Question of The Day. Saturday 25th of April.

Norachan

Moderator
Thread starter
Staff Member
Moderator
Joined
May 27, 2013
Messages
32,669
Purraise
32,856
Location
Mount Fuji, Japan
Good morning.

☀

What is the oldest item of clothing you own that you still wear?

I'm wearing my gardening/painting clothes at the moment. I have on a light grey hooded sweatshirt that I borrowed from my sister 20 years ago and never gave back. I don't know how long she'd had it, long enough not to hunt it down and demand I return it, so I guess this sweatshirt is old enough to vote, drink and drive.

(Though hopefully it won't do so, not in that order)

How about you, what's your oldest item of clothing?
 

jcat

Mo(w)gli's can opener
Veteran
Joined
Feb 13, 2003
Messages
73,213
Purraise
9,851
Location
Mo(w)gli Monster's Lair
I have a varsity sweater (a very thick cardigan in the school colors) from high school. I graduated in 1975 and believe I bought that in my sophomore year. :lol: It's not something I wear all the time, but I'm still getting some use out of it.
 

Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies
Veteran
Joined
Aug 28, 2009
Messages
29,730
Purraise
28,024
Location
In the kitchen
I have a Woolworth's coat with a liner and a hood. It's dark blue and I know I've had it since my paper plant days, so it has to be well over 22 years old. Still in very good shape, still looks very, very nice, and I still wear it in the winter.
 

bbdoll22

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
1,939
Purraise
2,879
Location
Hudson Valley NY
I have a nightgown from my childhood. It’s light blue with a dancing koala bear wearing a hat and sunglasses. As a child it was ankle length. But now it’s mid upper thigh length. I wear it when I don’t feel good. I call it my sickie nightgown, it gives me comfort. It’s got to be around 40 years old.
 

NY cat man

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
7,033
Purraise
21,288
I have a 'cruise jacket' that I bought as a memento from a 1969 deployment. It has all of the countries where we made port calls embroidered on the back I also have a top coat with a removable liner that I got as a gift during my senior year in high school, so that also is over 50 years old..
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,582
Purraise
22,962
Location
Nebraska, USA
I don't really have any! I have some blouses now that are leftovers from my working days, most around 5 years old or so, they are of good quality, so I keep them just in case! Otherwise, I wear my clothes so much they eventually just start falling apart and get thrown or used for paint clothes. I regularly purge my closet and donate to Goodwill or throw them away. I am not sentimental about clothes at all, in fact most things. Especially having to deal with my parents' house after my dad died, :shocked: I DON'T want my daughter to go through that. My husband is lucky I still have him!
 

susanm9006

Willow
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 20, 2011
Messages
13,153
Purraise
30,221
Location
Minnesota
A long coat that I bought some time around 1985. I needed a dressy coat for a business trip that I was dreading and treated myself by buying a very expensive and cute coat. I don’t wear it as much as when I was working but it still looks as good as the day I bought it.
 

sweet jane flash

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jul 21, 2019
Messages
988
Purraise
2,567
One of my boyfriends had to endure the Vietnam war. He is older than me. I originally "stole" it from him and it became a great source of fun having him hunt it down. I called him up once at 3am and told him a riddle so he had to guess where I'd left it. I'd left it in the phone booth I called him from. I waited in the shadows from trees across the street from it until he figured it out. Twenty years ago he left it as a gift on my front porch with a case of his gold medal winning wine (cabernet savignon). He is one of my oldest friends now. I still wear that army drab hat sometimes when I'm gardening. It works well and I'll never throw it away. Thank you for reminding me of such a great old memory. 💘
 

Xraystyle

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Feb 4, 2020
Messages
634
Purraise
1,818
Location
Seoul
i don't have much at all. Probably my winter coat as I got it 8-9 years ago when I worked at Columbia Sportswear, so I got a nice discount on it. My t-shirts get wrecked within a year or two, my jeans get holes in them in about 6mo-1y, my shoes wear out in 1-2yrs...I have some athletic gear that I've had since I moved to Korea 5 years ago. Moving halfway around the world with 2 suitcases and then dropping a pant size means that I haven't really had a reason to keep stuff! It's kind of a shame though, I have a lot of band t-shirts I like but never wear anymore because the printing is all wrecked by the washer or there's embedded deodorant stains that I"m not domestically savvy enough to have gotten out. Haven't been able to throw them out though 🤷‍♀️
 

