I’ve been running the numbers and thought I’d ask the community
So I own two shirts and a pair of pants that I wear to work all week. between the time I bought them I must’ve worn the shirts at least 108 times and the pants 220 times. The pants are getting a little frayed at the “cuffs” and the shirts seem fine. the shoes already have holes but still do the job. So when do I officially move on from these clothes without being wasteful? What is your threshold where a garment is not worth fixing?
How often do you replace work clothes?
byu/Thisisbhusha inFrugal
Posted by Thisisbhusha
22 Comments
I work from home and no longer need work clothes so…. never?
does your work not have a dress code policy?
I thrift all my work clothes. I’ve gotten a lot of pretty much brand new dress pants for less than $10, and some really nice quality shirts for less than $15.
When they’re not suitable for your job. This is going to vary immensely if you’re working construction, at McDonalds, or business casual office job.
Kinda depends on your work I imagine. I work outside and do not have to look presentable so you’ll see my working with 5-7 patches in my pants until I get one big enough that it isn’t worth patching. Same for shirts and sweatshirts.
I love to be clean so I do it often, but write it off on taxes.
I work in a warehouse, so I wear whatever I don’t mind ruining. Old pants, old shirts, old coats….so they get replaced if they’re literally falling apart
The last time for me was 2024, because the cheap stuff from 2020 became faded. Usually it’s the footwear I wear out from 20k steps daily.
Are you washing your clothes every two nights.. this is bizarre
Goodness I still have shorts I’m wearing from 15+ years ago…they still fit and aren’t ragged so no one says anything. As soon as they get holes or stained beyond repair, they get retired and delegated to swim coverups and often mended and tie dyed in the process. I definitely check thrift stores and local Ross/TJ Maxx/Bealls outlets for new pieces.
When they wear out
I have some t-shirts that have lasted a decade but it probably matters that I wash in cold water and hang dry.
Depends on the job. Some jobs, a little mess on the clothes is ok (auto mechanic, physical labor, etc). Some jobs, a stain you can’t remove means time to replace that piece of clothing no matter what (jobs where how you present yourself is everything)
When I have had it for a while and it starts to look more like im homeless instead of saving money.What I truly want to know is why are you wearing 1 pair of pants that long maybe get two or 3 to switch through u can find cheap ones from good will that way they last longer and u won’t have to buy any for atleast 1000 or more wears each.
I work from home and have more ‘work pants/shirts’ than that.
I usually buy 4 or 5 more shirts at the end of the year, every year.
If your shoes have holes, it’s time to replace them.
Question: are your pants too long? Are the cuffs fraying because they touch the ground or you step on them? If so, you could hem them and get some more wear out of them. If you can’t hem them yourself, getting it professionally done is probably more expensive than replacing them.
I had two pairs of scrubs that I used for my full time hospital job for ten years. Then I bought three more pair about three years ago when the initial ones started to look a bit rough.
I replace things as they get worn out.
I work in foundation repair. Whenever they stop protecting me from the elements, i rip the shit out of them, spill something bad on them, or get generally worn totally through, whichever is first. Being the nature of my job, they get washed a lot, so that doesn’t help with longevity. Just the nature of the job.
I have to have my picture taken for work so we stopped at the thrift store on the way home tonight. I got 3 new collared shirts and a multi colored designer jacket, and my adult daughter got a designer suit jacket.
The jackets were unplanned but are important for our management jobs so we add one or two to our wardrobes once or twice a year when we find a deal. (I won an award and also got a promotion, therefore the picture and the extra expense.)
I “rounded up for charity” and spent $24.00.
If you are a man, though, you probably don’t need to change your wardrobe as often as we do. Everyone notices (and judges) what a woman is wearing, no one typically cares what a man wears.
It sounds like it’s time to switch them out now. Try to buy multiples of your replacements. They will get less wear and tear. Also consider hanging them up to dry. The dryer takes a lot of fibers out of clothes and damages them.
Jeans, t-shirts, and work boots…
I have t-shirts that are 4-5yrs old, just bought new ones a few weeks ago now that the old ones are quite baggy on me.
Jeans I seem to go through 3-4 pair a year on average. Small holes turn into big tears, usually when I squat down to pick up something heavy. I have a few pairs without any grease stains yet, wear those outside of work.
Work boots I’m lucky to get a year on. The non-slip work shoes last about 6 months.
I wear my cloth welding jacket for any steel fab work, any carpentry work, painting, crawling around under the work trucks… Spent 6hrs yesterday crawling around on the floor fixing one of the quads. 2-3 years on a jacket, closer to 5yrs on coveralls, maybe 6 months on a pair of welding gloves.