What article of clothing have you kept in use the longest? - YouLookFab Forum

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What article of clothing have you kept in use the longest?

Staysfit

Veteran

I realized after reading Angie's post on 80's clothing, and Viva's post showing her favorite 80's pic, that I have an item of clothing that is more than half my age sitting in my closet! My Eddie Bauer Jean Jacket!! It went with me to Europe when I was 20 years old. I still have it, well, let's just say almost 30 years later, and it is still in use!

I looked to see if I had any other quasi "vintage" items in my closet. I have the first sweater that I knit that used cable needles. I still wear it because it is one of the warmest sweaters I own. I gave the first sweater I made using a Kaffe Fassett design to my daughter. Both sweaters are from the late 80's early 90's and and therefore, they aren't quite as old as the jean jacket, but they are definitely still in use.

I'm surprised that the oldest items I still wear are articles of clothing and not shoes/boots or purses.

It made me wonder if other people still have items like this that they have kept, and that they still wear/use? Maybe some shoes? A jacket? A sweater? A coat? Some old pajama's? Pictures of your favorite old items still in use welcome!

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26 replies

Latest reply was from Desmo April

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Fun thread and what gorgeous items!

I had a few things dating from the 80s when I joined YLF but I have since edited them out.

But I do still own and use some clutches and evening bags dating from the 60s and even the 50s. They belonged to my mother and mother-in-law.

kkards

Veteran

actual clothing that i wear on a regular basis --my down puffer jacket --going on 10 years, ll bean duck boots vintage 1990's, a suede jacket that belonged to my grandfather.
stuff i have but don't wear ---my gauzy indian blouse, levis from high school, my denim jacket from college, my father's leather moto jacket.

Suja

Veteran

Definitely my down coat. I have had it for 11 years. Every year, I want to replace it with a more fashionable down coat but I have yet to find one as warm as the one I have. If it is cold enough to wear down, it has to be warm, no compromises.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

Hmmm, not much - I never bought things of great quality until the 2000's, plus my style has changed a lot, I get tired of things, and don't get sentimental about clothing.

I just put 2 pair of running shorts that I've had for about 15 years in the donation bag. They just started to stretch out a bit in the waist and are not staying up properly. I paid maybe $12 per pair in the late 90's and have worn them at least once a week ever since. The material looks exactly the same as the day I bought them.

I have a "radiant orchid" silk blend cardigan that I bought around 15 years ago. It's the perfect length and fit and I love the color. Still looks new, it's not going anywhere.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I still have:
- leather coat from '95
- Anna Sui velvet jacket form '93
- Manolo Blahnik pointy toe pumps from '99
- Costume Nationale linen sweater from '88
- Prada mini nylon backpack from '95 (!)

And more in boxes somewhere. It's all from the 90s when I made the big bucks. I think the CN sweater was the first luxury item I purchased.

Deb

Veteran

I still have a few beautiful and somewhat expensive blouses that I bought in the early nineties and I wear them now and then. And a Chanel jacket my husband bought me in Paris while honeymooning in 1991. Also a handful of designer dresses which I never wear nowadays ( just a tad short for a 50 something woman ) but they are too lovely and sentimental to part with. My sons girlfriend wore one of them recently to a formal event and she looked stunning. Right now I'm wearing an oversized cable knit cardigan which I use for winter loungewear in the evening, that my aunt knitted in 1995. I wouldn't go out in this cardigan, but it looks presentable enough, and it is warm and comfortable. It is nice to have some items that you have a long history with......

Style Fan

Veteran

I have a brown suede fringe jacket from 1969 that I bought when I started high school. I love it and it is going to stay in my wardrobe. I got a replacement a few years ago from my brother from a consignment store.

I have a gorgeous wool sweater from 1985 that my first husband bought me. I still wear it and nothing beats it for warmth. It is also exactly my style. Very earthy colours.

From the early 1990s I have a beautiful suede cognac jean jacket from my first husband. The suede is so soft and the colour is perfect for me.

I have a purse from the early 1980s that an exboyfriend bought me that is beautiful and I still use.

