The oldest piece of clothing you own

[Vintage Gent]

I was going through my ties and I came across this madras plaid bow tie that I purchased it in June 1985, when I was 17. While I have items of clothing that are older than it by several factors, this is the most superannuated piece of clothing I own that I actually bought.





So what's the oldest piece of clothing that either you bought or received as a gift, new? Not a hand me down. Not a vintage piece acquired at a thrift store or an estate sale. But the oldest item that came to you new that's still a part of your collection.

 

[Holdfast]

Good question. With significant weight loss in my fairly recent past, much of my wardrobe is new. So I think I have to reach for a couple ties from the early 90s or late 80s. Both very conservative pindots, quite skinny and my earliest non-hand-me-down ties.

 

[marc237]

The oldest item of clothing I own, but not something I wear anymore, is a pair of Landlubber jeans in size 32". For those who are not old enough to remember, they were elephant belled, very low-rise (hip-huggers) without back pockets. In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was not uncommon for one's girlfriend to sew borders on the bottom. They were often worn with T-shirts or faded workshirts. Footwear for me at the time were two pairs of Frye boots worn in rotation (365 days a year). They are kept solely for nostagilia (although, if I lose one more inch, I could still fit into them.)

 

[Ivan Kipling]

I have Armani suits, coats, vests, that are more than twenty years old. My favorite coat, an ABL greatcoat in charcoal colored cashmere, is from 1993. My favorite shoes, by Charles Jourdan, are from the late seventies through late eighties. Many other items, too.

 

[Thomas]

I haven't bought new in forever! That said, there's a solid navy BB suit from 1996, and ties from 1994. 1994 was a year of new clothes, I had graduated college the year before and was starting to care about how I dressed. Everything pre-1994 was either cheap or convenient.

Heck, I still have a lot of casual threads from 1994. I had moved to Charlotte, NC and all my expenses were covered so I splurged, which was easy to do since the sales were in full swing.

 

[Teacher]

Johnston & Murphy Aristocraft wingtips in black pebble grain (NOS in box via eBay) from about 1955-1960.

J&M Handmades (brown wing tips) from probably the 1960's (very different heels than the newer ones).

 

[gorgekko]

I still have a Ralph Lauren button down oxford I bought back in 1989 while I was still in high school. I still wear it occasionally.

I've owned the damn thing so long that about five years ago RL reintroduced the exact same shirt, but in an inferior cloth.

 

[Carey]

Like Vintage Gent, my oldest piece of clothing is a black silk bowtie purchased in 1983. I bought it to wear to my first Army dinner-social that required us to wear our Dress Blues. At the age of 22, I was the only man there who was not wearing a clip-on bowtie, and that includes the senior officers in their forties.

 

[muelleran]

The oldest piece I actually wear is a black demin jacked I bought in college in 1992.

My room in my parent's house, however, is full of stuff I haven't touched since I moved out in 1990. Last time I was home I admired a pink DB jacked with huge shoulders that looked like it's from a Milli Vanilli video. I also boast a collection of thin leather ties.

 

[Camiceria]

Got various Lacoste poloshirts that my dad bought in the (I think) the early seventies. They fit me perfectly and the quality is just great - love to wear them during summer.

 

[skalogre]

I have a double breasted peak lapel cashmere blend black overcoat I got from a thrift store, probably about 30 years old. I also have a car coat that is from the mid-1950's (again, from a thrift store).

 

[Full Canvas]

Old? Well, if you consider some "from the trunk in the attic" clothes . . . there are four rather old Sulka shirts of my maternal grandfather's hanging in the closet. Surely, those qualify as old. He had Sulka make his officer's shirts for his military stint from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Two of those survive in excellent condition. They are made from the regulation heavy, scratchy wool.

Additionally, while stationed in Europe before WWII really got underway, he commissioned some shirts from Sulka in Paris. Of those Parisian shirts, two remain. One is pale yellow linen with looooonnnnng tails and the James Bond double button turned-back French cuffs. The other is an ivory linen formal shirt with a stiff pique bib and four detachable wing collars.

By the way, all of the shirts fit me very well. My tailor merely shortened the sleeves to suit my arms. From time to time, I don the shirts simply to put them in use.

Other than that, there are a couple of Pringle cashmere sweaters from the late 1960s that have been with me since new. Wow! How can that be?

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Full Canvas

Old? Well, if you consider some "from the trunk in the attic" clothes . . . there are four rather old Sulka shirts of my maternal grandfather's hanging in the closet. Surely, those qualify as old. He had Sulka make his officer's shirts for his military stint from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Two of those survive in excellent condition. They are made from the regulation heavy, scratchy wool.

Additionally, while stationed in Europe before WWII really got underway, he commissioned some shirts from Sulka in Paris. Of those Parisian shirts, two remain. One is pale yellow linen with looooonnnnng tails and the James Bond double button turned-back French cuffs. The other is an ivory linen formal shirt with a stiff pique bib and four detachable wing collars.

By the way, all of the shirts fit me very well. My tailor merely shortened the sleeves to suit my arms. From time to time, I don the shirts simply to put them in use.

Other than that, there are a couple of Pringle cashmere sweaters from the late 1960s that have been with me since new. Wow! How can that be?

I'd LOVE to see some pics of those Sulka officer's shirts if possible, FC!

 

[Full Canvas]

Originally Posted by skalogre

I'd LOVE to see some pics of those Sulka officer's shirts if possible, FC!

If you can wait a short while, I promise to take some photos for you. The only digital camera of ours (a D70) is in Minsk. So, I need to buy some film for the "antique" N65 here in La Jolla. I will makes some images and let you know when I post them.

This may be a good reason to buy a new D80. Oh, well. Perhaps Mrs. FC may not agree with that reasoning!

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[Full Canvas]

Once again, the obvious eludes me. The camel hair Ulster coat in the left panel of my avatar diptych is oldish. I bought it from Sulka in either 1971 or 1972 if my memory is correct. That Oxxford navy serge DB blazer in the right panel must be from about 1979 or 1980; so . . . it's not so old!

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