Mia6

Mother of one and numerous ferals
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
31,113
Purraise
34,063
Location
Ohio, USA
panties and one pj bottom from Vickie S circa 1999, the panties need to be thrown out as the material
is rotting. The pj bottom are white with pink hearts all over them. They need a new waist band.
I like to wear them when I don;t feel well, as bbdoll22 bbdoll22 does with her nightgown.
 

neely

May the purr be with you
Veteran
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
19,638
Purraise
47,808
I have a sweat jacket that was from a fundraiser I participated in from the 1980's. It means a lot to me and is very comfortable. It has some wear and tear but I still use it around the house.
 

NY cat man

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
7,033
Purraise
21,288
One of my boyfriends had to endure the Vietnam war. He is older than me. I originally "stole" it from him and it became a great source of fun having him hunt it down. I called him up once at 3am and told him a riddle so he had to guess where I'd left it. I'd left it in the phone booth I called him from. I waited in the shadows from trees across the street from it until he figured it out. Twenty years ago he left it as a gift on my front porch with a case of his gold medal winning wine (cabernet savignon). He is one of my oldest friends now. I still wear that army drab hat sometimes when I'm gardening. It works well and I'll never throw it away. Thank you for reminding me of such a great old memory. 💘
My brother-in-law still has his 'boonie hat' from his time in 'Nam in 1970 as well. That and the ring from a grenade. Outgoing, of course.
 

gilmargl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
1,855
Purraise
4,817
Location
Germany, NRW
I am ancient, so none of you will understand what the hell I'm on about - but here we go!

Does anybody remember plastic macs? Cheap raincoats which everyone needed to protect their expensive clothes back in and around the1950's? And “Rainmates” to protect your hair? Being plastic they never lasted very long.

In the 1960's as a student, I invested in a lightweight BRI-Nylon waterproof raincoat from Marks and Spencer’s in Leeds, England to wear, over a coat if necessary, should it start to rain. (The name on the label is "St Michael"). It's still waterproof, all the original buttons and buttonholes are intact, no holes in the pockets. The label can still be read "Warm wash, Drip dry, Size 10, Bust 34 inches". (It's OK, I'm not trying to sell it!)

A few years later, when mini-skirts became fashionable it was rather long, I had to cut quite a lot off the bottom, sewing it by hand. The shorter length made it ideal for cycling so being lightweight it was taken on numerous walking and cycling tours. Now, it hangs conveniently on the back of the door for when I have to suddenly go out in the rain to put out the rubbish, bring in the washing, or rescue something flying about in a storm. I don't wear it regularly, but it's still very useful. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a hood otherwise it would have been even more practical.

Studying it closely just now, I can only find one sign of wear-and-tear. There is a group of tiny holes. :bluepaw: It looks as though a cat has tried to climb up and left some claw marks. No doubt, it was Sweep - an intelligent cat who used to spend hours studying doors and door handles until he worked out how to open them. Only locked doors remained a mystery. His investigation always began by climbing up on towels or clothing to have a good look.

So, I estimate my piece of antique clothing is genuine British, purchased in 1964! At the time it seemed a lot of money to spend on one item of clothing, but compared with some of the things I buy today and have to throw out within a few months, it was certainly a bargain.
 

MoochNNoodles

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
36,646
Purraise
23,468
Location
Where my cats are
I have pj pants that are 18ish years old. Possibly 19. My mom gave my step-sister and I a matching set for Christmas one year. The shirt is long gone but those pants have lasted. They've fit through weight gain, pregnancies.... miracle pants. I just noticed the other day that the fabric over the waist band is worn out enough to expose the elastic. I wonder if I can fix that... :lol:
 

gilmargl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
1,855
Purraise
4,817
Location
Germany, NRW
A long coat that I bought some time around 1985. I needed a dressy coat for a business trip that I was dreading and treated myself by buying a very expensive and cute coat. I don’t wear it as much as when I was working but it still looks as good as the day I bought it.
This reminds me of an expensive black midi-coat I bought for business trips at about the same time as you. Midi is not my style and black is not my colour. It is however still hanging up in the cupboard and I share it with my daughter. It comes in handy for posh funerals!
 
Top