Although I occasionally take shopping excursions amongst the high and mighty, most of the time I am a cheap...er, thrifty, thrifty shopper. This extends to a great many things, but especially my clothes. Frankly put, I begrudge spending money on clothes at all.
However, since (apparently) wearing ripped attire or attire with holes is only considered trend when you are young, I found myself recently in need of some jeans. Jeans are my "wear almost any day of the week" pants - and I was down to two "good" pairs and one pair that gets worn to the rabbit shelter and for my "work at home" attire and is thus not really "fitting" for social wear.
The last time I had to get a new pair of jeans, it was almost $40 at that fabulous French-esque store "Target" (pronounced "tar-zhey" by sophisticated backwoods folk like myself) and was done out of a need of desperation, having realized as I left the plane that my pants had torn in a rather awkward place, I did not have another pair, and I needed one now. I had a little more runway this time, but my goal was not spend any more than I had to.
My first stop was my local charitable organization store. Oddly enough, I realized it has probably been 10 years at least since the last time I was in one. It was clean, well organized - and almost completely out of jeans. Cream or tan business slacks or chinos, there was a 30 foot rack filled on both sides. Jeans, there was maybe a 5 foot section with most of them far beyond my waist size.
My next stop was clothes resale store. There are a few chains out there that do this now; this was my first time going into one. I did not really know what to expect - what I found was (again) a well organized store with clothes and shoes in really good condition. This made sense to me after I thought about it - after all, a resale store is not going to buy things that they cannot resell.
They had a splendid section for jeans in my size (sadly, my lower body is pretty much a short rectangle, which makes things a bit hard). There were a variety of jeans there, some I had heard of and some I had not. I ended up getting two pairs in reasonably good shape for around $40. Two pairs of jeans combined with my other two pairs of jeans will carry me a pretty long way.
Good heavens, at this rate - what with me darning my socks, enough of a rotation of underwear and undershirts (at two locations, mind you) and a lifetime's supply of shirts, I may only every have to purchase the occasional set of jeans. I may end up like TB The Elder yet.
Like you, I don't see the point of purchasing expensive clothing for the life I lead. I have been able to evade the hounding paparazzi and the office environment I work at does not require me to look like straight out of a GQ magazine. Blue jeans are fine, but I've found I enjoy the fit of Carhartts more. Blue jeans for me almost have a universal 'saggy butt' - my international air travel smuggling days are far behind me, :^)
ReplyDeletePurchased at flea markets or Salavation Army, about $8 a pair. Some do have small stains or the button hole at top of waist shows wear so inspection is required.
I started at The Charitable Organization as Nighean Dhonn had found a great new pair there for $5. What I found out later from The Ravishing Mrs. TB is that our church's homeless ministry makes a regular sweep of such places specifically for jeans - and I assume others do as well.
DeleteLike you, my office attire needs are almost nil since - in my case - I started working from home and I have not attracted anyone's "notice" since about the fifth grade. I am grateful to hear that your international smuggling days are behind you and, like many of us, have settled into a far less exciting lifestyle.
I have not tried Carhartts, but appreciate the recommendation. I will have to try a pair.
I started at The Charitable Organization as Nighean Dhonn had found a great new pair there for $5. What I found out later from The Ravishing Mrs. TB is that our church's homeless ministry makes a regular sweep of such places specifically for jeans - and I assume others do as well.
DeleteLike you, my office attire needs are almost nil since - in my case - I started working from home and I have not attracted anyone's "notice" since about the fifth grade. I am grateful to hear that your international smuggling days are behind you and, like many of us, have settled into a far less exciting lifestyle.
I have not tried Carhartts, but appreciate the recommendation. I will have to try a pair.
Yah, getting to the age where clothing purchasing really dwindles down since work is no longer involved in "required wear". About the only yearly buy is walking shoes because of the mileage done daily, the old pair gets used as work shoes for non-winter seasons around the yard.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, shoes and jeans will be the ongoing need. Sadly, my feet are of such an usual size - small and squat, but with a 5E width requirement - that I almost never find shoes that will fit except that I buy them new.
DeleteThese are good boots. Been wearing them for years. They ticked all my boxes- light weight, waterproof, safety toe, non marking sole, with good traction yet shallow enough tread so they do not pick up every piece of crushed gravel. AKA "house safe". And a great sizing variety. When they finally wear out, lace them with small bungee cord and have a nice quick slip-on.
Deletehttps://www.redwingshoes.com/work/king-toe-family/King-Toe-02240.html?cgid=king-toe
Thank you so much for the recommendation! And they have wide size as well! There is a Redwing store literally a mile from my house so in this case I could "try before I buy".
DeleteNew jeans.
ReplyDeleteI hate shopping for clothing or shoes.
I should not have to try on anything.
If the pants are marked 34-29 then they should fit my waist and my tiny child length legs.
If I need a 1/2" wrench I do not have to try the wrench to see if it will fit, it simply fits because of standards.
But that is not the case so trying things is part of the process.
A week or so ago the CAC-L (Clothing Acquisition Team Leader, "CACKLE") decided I needed new jeans.
After some substantial whining and crying on my part, we went shopping and I have two new pairs of jeans and a pair of Dockers.
I hemmed them yesterday, but that is a story for another time.
