As a general rule, I try to throw out or pass along clothes that I haven't worn in over a year. However.. I have been known to hold onto t-shirts years after they probably should have been cut up into rags for waxing the family car. Case in point.. my Disney World Tee that is older than my nine year old daughter..
I bought this tee at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, back in 2000. I fell in love with the tiki print on the front of the shirt, and didn't think twice about buying it. Have you ever owned a shirt that looked good, and fit perfect even when you put on a few pounds during the holidays? This was one of those shirts! I wore it often over the next couple years, until little holes started forming on the front of the shirt. I'm no slob.. so once this started happening, I stopped wearing it out in public. I continued wearing the shirt at home, but the front continued to wear until I was bothered enough by the dozen or so small holes to stop wearing it entirely.
I haven't wore this shirt for close to five years now, but I can't bring myself to throw it out and I'm not entirely sure why. It's not as if I can repair it or anything, but I guess it does have some great memories attached to it. While I currently have about a dozen older shirts I'm hanging on to, they are in perfect shape and am holding onto them for when I drop about ten pounds. The Tiki shirt is the only worn out shirt I currently posess. Don't think I haven't looked high and low for another one either! There are numerous resources on the web where you can buy old Disney shirts and overstock items, but I've yet to come across a twin to my prized Disney Tiki shirt.
I guess the next time I come across "The perfect Tee" I'll just have to buy two of them!
A friend of ours just posted a picture of my husband fishing in Alaska in the mid-eighties on Facebook. My son and I cracked up when we saw the photo because he still has that tee shirt. Although he does not wear it in public, he still wears it around the house. Great post Daddy-o.
ReplyDeleteMadame: That's funny! I'll admit.. I've got some shirts that are over a decade old, but they're in great shape and I wear them often. However, I don't think I own one scrap of clothing from the 80's! LOL!!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that is a FACT! Mark has loads of t-shirts with holes poking through, he wears them in public though!
ReplyDeleteOne especially is quite bad, it's a Henry Rollins t-shirt, all holey and ripped *sigh*
He does throw socks away if they start to fall apart, he's not that bad hehe! x
Whenever I run into a shirt that is no long presentable, but still hanging in my closet and I just cannot bare to lose it, I recreate. My craftiness is not very high, but shirts have become bags many times in my household.
ReplyDeleteGood grief, I still have shirts from the 80s. A 9 year old shirt is nothing.
ReplyDeleteWe've got concert Ts from the 80s that we can't part with. We were young and skinny back then, and there's no hope of fitting into them now, but we just can't get rid of them!!
ReplyDeleteI can't get rid of any of my Walt Disney World shirts. I have a ton from early 90's through current ones. I even have a 70's one that my aunt gave me, I wasn't alive in the 70's! I wear most of them and some I have moved to the only at night but I can't get rid of them!
ReplyDeleteI love this story!
ReplyDeleteYep, fact! I have gotten better lately, but there were many shirts I have worn that did not do a good job of covering anything. When your chest hair sticks out of your shirt, it pretty much defeats the purpose of wearing a shirt in the first place. I have also been guilty of holding on to socks and underwear that have been over worn.
My older brother takes it to a whole new level sometimes, wearing jeans with holes in the crotch. Sometimes he doesn't wear underwear, either. He is handsome, so he gets away with it.
Great minds! I've been thinking that if I see "the perfect tee" I need to buy two next time!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely shouldn't throw that shirt out, though!
I hope you find your shirt again :) I had to laugh from the get-go, as I have two pairs of Mr.4444's holey jeans hidden away in my closet. I'm afraid to throw them out for breaking his heart, but I just couldn't take his wearing them anymore!! haha
ReplyDeleteSteffie: HA! Awesome!! I could pull off a holey shirt if I was about 20 pounds lighter..... maybe.. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAshley: Hmmm.... good way to keep the memories alive girl!!
Retro Hound: HA! I must admit... I came close to buying a 50 year old camp shirt once! My oldest shirt currently is probably about 15 years old.
Carol: Heh Heh. I can totally relate to that! You've got good memories which really make it "more" than a shirt!
Casey: A vintage 70's Disney Tee!! You might have some money there!! I wish I had some of the old hats my grandma bought me when I was a wee lad!!
