackets can last for 10-20 years if you take care of them. Personally I recommend Schott in NYC. A bit pricey but my jacket still looks great 5 years later. I imagine it will be wearable for at least another decade. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schott_NYC

Denim, specifically jeans, is getting ridiculously thin. I used to be able to count on jeans lasting well over 5 years, but now they’ll wear holes (particularly around seams or pockets) in a year, tops. And these are Carhart branded work jeans; not exactly a brand I associate with low quality clothing.

A personal pet peeve of mine is this newfangled stretch denim that more and more jeans seem to use. At the start of the day the fit is fine but before the end of the day the elastic has relaxed enough to where you need a belt to even keep them on at all. Add to that the magically shrinking pockets and I haven't been able to find reasonable jeans in a few years now.
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