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Post by Siren on Oct 6, 2005 18:49:49 GMT -6
The cool weather today caused a change in wardrobe - my first long-sleeved blouse of the season. As I ironed it (of COURSE it had to be ironed), it occurred to me that I've owned this blouse about 10 years. 10 years!!
Surely there are others among us who hang on to stuff on hangers. What's the oldest item of clothing you still wear often (or at least annually)?
Brings to mind that Mary Chapin Carpenter tune, "This Shirt":
This shirt is old and faded All the color's washed away I've had it now for more damn years Than I can count anyway I wear it beneath my jacket With the collar turned up high So old I should replace it But I'm not about to try
This shirt's got silver buttons And a place upon the sleeve Where I used to set my heart up Right there anyone could see This shirt is the one I wore to every boring high school dance Where the boys ignored the girls And we all pretended to like the band
This shirt was a pillow for my head On a train through Italy This shirt was a blanket beneath the love We made in Argeles This shirt was lost for three whole days In a town near Buffalo 'Till I found the locker key In a downtown Trailways bus depot
This shirt was the one I lent you And when you gave it back There was a rip inside the sleeve Where you rolled your cigarettes It was the place I put my heart Now look at where you put a tear I forgave your thoughtlessness But not the boy who put it there
This shirt was the place your cat Decided to give birth to five And we stayed up all night watching And we wept when the last one died This shirt is just an old faded piece of cotton Shining like the memories Inside those silver buttons
This shirt is a grand old relic With a grand old history I wear it now for Sunday chores Cleaning house and raking leaves I wear it beneath my jacket With the collar turned up high So old I should replace it But I'm not about to try
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Post by Scrappy Amazon on Oct 6, 2005 19:18:36 GMT -6
Cool song......I have a 15 year old pair of sneakers. Annoys the piss out of my mother when I put them on to schlep around the yard. And until recently I had a tye dyed teeshirt my father bought me that was so old and holey I had to wear it backward so as not to embarrass the neighbors lol.
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Post by Lesa on Oct 6, 2005 21:24:17 GMT -6
I wear a pair of Reeboks that my mom gave me. I think they are literally older than I am (I'm 33), but they are in much better shape than the pair of "Shoes for Crews" that I bought just two years ago.
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 7, 2005 22:44:11 GMT -6
Shew! My mom has given me a few old sweaters. Who knows how old they are, but the fashion seems to be in.
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Post by Lesa on Oct 7, 2005 23:23:55 GMT -6
Comfy AND fashionable. It doesn't get much better than that! ;D
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Post by Phalon on Oct 8, 2005 1:20:15 GMT -6
This thread is so timely; I was just pondering throwing away an old t-shirt yesterday. My Z-Rock one; stolen from my brother while I was pregant with LX.
Nice and large; perfectly comfy, and bright red. At least at one time it was; now faded to a softer tone, with the little Z-Rock logo on the front shoulder, and "Where Detroit Rocks" on the back; the "Rock" in bigger and bolder lettering across the butt. How fitting. And actually it doesn't; too big, and I wear it as pajamas, pulling my knees underneath it on the chilly mornings as I drink my coffee out on the front porch. One too many times stretching it out like that, and the other day....Ripppp. The fabric tore away from the "Where" decal across my shoulder blades. Time for the trash, I guess, though somehow it ended back in the laundry.
I am a keeper of clothing that is comfortable; ridiculous actually, the way I refuse to part with some things.
My favorite, you've seen, Siren. The Levi 560 cut-offs I wore the day I left North Carolina. You remember the ones; heart patch on the rear, holes all around, and looking as if they should have been part of a land-fill years prior.
Your blouse, you said, is 10 years old. These jeans are at least fifteen, I believe. Don't really know where I got them; they never fit before they were cut-offs, being way too long. I probably stole them from my brother too, as I did the Z-rock shirt. The "loose-fit" style, and they were the first jeans I could fit into after giving birth to both daughters; feeling all svelte, (rolls eyes), after nine-months of extra poundage. Even at that time, they were old and faded. But who could get rid of something that makes you feel svelte? LMAO.
Blew the knees out years and years ago. Patched multiple times by my Xena-Sista friend, who refused to do anything else with them the last time I pleaded, "just one more time" with her, and she told me gently that they were beyond repair. HA! Fooled her. Not that I'd ever actually pick up a needle and thread; no. I now wear biker shorts underneath to cover up the skin showing through the multiple holes and worn thin fabric.
And yes, I wear them in public. Too comfy to throw away, too comfy not to wear, and hell, I think I can get a few more years out of them. Maybe.
And yes...I think I described them before.....in the fetish thread.
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Post by TamiZ on Oct 8, 2005 8:53:28 GMT -6
Wow... I, too, have the old pair of Reebok's... maybe 10-15 y/o. Not sure. My memory faded long before the glue that holds those babies together. I've yet to find another pair of hi-tops that are acceptable replacements. Also have a Fleetwood Mac tee that my sister found in a thrift shop (and bought just for me) when she was a teenager... which would be around ten years or so. The decal on the shirt is of the self-titled LP from 1974/5. Never wore that shirt. It hangs next to all the other Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks shirts that I've never worn, as well as the two "Rock a Little" tour shirts that I absolutely wore out in high school. I'm afraid to put on that old tee. It's teeny and I'm not... any more... LOL. I'd probably tear the decal and that would be a fashion disaster.