Dan: HA!! That's too funny! Sadly.. I'm not in the "I look so good I can wear anything and pull it off club". LOL!!
Rich: I will definitely do that next time! And I really can't foresee myself getting rid of the tiki tee!
Mrs4444: HA!! Wonder if he knows they're still there? Hmmmmm... now you've got me wondering if my bride has ever pulled such shenanigans on me! LOL!!
It's not just guys! ;)
ReplyDeleteI've been known to hold onto clothes I no longer wear for sentimental reasons, and they're not even "special" clothes like a wedding dress or something. Ah well.
Yes, it's a fact. I have to tear up Marty's old t-shirts (which are usually torn to begin with)and use them as rags. On one occasion I didn't tear it up enough and he found it and wore it!
ReplyDeleteMy Dad never throws away his clothes, mom does it for him!
ReplyDeleteDad, I am sure you throw things away, it is just when it comes to anything from Disney, you treat it like a treasure. Trust me, we have TONS of shirts from Disney that we never threw out. I can't bring myself to do so either. You just can't! You never know if will become a collectible and they will set up tables to trade old shirts like pin trading. (which we do as well)
ReplyDeleteUmmm, you? A hoarder? Nah... why would you ever think that??
ReplyDeleteYou're right about that, they keep everything. Your blog always reminds me of the show Cold Case, wuth the retro theme.
ReplyDeleteGinge: Thank goodness it's not just men... or me! LOL!
ReplyDeletePat: Ha!! He wore it?!? That's awesome!!
Binksy: I think my mom did the same thing with my old man!!
O-SAHM: Shirt trading.. Now that's a thought. Now I can NEVER throw it away!! LOL!!
Bambi: HA! Can you believe I actually used to be worse?!? I've scaled down my collecting quite a bit!
Secretia: Aw.. now THAT is a compliment. Thank you!! It makes me want to retro the place up a bit more!
Its socks that are getting holes in with me. I normally keep them as my shoes are normally covering them, but I can guarantee there is normally a time when I go round someones house and forget I have my holey socks on, cue me sitting there with my big toe sticking out.
ReplyDeleteSexy.
Thanks for stopping by my place the other day. Was nice to meet you. Excellent blog you have going here. Mind if I stay?
Dan: HA! I tend to hold onto my socks for a bit longer than I should as well, but as soon as the holes appear, I try to toss em out. Thanks for swingin' by! I'll see ya around!!
ReplyDeleteAm I the only guy who wears about 1/2 dozen things, but has about 15 lineal feet of closet and 4 dresser drawers filled up? Or who still has one of the first blazers he ever wore because hes' *sure* that he'll fit into it again some day? Oh, well - that's what being a guy is all about, right?
ReplyDeleteBFTP: I've got some stuff I "hope" to fit in this spring! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI keep my clothes so long that they often become popular again! The secret is keeping them buried in the back of the closet for about 10 years when they go through their "unpopular" phase!
ReplyDeleteDave: Hmmmm. I could do that! I just need a bigger closet. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled upon this blog looking for help with my reluctance to part with old clothes. My wife has been totally up my butt lately due to the fact I have 3 closets full of clothes in our house mostly comprised of items I have not worn in years and most of those items I honestly probably only wore a handful of times.
ReplyDeleteI could really relate to the T-shirt thing. Today my wife insisted that the small basement closet be made clothes free. Even with reshuffling this was going to require about 50 shirts to say goodbye. None was harder than the Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls T-shirt that was about 10 years old. Completely faded with many small holes and completely ripped out down the side under one arm pit it had been relegated to occasional sleepwear and probably hadn't even made that cut but once in the past year. What was it about this T-shirt...I have 50 others....I buy several new ones every year....There was nothing particularly memorable about this particular vacation that should have gave that shirt any more sentimental value than 100 other T-shirts I have bought on vacation. There was just something in that T-shirt.....I had to shred it with my hands and put it in the trash..I just couldn't allow it to leave my possesion while it was still remotely wearable....I don't know that it can ever be replaced...lol
Man.. I feel ya! LOL I have to MAKE myself "rotate" my collection of tee's every six months. I throw out the old ratty shirts, and fill up my daily wear drawer with other shirts that are in tip top shape. It was tough.. but its become easier with time!
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