I leave it there. I love it when something works for me so well.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I still have a coat from my high school days, one of the first things I bought with my own money. It's a denim jacket but lined and with a leather collar. It's also very early 90s oversized in the shoulders. I've thought of culling it several times but it a) is a nostalgia thing and b) does fill a niche for that weight of jacket once or twice a year.

I've got some older vintage pieces as well but they were acquired secondhand.

Suzanne (ambergreen)

Veteran

Hmm...well...a few items that come to mind that are from my own past:

a forest/pine green leather moto/aviator jacket I bought new at BR in 1988 (it needs restyling though)
a Victorian beaver-hair top hat I bought at a Pennsylvania antique shop in 1981 or so (last worn in a Halloween outfit about 4 years ago)
a pair of gauzy blue-stripes-and-lurex harem pants from India that I got at a shop that sold dancewear and boho clothing. May have been as early as 1978 on these...they are for dance class only though.

Sal

Veteran

Aside from a few pieces of inherited costume jewellery...

A fur coat from 1980 that I took over from my Mum.
A wool coat and skirt from 2000 that I bought in Melbourne.
Black pointy heels from Melbourne in 2000
A wool coat I inherited from my grandma from the 1960s
A cocktail dress from 2000
A two piece sequinned silk outfit from 2004

What a fun little exercise!

DonnaF

Veteran

A year or two ago in my mom's closet I discovered my dark gray harness belt that I bought to go with the pink safari shirtdress I sewed probably in high school since I don't recall sewing much in college. The belt is in great shape since there is no way my mom would have fit into it unless she fiddled a lot and she's not the type to fiddle. I probably wear the belt three or four times a month these days.

If I'm correctly remembering the vintage of the dress, the belt probably dates back to 1968 or 1969. At the very newest, it would be from the early 1970s.

Do I win?

Nebraskim

Veteran

I have a sweater that looks similar to the one in Image 3 above purchased in 1986 in Chicago at Eddie Bauer. I love it and wear it a lot in the winter. I have a similar vintage charcoal gray Perry Ellis wool coat. I routinely wear an actual vintage wool buffalo plaid coat my father got in the 1960s at Hudson Bay in Canada. My puffer coat, also from Eddie Bauer, was purchased in 1995 in Kansas City. I've said before that my style vibe is very classic to the point where the foundation pieces are not ever very in style, so they are also never really out of style (If that makes sense...a black wool pencil skirt is just a background piece for trendier fast-fashion accessories that go away a year or two after purchase, but the skirt remains in the closet for 10 years or until it not longer fits.)

Jude

Staysfit, you are a very talented knitter! Those sweaters are beauties, no wonder you kept them.
I have:
A navy and red reindeer sweater from about 1985 my husband brought me from Norway. It still fits and goes in and out of style every 10 years or so!
LLBean duck boots from about 1985 that went missing from a locker room and mysteriously re-appeared several weeks later. Mistaken identity?
Wellies from early '80's I bought for my son, then about 8. I wear them often in winter for dog walking.
A red high school field hockey varsity hoodie from about 2000 which belonged to my daughter and which I wear for fall gardening and dog walking.
How many of you out there still have your wedding dress?

JAileen

Veteran

I have a down jacket I made from a Frostline kit in the mid 70s that my son wears now.

Faith

I have a Dior suit of my mother's from c. 1968 that I would wear if I hadn't foolishly over-shortened the skirt in the '90s. I still wear plenty of her skirts (straight/pencil) from the '80s (those that escaped a similar butchering!), as well as an amazing quilted jacket that I think is from a Japanese designer. I also have one or two '80s dresses that have been de-shoulderpadded, a double breasted coat dress in forest green, and a draped number in black crepe. Of my very own things, the oldest piece in regular rotation is a buttonless black cashmere blazer from around 1998, I'd like to think the narrow sleeves and slight swing style are relatively timeless; it still gets me through professional events every winter!

shedev

Veteran

Boxy moto leather from 1994, still wear it a little.

Anonymous

I have one black blazer that I know I got in the winter of 1983. I will wear that blazer until it is in rags because it is a perfect 10.