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 8, 2005 20:24:57 GMT -6
Oh, I remember one more. I went to Glacier National Park as a kid. I got a bright orange sweatshirt with a fuzzy polar bear on it and, even though the fuzz has worm off, I still have the shirt and cannot bare to part with the bear. I always think about making it into a pillow.
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Rejean
Whooshite Candidate
Posts: 95
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Post by Rejean on Oct 12, 2005 0:01:29 GMT -6
Hey siren, another reebok story. My first pair lasted nerly five years, I wore them when I worked in a mall and covered about twenty miles a day (and nights), and at all other times, even sometimes on the bike...my present pair probably covered almost as many miles, in three countries (Canada, USA, and New Zealand). Now they're wearing too thin at the heels, but I still wear them when it's not raining (they leak now). I think the style is now discontinued, but I'm still looking for replacements. I have'nt the heart to thow them out, but lately I've been letting my cat chew on them. He likes reeboks too.
rejean
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Post by Phalon on Oct 12, 2005 20:57:21 GMT -6
Seems the Reebok's are ahead and foot above the rest in the old-clothing-that-you-can't-part-with category.
Cute bear sweatshirt story, Gabbin. The pillow making gave me an idea that'll never get done for a shirt of LX's. I went out into the garage today to scrounge Hub's workbench for a tool that I needed for a job other than its intended purpose, (I've heard the "right tool for the right job" way too often. Pfft - I just grab the first thing handy). What did I see?! ACK! Remind me never to let Hubs do laundry again. My beloved Z-Rock t-shirt in the garage. Unfolded. In a pile of rags to be used for washing the car or some other such unceremoniously dirty task. Right tool for the right job my @ss.
The shirt is now folded and back up in my closet.
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 12, 2005 21:03:11 GMT -6
Maybe you can just stuff unwanted shirts into the wanted shirt and hot glue them shut. Presto! A good 5 minute task.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 12, 2005 21:10:09 GMT -6
And is that the way Martha would do it?
Reminds me of my Marathong Friend who, unlike our mutual Xena-Sister seamstress friend, but like me in that we have no sewing ability what-so-ever, hot-glued the hem on her curtains.
Like Martha, Xena-Sista just purses her lips at us.
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Post by Siren on Oct 12, 2005 22:49:31 GMT -6
Judging from the posts here from TamiZ, Scrappy, Rejean, and Lesigner Girl, it looks like sneakers are, like cockroaches and Twinkies, impervious to abuse, time, and (probably) nuclear holocaust. How I wish I could still my very cool Nikes from the 80s! I was so proud to get my first pair, genuine tennis player shoes handed down from oldest sis.
My friend Grant had a quilt made from his collection of concert t-shirts. Really turned out great. I've heard of the same thing being done with sports and scouting uniforms.
BTW, TamiZ, I saw that "Rock A Little" tour, too. Wasn't Stevie great?
I only wish I could get into jeans from 15 years ago, Gams! ~Siren
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 14, 2005 21:40:34 GMT -6
Mittens! I still have woolies from wee years. Yeah.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 14, 2005 21:51:37 GMT -6
Ooooo, mittens! I love mittens. Colorful mittens all matted with snow that lay on heat vents drying while you hold a mug of hot chocolate trying to warm icy fingers.
Gloves are essential for work, but mittens are for play.
I need a new pair; mine have holes in the thumbs.
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Post by Gabbin on Oct 14, 2005 22:13:52 GMT -6
I finished an arm today! Yehaw! I have one more arm to go and then I can assemble all of the peices and be toasty.
I don't seem to be completing full thoughts tonight so I have to keep coming back and editing.
On my wool sweater, Norweigian wool red and white sweater.
Details, details.
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Post by Phalon on Oct 20, 2005 22:47:42 GMT -6
Details, details. Scary details told on a shivery dark autumn night; ghost details.
Coat details; politicians ride them. Ask George.
My winter coat details: I need a new one I noticed today.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 20, 2006 21:53:10 GMT -6
Change of season; change of wardrobe.
Going through my summer clothing this weekend and finally gave in, and relinquished to the trash the Z-Rock shirt about which I first replied to this thready thread.
The holey mother of god-awful worn and torn Levi 560 cut-offs I wore the other day. HA! Blessed be the day I give those up. Pfft.
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Post by Siren on Jun 22, 2006 17:22:33 GMT -6
*listening as "Taps" plays in the distance*
So sorry to hear of your loss, Gams. It's a hard decision, to put a beloved garment out of its misery. I think you took the wisest path to toss the shirt. Would be a long and more painful goodbye, seeing the shirt in the rag bag.
My oldest sis has a pair of sweatpants that are worn so thin, they're cool enough to wear year-round. And they're literally ratty. Large holes have been gnawed in one leg. But she won't think of parting with them.
