My grandson's parents buy them most any brand of designer jeans and shirts and accessories they want but they don't really like them that much until they are worn, faded, and have a few rips and tears. When they find a pair of sneakers they love, they will wear them until they are shredding off their feet and leave newer ones gathering dust in the closet. "Worn out" seems to be when what they wear become "favorites." They become really special if I have to add a ziz zag patch, they even invite their friends to bring their worn jeans over so I can sew them a "badge of honor" over almost impossible rips to repair that show too much skin in the wrong places. I patch "accident" holes on my old Singer sewing machine....whatever floats their young boats.
Both boys have friends who have turned them on to "thrift" store clothes shopping and occasionally they come home with something that makes their Dad grind his teeth and roll his eyes...like the neon chartreuse short bathing suit one walked in with ...or the tangerine pull up walking shorts the other brought home and wears quite often claiming they are comfortable. I discovered in the wash they are likely ladies shorts but I don't want to burst his manly bubble so I haven't told him. You wouldn't know it unless you read the label and a lot of clothes these days are unisex. Fine with me.
Seems they couldn't please their Dad with their thrifty bargains until one of them came home wearing a cartoon colorful shirt he proudly proclaimed cost only 50 cents. Dad seems to think one of them finally made a wise purchase. There is a nice label in it that says it
was hand-made by a shirt company in Austin Texas so I think that makes it worth at least a dollar because the
previous owner evidently never wore it. It
looks brand new and is well sewn
made of my favorite cotton...I'm thinking it may
be one of those you only "wear
once to shock" shirts...we will see.
Oh well, it's a fun and colorful boat to be in in your teens and I think learning to be "thrifty" at a young age is a good thing. It comes in handy in your old age when the stock market keeps messing with your portfolio.
Another mans trash can become someone else's treasure. I think we should all recycle and keep the earth green...and purple and red and yellow and orange!
9 comments:
I love that shirt......
That is a one of a kind shirt! WOW! I do lots of shopping at thrift stores- you never know what you will find and it is always worth the time. :) I love that you "wear in" the clothes for your grandkids and their friends.
~Jess
Bruce...actually I like it to...it washes well and he is wearing it more than once. It may become a "favorite" before it's faded.
Jess...I started thrift shopping way back when my kids were young in the 1960's and still have art treasures I found. My best friend and I still usually spend a day checking them out when we visit. :D
This really brings back memories of myself as a teenager, excited to buy a tshirt with a colorful image on the front of my favorite music group. And i recall my disappointment when i first realized that the colors quickly fade after a run through the washer and dryer.
Jon, I think they have improved those band tee shirts and may be why they are so pricey now if you buy them at a concert. The boys Dad's favorite band has long been Rush and he's taken them to those concerts for years and bought them tee shirts and they seem to hold color much better than I too remember they used to. :)
Jon...your "disappointed" memory reminded me of this story. I took my daughter and her friend to a Dionne Warwick concert, a favorite of mine, in Houston decades ago. A man dressed like a secret service agent came up and handed my daughter a note. It was from Michael Jackson. The man said he would come back just before the end of the concert and get the girls if they would like to meet Michael and Dionne back stage. He pointed Michael out in the front row in his military style suit and it was him. Of course the girls went bananas, until Mamma told the man Mamma would have to tag along. He never came back.
I did buy my disappointed daughter a pink tee shirt with Dionne's picture on it but when I washed it, her long black curly hair dribbled all over the pink. We just have to accept there are going to be a few faded disappointments along life's unpredictable highway. :)))
You're hilarious, Anna! That is a super colorful shirt.
I've taught my kids to thrift shop too and to avoid pricey stores but even the thrift stores are kind of pricey around here. Oh well. Great post.
The thrift store prices around here are a lot higher than they used to be also Grace...I think a lot of folks have discovered them and pushed the prices up.
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