Frequent readers of this blog know I don’t rush off to buy new clothes very often. (I’m in my third year of “no new clothes.”) But I will buy used clothing on occasion.
And, yesterday, it was that time again.
Several of my old T-shirts were ready for the workshop, i.e., as stain rags. My “shop” shorts were ripped in several places. I felt I needed one more button-down shirt for fancy dress parties.
Frequent readers know where I usually head to renew supplies. The Village of Values is right, with 20 bucks in my pocket.
Years ago, after I showed off a new ‘used’ sweater during a meal with a dozen fellow hikers at a nice restaurant in Waterloo, a friend said - somewhat in shock - “You don’t wear other people’s clothing, do you?”
["Gord's all set for this summer, next year too": photos GH]
I was embarrassed for several seconds.
Then I realized, I like saving money. I don’t mind ‘hand-me-downs’ because I grew up in the 1950s wearing them and so did a lot of my friends at the time.
["Do the math. I had to borrow a buck from my wife."]
Guess what? So did a few of my friends around that dinner table in Waterloo. It was a good lesson for me. No need to feel like I’d broken some kind of immutable law, or feel shame. I wasn’t alone. Never will be. Some of the finest people I know grew up wearing their older brother’s pants.
Today I shop for new ‘used’ without a second’s thought. (Sorry, I lied. I do wonder if I’m just the second person to wear my new ‘used’ summer shorts!) Just about everything we touch and wear ends up at the dump. By the time I’m through with things, e.g., as a paint rag, they’re good and ready.
Admittedly, no one will ever call me a fashion plate.
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Do you buy second-hand clothes? New ‘used’? Hand-me-downs? Feel any shame? (You shouldn’t.)
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