Asklemmy

Judging from some of my tshirts about 20 yrs and counting

Regular clothing I could probably last decades, I still have clothes from 20 years ago that are perfectly fine. Shoes are my big issue, they wear out fast for me, even higher priced brands that are supposed to last.

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.

As a fat lad, I’d get maybe a year out of my trousers. But I’d probably get 20 years out of my t-shirts. I just had a clear out last weekend, and finally threw away a bunch of old t’s I don’t wear anymore, some of which were pushing 15 years old.

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.

Yeah exempting underwear, socks, and significant change in body size I'd likely be good for a few decades

The last clothing I purchased was two packs of white socks and some boxer briefs this past year. Outside of that all my clothing is a decade or more old. I’m in my mid forties and still have three shirts from when I was in high school that I wear occasionally.

I currently need to get some new undershirts and will need more dress socks in the next year or two but for outer wear I have four pairs of Levi’s, six slacks, twelve button up shirts, three belts, three blazers, four pairs of dress shoes, two pairs of sneakers, and I think seven ties that are all 10-20+ years old and showing no wear. I can’t imagine a reason I would need to buy clothes ever again except for boxer briefs, socks, and under shirts and my last purchase of those lasted for just at 10 years with the first replacements being the new socks I bought.

Pants wouldn't last too long. I have enough free t-shirts I could Donald Duck it for at least a century.

Considering I still wear shirts I got in the 90s, I'm probablty set for life. Pants wear out faster tho.

Surplus clothes.

In highschool I liked having a lot of storage. So I liked things with pockets. Cargo pants were my jam! Turns out, military surplus BDU pants are somewhat cheap and VERY durable for around $30-$45 a pair. They can survive a tumble or two, can be repaired, wash easy, and breathe well depending on the blend.

Outdated or impractical camo is a fun aesthetic (can be punk as heck) and olive drab is a lovely color. (Thankfully I was never cringey enough to strut around in actively deployed uniform patterns unless it was on an airsoft field haha.)

Oh yeah, I have one of those funny tall-lanky bodies that you can't department shop for pants for. Tac-pants come in a huge variety of fits.

I also hated shoe shopping. So a sturdy pair of combat boots lasted me ages without falling apart, were all-terrain, and supported the ankles! These boots were made for wear, so I never had to be upset over scuffs.

The BEST part? No (visible) brand names.

I still have some of those pants I wear since I graduated in the early 00's. The ones with more cotton are a little threadbare now though. I just need some basic colors and my everday casual wardrobe is filled out. Acquiring replacements doesn't break the bank either.

Form and function. Durability and mobility. Picking up some groceries or hiking the mountains. Incredibly versatile.

I don't understand how the fashion industry continues to con people into expensive sweatshopped single-ply polyester that turns the wearer into a walking douchey billboard.

No, I go through socks fast enough. Also I need new boots.

Mmh, maybe around 20-30 years.

Depends entirely on if I'm allowed to mend my current clothes, and to what extent. If I've replaced every panel in a shirt, one at a time, have I made a new piece of clothing? Depending on the answer, potentially until I'm disabled enough that I can't do small, detailed crafts anymore.

Was looking through some old photos recently and found one of me holding my son as an infant in a shirt I still have. He's 20.

Granted it progressed from clean and nice to covered in paint as it transitioned to something to wear when doing dirty chores.

But, if I can get an Old Navy shirt to last two decades I think I'll be good forever. Assuming I can maintain my figure and don't outgrow them, that is.

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.

Considering I buy clothes every few years at most, still have clothes from middle school and I’m almost 40, generally don’t throw stuff out when it starts getting worn just repurpose it, and recently started buying almost exclusively athletic clothing due to build and material quality, probably a really long time tbh.

I also don’t usually wear clothes at home, which helps. Bathrobe. I have five of those.

I’d bet I could survive the bulk of my remaining life without getting new clothes, but they’d be in rough shape by then.

Depends if you know. You can get some extra miles if you don't wash them

Perhaps several years due to socks and shoes wearing out. The rest should last several decades, assuming I quit using the dryer.

Rest of my life. Assuming I don't make the mistake of living to 100.

I have an Atari 2600 Pacman T-shirt I still wear.

But socks don't last 1 year. I'd need to start darning.

To clothe myself for an office, maybe 2 years until my work shirts are too ratty.

To clothe myself for going out in public, maybe 5-10 years until my pants are all worn out. Underwear would be pretty horrible by this point.

After 10 years I’m just sitting at home in raggedy t-shirts and sweatpants.

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.

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'm a nudist, so

A while

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.

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.

Clothes are expensive, I don't throw anything out until it's unwearable.

Only thing I'm worried about is pants. I shop for people for a living, so I basically power walk 7 hours a day. My thighs are constantly rubbing down to nothingness and patches don't last long enough to justify the effort.

If I quit my job I can probably make it another ten years though.