Context: I noticed I have some clothes from 10 years ago that are still good to wear, and some newer things I have barely worn yet. I wondered if I reached a point where all the clothes I own would be enough to last for the rest of my life. There is a dresser and a closet worth of things.
For the sake of this question, let’s say you can’t buy, borrow, steal, receive as a gift, find, or make anything new to wear. All you get is what you have now. Is it enough?
This is something I’ve been spending a good amount of time thinking about. The fashion / textile industry has changed dramatically over the past fifteen+ years. Clothing has remained about the same price but, (see: shrinkflation) the quality of garments has decreased per dollar. It’s actually amazing that you can walk into a Target and spend $25 on a really decent t-shirt and a half-dozen pairs of socks.
How long your garments last depends largely on your activity level and how often you wear and wash them. It also depends on what materials they’re made out of. Fabrics made from plastics (practically everything) are not going to last as long as those made from natural fibers - assuming they’re cared for the same way. A lot of cheaper garments are made with thinner fabrics or assembled with poor stitching.
So, where you get your clothing, what you spend on it, how you maintain it, are all going to contribute to how long it lasts.
Honestly, I work from home so sometimes I’m wearing the same clothes for two to three days if the weather’s cool and I’m not seeing anyone. These clothes, regardless of material, are going to wear out sooner than the nicer clothing I wear out of the house and on weekends.
Any time I buy new clothing, I check to see what materials are used. I try to get stuff that’s made of 100% cotton or wool or canvas, etc. I’ve been getting my t-shirts from Solid State in NC and most of my sock are made from hemp or alpaca wool. I have one pair of decent Levis jeans that I’ve only washed once that are over ten years old.
Upfront, I’m spending more. In the long run, I might spend about the same in total on clothing but I’m producing much less waste along the way. I rather spend more money on something decent I can wear more often and have a smaller wardrobe.
To answer the question - if I were to lose 25lbs to fit in some older clothing I still have, the rest of my life, easily.
The only exception to this is shoes. I go through shoes way too fast (<3years) and they’re all trash now.
My dad let me into a little secret (which I found out to be fairly common knowledge) about shoes.
Buy Italian, they last longer and the handmade ones can easily be repaired.
My dress shoes have lasted for over 16 years now, and I can’t remember how long I’ve had my Scarpa boots for, I’ve got 3 pairs, and they’re nowhere near wearing out.
How about sneakers?
Can’t say the same for sneakers I’m afraid. I reckon the longest lasting shoe of that kind were a pair of Brooks that I maybe got 3 yrs out of.
Edit: or my Vans but I obviously don’t put them through all weathers.
https://www.goral-shoes.co.uk/products/the-smugs-horween-natural-pre-order
Certainly out of my price range, lol. To make a long story short, though, sneakers (and all other athletic foam-based shoes) are inherently not durable, nor designed to be. To get long life out of footwear, you really need to wear more traditionally constructed (i.e., no foam) shoes or boots for 95% of the time, and save athletic footwear for when it’s needed. You don’t even really need foamy shoes for all athletics.
I’m lucky if I can get 700 km out of a standard pair of running shoes, but foamless (or foam-lite) “barefoot” shoes like xeroshoes have a 5000 mile warranty.
Yeah - I don’t think a durable sneaker exists. I live in the city and do a lot of walking. I can get about 18 months from a better pair of running shoes. I really hate finding a pair I really like then a year or two later they no longer make anything like that shoe and the replacement is either lower quality or doesn’t fit as well.
Will definitely give Xeroshoes a close look. That turns out to be something like 50 miles a week over two years which is almost double what I would walk. Thanks!
Six years at best. New washing machines are really hard on clothes and wear them out.
Edit just bought a front loader last year
I would assume the older washing machines with a big metal or plastic agitator in the drum would be much, much harder on clothes than modern front loading washers. Modern washers just toss the clothes around to agitate, rather than using a big hunk of material to do it. That being said, I think some modern washers run longer cycles than old ones, so it could be a toss up as to which causes the most wear.
Perhaps several years due to socks and shoes wearing out. The rest should last several decades, assuming I quit using the dryer.
Yeah exempting underwear, socks, and significant change in body size I’d likely be good for a few decades
I have an Atari 2600 Pacman T-shirt I still wear.
But socks don’t last 1 year. I’d need to start darning.
Considering I still wear shirts I got in the 90s, I’m probablty set for life. Pants wear out faster tho.
I had a weird addiction to collecting Harley-Davidson dealer tshirts; I have about 20 or so, and say what you will about the brand itself or their image but their tshirts are pretty good. Nice thick cotton, really weighty, and pretty well-made.
Those alone would probably last me forever. I don’t wear them much, though.
Depends if you know. You can get some extra miles if you don’t wash them
I still wear clothes that I got 12-15 years ago. So I would say at least a decade at the minimum.
Hard to say for sure.
I have jeans that are still wearable from the 90s. Maybe need some patching here and there, but the important parts are solid. New jeans, however, have turned shitty. The fabric new is thinner than the heavily worn stuff that’s decades old.
Shirts are too variable to begin with. But, I tend to wear mostly tees and tanks day-to-day, so my nicer shirts last ages. I still have a shirt my barometer grandmother bought me in 1994 that’s in great shape, though too tight nowadays. In fairness, there was about five years I couldn’t wear it because it wouldn’t fit my shoulders or chest at all. But I then stopped lifting big and dropped mass.
Thing is, I have a fubu tee that’s from the late nineties or early naughties that I wore the hell out of, and still do. That sucker has zero holes in it, and almost mo stretching in the collar. The only problem with it is some stains and the thicker printing on it is crackly.
I have tees and tanks I bought in the last three years that are in worse shape despite being worn less.
So, the stuff that’s made well, I could probably be buried in in 20 years and it would still be presentable.
Other stuff, particularly the newer jeans, I don’t see lasting five years.
But it’s also true that the more clothes you have, the longer each piece will last. And I have amassed several boxes of clothing that I don’t wear regularly because I don’t like the fit, or they aren’t comfy material, or whatever. So, rough guesstimate, I could go months without recycling outerwear. It’s undies that take a beating in comparison because they get worn at a faster rotation.
Socks, I’d be screwed. I have massive fucking feet, and while I’m barefoot at home, they wear out fast. I can’t keep even hard wear socks more than maybe two years or so.
Maybe 5 years? I beat the shit out of my pants, I could probably patch them and make them last longer but their days would definitely be numbered.
William Gibson pointed out that during the Depression someone could buy a workshirt for about 35 cents and wear it every day to the coal mine, until it was time to pass it on to their kid.
Rest of my life. Assuming I don’t make the mistake of living to 100.
I guess for 10-20 years. I have 2 pairs of jeans I wear regularly, but could shift to any other pants if necessary. I dont have a job where I need to dress up nicely, so I can basically wear whatever. T-shirts are my passion so I have at least 50 of them. Problem would probably be socks and underwear, maybe shoes.
Judging from some of my tshirts about 20 yrs and counting
