Oldest Clothing You Still Wear Where People Can See You

[CuppaJoe]

This thread inspired me to pull the red merino wool polo cardigan, circa 1985, from the back of the closet today. Could it be that the cat hairs are from the long-departed red tabby. Nah, they're probably Fluffy's white fur.

 

[NW-Bound]

A Scots kilt, purchased about 1995. Still looks good as formal wear. I had one much older, but had to sell it, years ago. The kilts I wear around the house are more modern, of synthetic material (a lot easier to wash, though).

A kilt wearer riding a scooter? Hmm. Probably not as exciting as a female skirt-wearer/scooter-rider.

 

[kumquat]

A kilt wearer riding a scooter? Hmm. Probably not as exciting as a female skirt-wearer/scooter-rider.

Not likely! Kilt wearers are real he-men. He probably wears his kilt 'regimental'. His scooter is probably a hog with a turbo-charged V-8. Don't mess with us kilt wearers, most of us also carry dirks!

FWIW, my kilt is >50 years old and somewhat too small for a guy who isn't 60.

As an aside:

Do Scots wear anything under their kilts.

Of course, otherwise we'd need longer kilts.

 

[NW-Bound]

Do Scots wear anything under their kilts.

That's what I meant as exciting (or not depending on your view), when the wind blows it up while riding.

 

[Amethyst]

Wish I could find the picture I was shown, around 20 years ago, of a kilt-clad Scotsman on duty at Edinburgh Castle with his kilt blown up a la Marilyn Monroe in the "7 Year Itch." There was, indeed, nothing of a garment nature beneath

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - up until Katrina took it and most other clothes - I had a wearable 1944 Navy Pea Coat from my Father. There were a few days cold enough to wear it - even in New Orleans.

heh heh heh -

 

[kumquat]

Wish I could find the picture I was shown, around 20 years ago, of a kilt-clad Scotsman on duty at Edinburgh Castle with his kilt blown up a la Marilyn Monroe in the "7 Year Itch." There was, indeed, nothing of a garment nature beneath

It's called dressing 'regimental'. Scroll down a bit here.

 

[Bikerdude]

What is the oldest clothing you still wear to public places? (I'm not talking about the 40-year-old T-shirt that belonged to your dad and you wear it when you're painting the bathroom).

I occasionally wear a leather (rough cowhide) jacket I bought in Albuquerque, NM in 1969 when I was a member of the USAF.

 

[tmm99]

My long boots from 1978. The style is back and they still look very nice IMO. I don't think I could fit into any of my clothes from that time though, even if I had them.

tmm

 

[W2R]

You all put me to shame! I don't think I have anything over 6 or 7 years old that I would wear in public. Generally my clothing seems to get shabby and worn out in about that many years.

 

[harley]

Same here. I doubt I have anything older that 6-7 years. As a techster at Megacorp all I had to wear were khakis and polo shirts. Since I'm [-]a cheapskate[/-] frugal I bought most of them at Walmart, which guarantees a limited lifespan. Add in a 30 lb weight gain in my last 7 years of work, followed by an equal loss since FIRE, and there just isn't much. I have a few old pairs of shoes, but never wear them. My 1988 leather jacket finally gave up the ghost last year. I've got a couple old Grateful Dead T-shirts from before Jerry died, but they are pretty fragile, and I don't wear them either. Haven't carbon dated any of my underwear recently, can't really say.

 

[dlhanson]

Winter jacket - 1981 - given to me by Megacorp when I was working in Argentina - policy was that locals got them and they gave them to expats also

Jacket - 1991 - given by Megacorp upon demise of a group that I worked in - it has my name on it - and Megacorp logo and group name on it.

Windbreaker - 1983 - purchased by me with Megcorp's logo on it.

Confession: The only reasons that these are still wearable is that: 1. they were too small when they were given to me by Megacorp 2. I am a packrat that saves almost eveyrthing. 3. I finally lost enough weight 3 years ago to be able to wear them.


DW meticulously takes care of her clothes and she hasn't gained weight. She weighs 95 lbs which is 10 pounds less than our wedding day.

She has several tops from the late 1960's that she still wears. She also has a full length sheepskin coat that we bought on a New Zealand vacation in 1982. She has dresses that she made in the early 80's that she still wears.