My sis, Gina, is known for wearing a favorite blouse all the time. My mom noticed that Gg is wearing the same blouse in most of our family snapshots from the last few years.
Cowboy boots are famously long-lived, especially when made from certain hides. My friend James had a pair of elephant hide boots that he had re-soled 7 times at last count. I had a pair of bay apache ropers I could only wear in dry weather. They were so cracked, they leaked when it rained.
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Post by Gabbin on Jun 23, 2006 22:25:51 GMT -6
I wore my Fat Tire Beer shirt the other day, it is kinda tight fit for my usual way, although I am getting in to that a bit more of late. Where was I? Oh, yes, this 12 year-old told me it was Awwwesome.
Great. I am just not sure about that. I am not sure if that is bad or good or what. Maybe he just thought the bike on the shirt was cool. I thought so, too. I would love a Fat Tire neon light.
I threw a lot of clothes out last spring. Out out out with the old, in with the nude.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 24, 2006 23:05:42 GMT -6
I'm afraid to ask, Siren, but I will. What has been gnawing and leaving giant gnaw holes in your sister's sweats?
Cowboy boots - what size? See, way back when, though I never listened to the music, I had to have a pair of shit-kickers. Like twenty years ago, or something. I still have them and been wondering what to do with them. Size 6, I believe. Great condition; I'll send with that Ann Morrow Lindbergh book I'm sending three months ago.
Oh - and I cheated; they are not real shit-kickers - only ankle-deep in sh!t.
Gabbin - risque these days, eh? Tight Fat Tires, body suit UV ray blockers mockery necks, and nudity. I never would have guessed.
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Post by Gabbin on Jun 24, 2006 23:07:51 GMT -6
Yeah, well, people change. I am going for tube tops next.
Where did I learn the other day that Momma Moths don't eat sweaters but lay eggs in there and the babies hatch out and think "YUM! Wool"
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Post by Phalon on Jun 24, 2006 23:19:45 GMT -6
Tube tops, BOLL.
Ok - that's funny.
Dang, my computer is languishing tonight, and my mind's all over the place...not a good mix.
I wool try to shove that moth hatching image from my mind. Ick.
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Post by Gabbin on Jun 24, 2006 23:34:06 GMT -6
You normally are not a cocoa drinker. What gives? You have regressed to winter.
And what is so funny about me in a tube top? Hmm? Now you are in it deep.
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Post by Siren on Jun 24, 2006 23:35:39 GMT -6
I said my sis' sweats are ratty, Gams, and they are. She stored some clothes in the barn for awhile, and the barn rats found them. But still, she keeps wearing the sweats.
You should keep those boots, Gams. It gets mighty deep in here at times!
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Post by Gabbin on Jun 24, 2006 23:39:01 GMT -6
Boll on the boots, Siren. Scratch the chat post. Gams zonked. I have that effect on her.
Wow, literally ratty clothes. I bet she could sell those for a bunch o' money. Maybe stone wash them and sell them for a 100 dollars a pair.
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Post by Siren on Jun 25, 2006 0:11:41 GMT -6
You might be onto something there, G. Maybe sis could have her own business, manufacturing genuine rat-chewed clothing. But what to call them? Rat Rags? No Cheese, Clothes Please? Ratsmatazz? Rats To Riches?
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Post by Gabbin on Jun 25, 2006 21:48:56 GMT -6
Hee hee, good one Hauntee.
Oh, man, some of my pesterings are just off, OFF, I say. Sigh. They sound just not right. Sorry all. I am sounding manical. What a great word-and let me work that: Egomanical....Legomanical....leggoofmyleggomanical. Yes, I need to leggo a bit. I need some medication, I meant meditation to slow me down.
Oh, that reminds me of a good slip o' my lip the other day. While talking to a friend about a young man's Catholic grad ceremon whatever you call it, I said "You mean consumation ceremony?"
Hey, I was close. Kinda.
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Post by Siren on Dec 2, 2006 9:34:35 GMT -6
Reached back for this thread because it became very relevant this week. Bundling up to head out into our winter storm, I came across a scarf my granny crocheted for me probably 15 years ago. I literally shamed her into it. She had made quilts for my older cousins years before, but just wasn't up to doing that anymore. But when I said, "Sure, sure - you made something for them, but not for me.", she pulled out the crochet needles, and created this scarf for me. Granny's eyesight was almost gone by then (she was about 84 at the time), so she dropped a stitch here and there. But what a beautiful little scarf. She's been gone 10 years now, and I wouldn't take any price for that scarf.
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Post by Phalon on Dec 2, 2006 12:39:15 GMT -6
Great post, Siren. That scarf sounds like something special.
Wish my kids felt that attached to their scarves, hats and mittens. Barely into the season this year, and we've already lost one pair of heavy gloves for snowboarding - that were a replacement at the end of winter last year for the previous pair of lost gloves. And one mitten - small and purple with an embroidered white snowflake.
Let me know if you find them; we've looked everywhere. And shoot, they were only in our yard, the neighbor's yard, our house, the neighbor's house and in the ravine yesterday. They could be anywhere....
.....except where we've looked. Or where they're supposed to be.
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