Husband's eclectic wardrobe

AnD1

This is a great post and has had me laughing and cheering myself up no end. Thank you

Thank you AnD21. I've come back few times since starting it. Great insight into the lives of our fellow GNers.

Warned MrM about the amount of charity gift clothes he has. I counted 18 short sleeved shirts the other day. In our 7 years together I've never seen him in one.

Best charity gift he has from one friend was a Weird Fish sweatshirt.

In had to smile thinking of his electric wardrobe

When I met OH he used to buy multi-coloured Italian leather shoes with heels (early 70s), that cost him one week's wages from a small local shop. He was very vain about his clothes - Ben Sherman shirts, bow ties, velvet jackets. He had to wear a suit for work and used to buy colourful silk ties. I sometimes wonder where he went! After years of never entering a charity shop we went in a very upmarket one on holiday and he got some lovely almost new clothes for very reasonable prices. Now retired, he'll have clothes patched or sewn before he gives them up and never wears a suit. He won't wear shorts or jeans (too old) and any new clothes, when his are completely falling to pieces, come from Debenhams own range. Not sure what he'll do when they close down. I can't complain - all my clothes come from charity shops now and I have enough to see me out so I'm determined to use them all and not buy anything else!

Our son and daughter in law both work in fashion and over the years my DH has been dressed in Levi’s, G Star Raw, Vans, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Barbour. He has snake hips so can wear Zara jeans and trousers which I find to always be on the small side.

My hubby mostly wears "Cotton Traders" Shirts, T Shirts etc ( he has a rare skin complaint that means he cannot wear anything other than cotton or silk, and he is also a larger size i.e. 3XL). We rarely go out socially these days (prior to Covid). but he does own a leather jacket and a couple of good suits. He won't wear Jeans or Chino's, but does like to look clean and presentable.

Out of curiosity I recently counted the stuff in my husbands 3 double wardrobes ( all with two hanging bars). There are 52 shirts, 36 polo shirts, 7 pairs of jeans, 3 chinos, 5 suits, 2 dinner suits, 23 jumpers and 16 pairs of shoes and smart boots and two pairs Timberlands. I didn’t even bother with the chest of drawers that holds shorts and casual t shirts.Favourite shops Gant, Lewins, Ralph Lauren. He was told on our last cruise Christmas 2019 that he always looked smart.

If I don’t watch him he will throw out good new stuff in favour of old tatty things. He has a penchant for Aldi clothes recently, not exactly high fashion. He is your typical mad professor , comfort rather than style and I sometimes wonder whether he is colour blind.

This is a great post and has had me laughing and cheering myself up no end. Thank you

When I lived in Suffolk there was still an American base near Woodbridge. When the Americans went home they gave clothes and shoes to the Salvation Army who used to have a weekly sale. A friend who lived used to go most weeks and she kitted out her family - husband, son and daughter - only with serious labels. Christian Dior, YSL and Ralph Lauren. None of them minded wearing them - the school friends would have been impressed by the Ralph Lauren Polo shirts for example. One day she bought a woolen coat by Escada for £3. She beat me to it but I have it now. At the time (late 90s) it would have cost around £500 - now the overcoats are around £2000.

There is a charity shop in Hanover Square (London) which is apparently a very good source of clothes. I've never been but friends have found serious labels for not much money.

My DH refuses to wear jeans since he bought a pair of Levi's as a teenager and found them too stiff. He wears the same 'uniform' he has worn for 50 years.
He has two pairs of decent polyester trousers from Matalan that he wears alternate weeks with open-necked blue or grey shirts, short sleeved in summer. He has a wardrobe full of old shirts with paint on them that he keeps for when he might do decorating or DIY, but then he forgets to change and gets paint on one of the few decent shirts he was given for Christmas.
Same with the trousers- a pile of old ones in the bottom of the wardrobe but never changes into them. I've just ironed last week's trousers and- guess what- spatters of white gloss paint!
He also buys the same black slip-on shoes from Shoezone and was delighted last week to find they were on special offer- he bought two pairs for under £18. His old ones were so worn bits kept coming off them.
I knew he would never be a natty dresser since we met so I just accept that's the way he is. At work he wore overalls so he has never had to bother about his appearance. My Gran objected to the fact he never wore a tie and nagged me to buy him one- but he has loads he never wears. He can't stand anything that isn't open-necked and doesn't feel the cold so rarely puts on a jumper or sweatshirt.

My OH has awful taste in clothes. He would like to dress exactly like Noel Fielding or Julian Clary.

My DH only buys when its worn out then has the cheek to complain the menswear dept is so much smaller than the womans in dept stores! I wonder why when most men only buy when they have to says l.