 

[TromboneAl]

Our house burned in 1991, so the only things we have that are older than that are the clothes we were wearing on that day. Here's a photo taken on that day. I still have the same hat (which I found on the road on that day), and I still have the Birkenstock sandals. Still have: Pants, maybe, shirt, no, dark glasses, yes, kid, yes.

 

[NW-Bound]

Same here. I doubt I have anything older that 6-7 years. As a techster at Megacorp all I had to wear were khakis and polo shirts.

While at home, I like to roll around in shorts and T-shirts. When going to w*rk, I wear polo shirts which I buy at Costco or Target. But don't most men have a few suits or blazers for more formal occasions? Mine last nearly forever, probably till the end of my life, because I do not wear them much anymore.

In the 80s, engineers used to wear a long-sleeved blue or white shirt with a tie to go to in-plant meetings. For out-of-town meetings, we added a dark blue blazer.

Gradually, we became much more casual. I have not seen any techie wearing a tie in years. In fact, you would look very out-of-place if you do. We now wear polo shirts for in-plant meetings with visitors. If it was an important meeting, we would put on a nicely laundered and ironed shirt. That's it.

So, tell me why the age of your suits and jackets isn't 20+year? Is it because you can't fit in them anymore?

 

[bank5]

Has anyone heard of the 80/20 rule for clothes? I've read that most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. I might be even closer to 90/10.

I still have some clothes from high school that I wear all the time (I'm 28 now). Some UNC shorts, Nike button down warm up pants, and a Nike hooded sweatshirt. The sweatshirt is my "go to". I've definitely got my $$ worth.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

In my day as an engineer in the management sector(1965-1988), it was strictly white shirt and tie. About 1976 some styles started to change and I started to wear a light blue shirt and whatever tie. I was told about it by our Personnel Director. Strictly white!! Couple weeks later the President of the company came for a visit and he was wearing a blue shirt. I was grinning from ear to ear. That was the end of the strictly white era. Nothing else was ever said. But, I have the dark blue blazers that have been around for eons, dress loafers for shoes that I bought in 1998. Oxford cloth button down white shirts and you
are good to go. Mens dress clothes don't change much. Just the casual stuff. The days of the super dress are gone. Stick pin collors, cuff links, vests with watch fobs, Floreshime Imperial wing-tip shoes,....a bygone era.

 

[Nords]

So, tell me why the age of your suits and jackets isn't 20+year? Is it because you can't fit in them anymore?

Yeah, I packed on too much chest & shoulder muscle...

 

[Koolau]

So, tell me why the age of your suits and jackets isn't 20+year? Is it because you can't fit in them anymore?

To tell the truth, any of my suits would probably be a 'bit' snug now as they are, indeed in the 20 to 25 year old range. Having said that, I gave them all away (ties too) over a year ago. Hope to never wear a suit and tie again - not even to my cremation!

 

[freebird5825]

This was a tough one for me. I lost 45 lbs in 2004, so a lot of my older clothes have been given away. I found this picture taken at Woodstock 1999. I still have the straw hat. I wear it when I go to the lake to chill out or play in my garden. That hat has also been to Alaska (98) and Greece (96). It will be going to Europe this summer on the cruise.

The background stage deco is none other than Peter Max art printed on mesh fabric.

 

[BUM]

Ancient black leather jacket. 15 year old karate club tee shirt.

 

[BUM]

Yeah, I packed on too much chest & shoulder muscle...

Me too, and stomach muscle.

 

[Life_is_Good]

25 years ago I played competitive softball with a team of other good players. We won a lot of championship shirts -I once counted 19. I loved those shirts and still wear many of them today. I've had to throw away a couple because I wore them out. I never could get that 20th shirt - always a frustration!

 

[harley]

I decided the oldest clothing items I have are neckties. I have a few really wide ones dating back into the 70s. But I never wear any, except to the occasional funeral or wedding. And then I try to wear ones that don't make me look like Sonny Bono.

I also have a jacket from my Wu Shu Academy days in the mid 80s. I still wear it occasionally, but seldom in public. DW hates it.

 

[Amethyst]

Old silk neckties are excellent fodder for fiber art. Send them all to me!

I'm sure some on the forum can think of other ways to use them

 

[ls99]

Old silk neckties are excellent fodder for fiber art. Send them all to me!

I'm sure some on the forum can think of other ways to use them

I keep all of my old neckties for an ugly tie contest. I'm sure I have a few winners. At least according to DW.

If you throw them in a pile and have the cat play with them for a while, would that be fiber art?