Thistle

Veteran

The winter dress coat I first bought when I moved to the frozen tundra 16 years ago. I only wear it once or twice a year, but I do wear it.

Staysfit

Veteran

These responses are great! It's so interesting to hear what everyone has kept. So many have items from family that it made me recall that I also have some jewelry that I received as gifts from various family members when I turned 16. I didn't even think about it, but I was wearing some earrings that were part of that when I was typing up the post! Oh well!!

I have some other truly vintage items, but they were given to me by my mother when I was an adult. The items belonged to my grandmother, and even my great grandmother. I have beaded bags, art deco jewelry, a small child's beaver muff (I have no idea what to do with that yet), and some fur collars rescued from various coats. ( I am going to attach the collars to hand knit cardigan sweaters that I am making.) Beaver fur is very soft - very........

Gigi

Veteran

Gosh, I don't think I have much of anything, other than some stuff from about 15 years ago that I use now as stuff to wear when working out, cleaning house, etc. The only "real" item that I still wear is probably my fall/spring coat, which I think is more than ten years old.

Prior to YLF, I had an unbelievably small closet (maybe around 30 items), so everything got worn to death—and worn out.

Keturah

Veteran

I have a few vintage purses, a vintage lodge sweater, and my great-grandmother's seal fur coat which I wear with cherished joy. But otherwise, I've let everything go. I do have this sweatshirt I purchased from Old Navy. I'm still wearing it 3 years later. In fact, I'm wearing it as I type this, ha! But I don't know if it counts.

I have to say, your knitting skills are absolutely stellar!! I'm a knitter, and I know how much work both sweaters took you -- especially the Kaffe Fastest piece. The cabled sweater reminds me of a gansey. Lovely stuff!

Anonymous

A few things survived a huge purge after losing weight a few years ago. The oldest is probably a midi length forest green Eddie Bauer trench coat with down zip-in liner that is the warmest coat I own. I've kept it for cold football games and any other outdoor activity when it's cold and wet. It gets worn a few times each winter. It is probably from the early 90's

Stella Blu

Mostly my winter coats that survived that long. I'm from North Western Canada and we need a lot of cold weather clothing here.
I still got a long chocolate brown cashmere wool coat with a velvet lined hood and fox fur and a winter car coat in dark grey-green out of baby Llama wool from Holt Renfrew. Both bought in the late '80s or early '90s. Still love both of them, but now I spend less and less time outside when it's freezing cold.
I also own a long black raincoat from the '90s and another elegant long black coat, both by Jones New York from around that time too.
Still have a taupe leather jacket and a tan suede jacket from the '90s. There are also a few skiing outfits and casual winter jackets in my wardrobe too.
Beginning of this year I purchased a beautiful new winter jacket from Desigual, but only after letting go of another one that I had owned over 20 years.

Staysfit

Veteran

Thanks for the complements on my knitting! It's one of several good indoor hobbies for a snowy climate!

nancywalters

When my dad came back from WWII, my mom had bought him a wool coat. Its a black and grey tweed and it fits me perfectly. The only tailoring needed was to get the sleeves shortened. I was as tall as my dad. I wear it every winter.

I also have a Levi's denim jacket that my husband wore in the 60s and 70s that I wear occasionally. (Sadly, it's getting a little snug.) I also still use an umbrella my mom had bought in the 60's or 70's. It cost a dollar or two and came with a headscarf. I still use the umbrella - never used the headscarf.

Another item is a really beautiful cobalt blue patent leather purse that I got from a "girls only" shopping trip to Montreal in 1979. It still looks brand new.

I have a huge collection of beautiful silk scarves from the 70's as well as several purses and shoes (Bally brand - heels that I don't think I could gracefully walk in now) from the 80's.

Lots of nice memories.

Desmo April

(website)

Veteran

They have been replaced often but I've had black cons consistently since the 90s.

For a single continuous item I have a cropped band-leader style denim jacket that I've had since maybe 1997/98. It occasionally gets put away every couple of years but I still wear it. At least I wore it quite a bit last year, I'm not sure if it will come out to play this fall yet.