My husband loves buying new clothes and shoes, he has so many outfits, each year he buys new from Weird fish Next and other brands. Lots of his clothes vanish a couple of years later, even though they have never been worn. He has to make room for the next lot, so is he really well dressed? No chance, he wears the same jeans and tee-shirts and fleece tops all the time. The last time he wore one of his many suits was our wedding, I have stopped taking him to Christmas dinners at the various associations I belong to because I will be in a smart dress and he will be in jeans and tee shirt even though he has about 18 pairs of trousers and dozens of shirts, as well as loads of suits. Anyone else's husband have over 20 pairs of shoes and boots? All lined up along his bedroom wall

M0nica I think our husbands are twins - at least regarding suit wearing!

My husband took early retirement twenty years ago, hung up his business suits and ties and (apart from one one suit and black tie used for funerals) refuses point blank to re-visit them, no matter where we are going (or, would have been - thanks, Covid).

He now lives 'in comfort' as he tells me with a uniform of baggy clothes. I love clothes so we are like chalk and cheese but perhaps opposites do attract.....

I despair of my husband ever growing up. He wears jeans, his favourite band t shirts and converse trainers. Leather jacket and/or hoodie when its chilly. Suit/shirt/sensible shoes reserved for weddings and funerals. The tie (he owns one) worn for the absolute minimum time, then shoved in his pocket! He spends more money on his carefully chosen running kit and trainers!

My oh used to get most of his clothes from C&A when we had them, he admits he was not bothered about clothes when we met I encouraged him to get a new wardrobe ,I loved it when he wore shirt and ties when we went out he is more casual now ,he wears joggers in house ,chino or cords when going out .

Mr Barmey buys the odd piece of clothing when something wears out. At the moment I am repairing a jumper for him so he won't be replacing that,. When I suggest another pair of trousers et he will say I have 2 why do I need more. Also when we go onholiay we each do our own packing and I have a sneaky look in his case and wonder if we are both going on the same holiday. We use to buy his suits for work from the Charity shops and sometimes the odd shirt but doesn't bother so much now.

lucky you lauranorder, i wish catman was more flamboyant in his attire. he would not have any clothes unless i bought them for him, and before anyone suggests that i get him something more colourful, he wouldn't wear it! i have done so in the past but his taste is quite conservative, and the results are still in the wardrobe, unworn!

my dh had some corduroy trousers from M&S he wouldn’t get rid of them for years. After one or two wears they became baggy and shapeless and dh and I hated them,
Dh persuaded him to ditch them, and she has got to update his clothes, for an 80 year old he’s looking much smarter.

My OH has a thing for coats always black and thick. They all look identical and he never wears any of them. He also wears the old man uniform of shorts, short sleeve check shirt and shoes with rolled down socks even in winter. He tends to buy is clothes from sports or camping shops.

When I had a houseful of children and rarely managed to completely empty the ironing basket I would hide OH tatty teeshirts at the bottom for a few months and then suggest it could be disposed of as it was so tatty he hadn't worn it for ages! It was the only way to get rid of it

That should read wonderful

I think it is wo fearful that your husband shops from charity shops. Someone comments her husband takes 'pride' in his clothing. Well I think it is wrong to assume that someone who shops like your husband does not have a similar pride! I would be thinking he tends to shop for items himself which is great. Some husbands act like great big kids and the wives encourage such behaviour lol. I would not want to be with someone who acted like that. No. I would want to be with someone who dared to go against the need to waste resources by buying at least some clothing secondhand. We live in such a privileged, throwaway society yet still a large proportion of the world go starving. So support local Charities and send your husbands along the streets on a Saturday morning to look for bargains in the charity shops. I was introduced to this compulsion a few years back si it is a source of frustration that they are all closed just now. No.I do not buy all my stuff from them but you can pick up some lovely bits and Bob's if you give it a try ?

My husband never throws any of his clothes out. They have a pathway.Firstly worn for best then smartish casual then , after I nag, they are relegated to garden\allotment wear where they stay for probably years until they fall apart They are then used as rags! You do see far fewer men's clothes at jumble sales or in charity shops than women's, probably for the same reason.

My OH was always incredibly smart and fussy about his clothes - always a bespoke suit, waistcoat, sparkling white shirt, cufflinks, although this was also dictated by his working in the City. For years he wore a suit at weekends - said he felt comfortable . We have managed to loosen him up a little, especially since retirement, but he still veers towards the formal. I buy most of his clothes, always have since we married, as he is a standard size and everything seems to fit him.

I rather admire a man who doesn't fall for vanity. Clothes are one of our huge money and resources wasters and he is doing his bit for the planet and the charities. We have lived off (really good finds) from charity shops for years. The trick is SEARCH AND BE SELECTIVE. Our wardrobes are full of labels, cashmere and all wool sweaters, tweeds and lots of natural fibres, Liberty prints, Jaeger as well as M&S and some excellent leather boots. I do buy Ecco shoes though as I have very peculiar feet. My husband can manage in Clarks. I think we always look presentable when we go out and have a few special items for 'best' but other than that we rarely need to overspend on clothes