Clothes in retirement

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by friar1610 I agree with you on the comfy feet. I buy high quality walking, hiking and running shoes, on sale generally. For running and walking shoes I've found Holabird Sports (Baltimore area) to be a good place to get decent prices. <www.holabirdsports.com> When I lived in that area I visited them and had an analysis done of my feet. Based on that I bought New Balance walking shoes and running shoes that were really great. Since moving, I order them (actually, their successor models) over the web.

What a great link!! "My shoes" are just $99 there, as opposed to $119 at Academy and $139 at Zappo's. I didn't check the shipping costs but surely they can't be enough to account for that much difference in price. I'll most definitely bookmark that website.

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Originally Posted by friar I've also recently discovered Keen sandals which I wear all summer - not cheap but the only sandals I've ever really worn consistently.

I have a half dozen pairs of Birkenstocks but if I am going to do much serious walking, I wear my New Balance 993 running shoes.

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Originally Posted by friar Any time I've gone the cheapo route on shoes I've been disappointed.

The only thing worse than aching feet is a toothache (and I do my best to avoid that experience, too).

[mickeyd]

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except for underwear & socks

Yea, I quit wearing them too.

[MichaelB]

A thread from last year on jeans http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ans-45313.html

[TromboneAl]

I like jeans but they just don't have enough pockets. Wallet, cell phone, receipts, trash, change purse, notes.

[LauAnn]

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Originally Posted by friar1610 I've started to write the date of purchase on the label of new clothes. When they get too old to wear as "dress" clothes (normally after at least 5 years), I write a symbol on the label that means they're "hangin' around clothes" (so I can more quickly identify them in the closet.) When they pass the "hangin' around" stage, they become "work clothes" with yet another symbol on the label.

Don't take offense -- but I'm LOL at your symbol system!

No symbol system for me, but I do have 3 differen drawers -- one for exercise clothes; another for okay to go to the store clothes; and the third for my suitable for my place of employment clothes.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by friar1610 I've started to write the date of purchase on the label of new clothes. When they get too old to wear as "dress" clothes (normally after at least 5 years), I write a symbol on the label that means they're "hangin' around clothes" (so I can more quickly identify them in the closet.) When they pass the "hangin' around" stage, they become "work clothes" with yet another symbol on the label.

Cool - a Garanimals system for old folks.

[RunningBum]

I'll second Holabird sports, not only great prices but quick shipping with no errors. Another great place for running shoes and apparel is runningwarehouse.com. Free 2-day shipping if you spend more than $70, I think, and prices are great. Running and skiing gear is the weakness in my budget these days, but I run a lot so I wear shoes out quickly, and I've got different kinds for roads and different types of trails. 500 miles is supposed to be the upper limit but I find it hard to keep track since I try not to use the same shoes 2 days in a row to let the cushion recover. Anyway, I look for sales and stock up but don't skimp on quality on that stuff. No sense buying something that won't keep me warm and dry while skiing or chafes while running.

For everything else, I shop mostly Kohls and JC Penneys. Levi jeans fit me best so I don't bother with others. Haggar slacks seem to do well for me for golf/casual slacks. Collared shirts--pretty much whatever is priced right and doesn't feel too cheap. Same with shorts. T-shirts I always seem to accumulate from races, trips, etc. I work at home so I throw on shorts in summer or stay in PJs in winter until I go skiing.

[RunningBum]

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Originally Posted by TromboneAl I like jeans but they just don't have enough pockets. Wallet, cell phone, receipts, trash, change purse, notes.

So do you wear cargo pants?

Or, you could just throw away trash...

[Khan]

After I retired I lost a lot of weight. About half my current clothes were sent to me by an online friend ~2 years ago. Been telling myself for more than a year that I really need to buy a few things (beyond underwear and socks, which I mainly buy at the grocery store).

[JOHNNIE36]

One of my favorite places to shop is called "Just Men". It's a consignment shop that only handles the best slighty used clothes. Everything must be washed or drycleaned and pressed before they put it on display. Lot of top end stuff and some of it is new. Buy all my jeans there and most golf shirts. They even have shoes and all top quality. If I ever need a rain coat or such to travel north, that's the first place I'm going. Other than that I buy shorts at WalMart and their Puritan brand is great for the money.

DW is always out buying something new but doesn't spend much on clothes either except for purses. She loves the Brighton brand and they don't come cheap.

[harley]

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Originally Posted by Khan After I retired I lost a lot of weight. About half my current clothes were sent to me by an online friend ~2 years ago. Been telling myself for more than a year that I really need to buy a few things (beyond underwear and socks, which I mainly buy at the grocery store).

[Rustic23]

Been retired about 5 years. I still have a closet full of clothes. In fact many of my long sleeve shirts have not even bee worn since. There is a VF Factory Outlet about 30 min. away VF Outlet. Great prices on just about anything I wear. Most of my cargo pants and shorts I bought there for less than $10 bucks a pair.

[Katsmeow]

I ESR'd 2 months ago. I go into the office once a week. So I had several suits (mostly from Talbots) and I had hoped to get rid of them but I kept them for the once a week appearances.

