Lifespan of good shirts

Hey guys,

I know that items such as boots and denim can last for years with daily wear and even look better and gain character over time.

What about high quality shirts that are at like Gitman/Gant/BoO level? At what point do they become too withered to wear. Let's say I wash every two wears, then after 30 washes it's only 60 wears. I guess it isn't too bad because you don't want to wear the same shirt everyday for two months obviously, but still.

Thanks.

wear t-shirts under button-ups, wash them after 6-8 wears

so long as you wash them and store them properly, they should last a very long time

it really depends on the extent to which you care for your clothing

my dad has a couple lacoste polos from the 70s that he still wears (still in good condition)

Originally Posted by Zeemon

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wear t-shirts under button-ups, wash them after 6-8 wears

That doesnt help with the sweat getting clogged in the collar area though.

Originally Posted by Hkstyles

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That doesnt help with the sweat getting clogged in the collar area though.

I find the armpits are what go first, even though I wash every 4-5 wears and use undershirts.

Originally Posted by Hkstyles

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That doesnt help with the sweat getting clogged in the collar area though.

Thats the thing -- I live in LA and prone to sweat 8 months out of the year. I've pretty much been able to finally stop the compulsion to buy cheap garbage that I always regret later on. But it seems that shirts will quickly see a lot of hard wear fast (especially how i'd want to wear them) and it still feels like a good idea to buy disposable H&M junk.

i wouldn't buy H&M shirts on the premise that all shirts are the same (ie, will eventually wear out) so there's no point in buying nice ones

also, i wouldn't buy nicer (BOO/Gitman/etc) shirts on the premise that since they're more expensive, they will last longer

you should pay extra for nicer shirts simply due to the superior fit, fabric, and patterns. if they are the same as H&M shirts, longetivity aside, then why even bother getting nicer shirts?

Originally Posted by transient

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Hey guys,

I know that items such as boots and denim can last for years with daily wear and even look better and gain character over time.

What about high quality shirts that are at like Gitman/Gant/BoO level? At what point do they become too withered to wear. Let's say I wash every two wears, then after 30 washes it's only 60 wears. I guess it isn't too bad because you don't want to wear the same shirt everyday for two months obviously, but still.

Thanks.

I regard your post in much the same way I regard posts questioning jeans busting and t-shirts ripping: I simply have no idea what you guys are doing to your clothes.

I have expensive shirts and cheap shirts, and cheaper shirts bought off ebay already used that I have further used to death and nothing ever happens, regardless of brand or price.

The only two things I can see damaging a shirt (as I wear them) is:

1. on t-shirts my facial hair has a tendency of wearing down to collar when the stubble rubs up against the crew-neck. But that takes a long time to be noticeable and doesn't make a difference anyways, and is avoidable.

2. For long-sleeve button-up shirts that are slim-fitting, I could see a tear developing in the elbow area after repeated bending of the arm. But that only happened with one new RLPL very expensive linen shirt and that only happened because of the way I was wearing it (and on top of that it took a long time).

It depends on the fabric and the construction, but I have some shirts that have been through the washing machine 100+ times and still look great. You really should wash them after every wear.

Originally Posted by Zeemon

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wear t-shirts under button-ups, wash them after 6-8 wears

Don't forget to wear socks with your sandals.

Originally Posted by aaaeeeiiiooouuu

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i wouldn't buy H&M shirts on the premise that all shirts are the same (ie, will eventually wear out) so there's no point in buying nice ones

also, i wouldn't buy nicer (BOO/Gitman/etc) shirts on the premise that since they're more expensive, they will last longer

you should pay extra for nicer shirts simply due to the superior fit, fabric, and patterns. if they are the same as H&M shirts, longetivity aside, then why even bother getting nicer shirts?

I don't know how many of you guys iron your own shirts, but I find cheaper shirts like H&M are harder to iron than the more expensive counterparts.

I wear cheap stuff like H&M, J. Crew, etc. to work where I don't care much about how I treat them. The more expensive stuff are for my days off.

If you just wear your shirt and you don't tear it, it should last reasonably long.

The cheap stuff from my work side of the wardrobe are about 1 year old with a lot of wears. The only piece that I threw away so far were a pair of H&M slacks.

Originally Posted by transient

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Thats the thing -- I live in LA and prone to sweat 8 months out of the year.

Use CertainDri roll-on for your pits.

Originally Posted by JohnnyLaw

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It depends on the fabric and the construction, but I have some shirts that have been through the washing machine 100+ times and still look great. You really should wash them after every wear.
+1, and hang dry after washing

Originally Posted by mfrege

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I regard your post in much the same way I regard posts questioning jeans busting and t-shirts ripping: I simply have no idea what you guys are doing to your clothes.

I have expensive shirts and cheap shirts, and cheaper shirts bought off ebay already used that I have further used to death and nothing ever happens, regardless of brand or price.

The only two things I can see damaging a shirt (as I wear them) is:

1. on t-shirts my facial hair has a tendency of wearing down to collar when the stubble rubs up against the crew-neck. But that takes a long time to be noticeable and doesn't make a difference anyways, and is avoidable.

2. For long-sleeve button-up shirts that are slim-fitting, I could see a tear developing in the elbow area after repeated bending of the arm. But that only happened with one new RLPL very expensive linen shirt and that only happened because of the way I was wearing it (and on top of that it took a long time).


Yea I'm sure people exaggerate when they say clothes fall apart. I've had cheap shirts look like crap after a couple washes that I never wore again, but the only time I ever had to throw away a shirt was when I ripped one at the armholes playing volleyball at a work picnic.

Originally Posted by Nazareth

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Don't forget to wear socks with your sandals.

there are t-shirts with deeper v-necks