Note. My short legs end in small feet. Unlike pants that can be adjusted for length, shoes either fit or they don't.
My feet are just large enough that boy's footwear won't fit, but they are way small for men's sizes.
When it became necessary a month or so ago to get new sneakers, I finally allowed my wife to drag me off for shoe shopping.
When we entered the store I paused and told the young lady at the checkout that if she heard what sounded like a two year olds temper tantrum, that would be me.
She smiled and asked why, I told her about the problems with small men's footwear and she suggested going straight to the close-out area where the lesser purchased sizes ended up.
In a few minutes we had two pairs that fit really well, and when I got a bit grumpy, my wife leaned over and whispered, "If you get two more pairs, you won't have to go shoe shopping for years."
At that instant the world became a bright and happy place.
She is a very smart woman and I will be eternally glad that she married down.
John - Agreed that "size" means very little in terms of actual fit. Part of that is manufacturers - I found a number of jeans with the correct waist size but narrow legs that would give my actual legs no options to do anything except stand.
DeleteWhat I have found in the shopping department is that, like you, I do not enjoy it in the least. Sometimes when I need something, I will just "put in an order" with our local Purchasing department (our version of the CAC-L) and with a few questions on Underwear - specifically "color", items appear at the next regular shipment. Occasionally shirts appear because I apparently need them; I file them away in the closet and pull them out as required.
Shoes - Much like you, I have feet that are made for a lot of things, but easy fits are not one of the (5E width). It really does limit what I can buy. And like you, if I find a pair that fits and works, I will buy multiple pairs and just store them - not only to avoid going shopping, but a hedge against the risk that they will stop manufacturing them in the future.
It seems wives marrying down is more common that I might have thought - happened here as well.
My wardrobe has changed over the years. I used to keep many sets of good stuff and only a pair or two for work. Now I try to just keep a pair or two for "dressing up." But what usually gets me is coming home from somewhere that I dressed up for and thinking I can quickly air up a tire or haul something out to the compost without staining it which I apparently can't.
ReplyDeleteUnlike you though, I do all my clothes shopping online and thus far, it has never been out of stock when it comes to my jean size which is rarely stocked in brick and mortar places. Evidently everyone with my waist size own very stubby legs.
Ed, I still have a "stash" of work clothes (many nice slacks that The Ravishing Mrs. TB picked up for me for free) that I barely wear. That said, I have to have a set of work clothes and remind myself to change into them when doing something that will risk them.
DeleteMy family shops quite regularly online. I was somewhat fortunate that my waist size was accommodated by length - I may be one of those "stubby legged" folks.
I was supposed to have business casual when I was working, I was always out and about, so i didn't worry about the requirements. I bought Red Kap uniform shirts and Walmart jeans. When the jeans got a noticeable fade, I'd retire them to home / shop work and get two new pair. I have half a dozen new jeans, and about 15 old pairs. I have a five day rotation of fairly new uniform shirts, and another five day rota of new ones in the wrap. My 10 year old jeans are starting to rip along the wear points. They'll become sand bags or patches for the other jeans. I figure the same as you on skivvies, sox and tee shirts, so I have at least a years supply stocked up. Work boots are due from the resole process soon, and I should be ready for my last decades.
ReplyDeleteI did splurge and buy two new Big Smith overalls this month. I'll probably use those for town wear until they break in some, then they'll be fit house / shop duty.
I got some tee shirts from an estate of a man who passed recently. They are all promo shirts from about 2000-2010ish. They are fully 3 times thicker than the new ones I've bought recently. That was surprising.
STxAR, I think with a regular supply of jeans footwear, I am set for the rest of my life. I imagine if I change my life to a more active working environment, the life on both will drop. I have a double rotation: items here in New Home and a complete undershirt/underwear/sock rotation at The Ranch (saves on luggage space as well). Were I smarter, I would have more wearing clothes there, but my wardrobe is pretty spare in that department anyway.
DeleteOlder t-shirts can be thicker. Almost every event I have been involved with recently has gone to the more sportslike breathable blend, which is nice for active wear. Cotton is a lot of things, but breathable when competing is not one of them.
Head over to your local feed store that carries ranch wear and get a pair of Wranglers. They fit great, especially in stretch and last for years. No saggy backside, either. Yeah, they are spendy, but they look great...women still look at guys, even us old cat ladies.
ReplyDeleteTewshooz, the pair of jeans I had to purchase due to a "fatal flaw" was in fact a pair of Wranglers, and I am very happy with them. I will certainly keep the latter part in mind as well - I am a pretty wide streak of vanity left, even at my age.
DeleteTB, I am not one who enjoys shopping EVER lol...but, once in a while (maybe every other year), I get the urge to hit the thrift stores and I load up on used clothing. Although this year I treated myself to TWO (wow two) pairs of new jeans! I hope they last 20 years lol!
ReplyDeleteRain, I actually have more clothing than I need at this point with some very small exceptions (jeans being one of them).
DeleteTwo pair of new jeans? Man, you are living on the edge. If I get one new pair a year, that is something of a newsworthy event.
LOL "living on the edge" hee hee!
DeleteRain, I fear you and I live very pedestrian lives in view of the modern world. For us, two new pairs of jeans may very be the equivalent of skydiving.
Delete