For years my wardrobe was almost entirely work closes (pantsuits -- I actually no longer own any skirts or dresses after years of wearing nothing else) and then home clothes. Home clothes are jeans, shorts and T shirts. I do have a fondness for T shirts and own quite a few of them.

For shoes I have shoes to exercise and the rest of my non-work shoes are a particular shoe that was made a few years ago by a company called Brown's Landing. These are slip on shoes, clogs, I guess that are wonderfully comfortable and I just adore them. Then, they suffered an accident and I looked everywhere for a replacement.

I found that Brown's Landing clogs are actually a small niche item and people look for them. Finally I found a pair on ebay and bought them. So happy. They were new and cost about $10.

Then when contractors were doing work on our house they moved the shoes which have never been found...sigh.

So I went on ebay and found another pair (don't like the color but can't have everything).

Now, I periodically search on ebay for the shoe and will buy any in the right size.

I do find that I need to buy some clothes. What I don't have are nice clothes that aren't work clothes. I've gone to a couple of functions (my sons' high school graduations, DH's retirement party and so on) that I had to wear work clothes to since jeans and T shirt weren't appropriate. I am looking forward to being able to buy some casual clothes that aren't quite as conservative (boring) as my work clothes.

[ksr]

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Originally Posted by Katsmeow So I went on ebay and found another pair (don't like the color but can't have everything). Now, I periodically search on ebay for the shoe and will buy any in the right size.

Did you know that you can set up a "Saved Search" on eBay and be notified by email when an item matching your search shows up? I wear some hard-to-find tennis shoes and have done that, specifying the brand and size. I periodically get an email notification and then know to go look at the item and see if it's something I'm interested in. It's a lot easier than remembering to search ebay when I get around to it!

[Ronstar]

I used to buy my work clothes at Nordstrom. I guess it would be business casual. I'd buy a few new pairs of pants, a pair of shoes and maybe 3 shirts every 2 years and rotate the older stuff out. Now that I'm working 3 days a week, I've started wearing jeans a day here and there.

I buy most of my ESR wear at Kohl's. Jeans, shorts, running shoes. I have a huge supply of t-shirts from all over as well. Smartwool socks, sweatpants and sweatshirts in the winter. After these clothes wear out out, I start wearing them working in the yard and workshop. I probably buy 2 new pair of jeans and 2 new pair of running shoes per year.

[Dawg52]

Been retired 3 years and don't see a need to buy any dress clothes anytime soon. My closet is full of stuff that will be good for quite some time. The main items I need annually are golf shirts and shorts. I get good deals from the club pro at year end when he is getting rid of shirts. I really like the Under Armour brand as they are light and they look dry even if you are sweating like a pig. I also find some good brands at TJ Maxx on the cheap. And I buy some stuff online, mainly from Cabelas.

[Walt34]

About once every five or six years I'll trek to an outlet mall in Hagerstown, MD and buy a half-dozen pair of Levis jeans and a bunch of socks, shirts wherever I happen to find them if I need any.

When I went into the Fraud Section I had to go out and buy about a dozen new suits, most of which I still have and wear one or two about once a year. I was a little panicky about that - style? fashion? - this is a guy to whom "dressing up" meant leather shoes, pants that aren't made of denim, and a shirt with buttons.

The rest of the suits have dust on them, I guess I should throw them out. They're not good enough for donating since the linings have holes in them where the 9mm and radio wore holes.

[HFWR]

I spend so little on clothing that it hardly matters where I buy. But mostly, it's Kohl's for shirts, undies, socks, and shoes, Costco for jeans.

[Orchidflower]

Here's a tip for those who haven't thought of it...like me until I thought of it:
I under-pronate when I walk, which means I have a super-high arch and my feet walk on the little actual foot which touches the ground resulting in twisted ankles all the time (whoever said that high arches were such a positive were nuts!).
Anyway, I looked at the shoe reviews on Runners World magazine on the net, picked the Saucony brand knowing they last the longest as they are made for tennis players (concrete running) and found a pair on Amazon.com for $20 less with no tax or shipping costs. Paid $90 instead of $110.
Would have been $40 less if I had just bought them 2 weeks earlier, but didn't know about the deal. And they were the newest style they had, too! I love them! Could have been $70! Dang..day late and a dollar short here.

I have bought tons of stuff at Goodwill type stores over the years to the point my girlfriend would make fun of me, cause I'd have on a pair of Bruno Magli shoes for $250 with a $1K diamond tennis bracelet and a $2 skirt and a $5 shirt....but, hey, it worked well! Who would have known unless I told them anyway?

I'm just thrilled no more business suits or dresses. I couldn't "fake" those at work...darn it! And they were so darn pricey, too.

By the way, I got some Sanita clogs (3 pair) on sale from a company that lost it's Dankso contract to make for them for $39 each on ebay.com. Sanita clogs sell for usually around 3X that much normally.

[LOL!]

I get hand me down clothes from my son when he outgrows them. I get free T-shirts all the time from various volunteer activities.

And I am wearing camo cargo shorts right now.

If you have high arches, get those shoe inserts. I use the carbon-fiber (not rubber/plastic) ones that never wear out made by Spenco ThinSole, so they just get transferred to any new shoes I get from my son.