Good clothes

leroy · Post by **leroy** » 18 Jun 2012, 13:06

I recently bought some new jeans- went to the Levi's shop and tried a few pairs on, and to my slight horror found myself choosing the 501s- now in mid-30s, must be turning into my dad

. A few days later I was clearing out some drawers and came across a pair of well-worn silver-tabs that I wore as a teenager, and in comparing the thickness of the material and quality of the stitching, concluded that they would be a better addition to any bug-out bag as a durable pair of trousers than my brand new red-tabs.

Anyone got any suggestions of the best places to buy clothes that don't wear out easily? Pure cotton and woollen socks? I have a load of gardening/labouring/workwear stuff generally by Dickies and Carhartt, the former of which is not brilliantly made and the latter, while fantastic, does make one look a bit like a late 90s NYC crack dealer. But for attire suitable for situations falling between army-surplus aesthetic and the assured-quality of a bespoke suit, what do you get? Please no comments to the effect of "we won't worry about what we look like when we're roasting the neighbours' dog on the fire"- I am looking for a slightly more nuanced response than that.

Post by **adam2** » 18 Jun 2012, 13:25

Jeans have the merits of ready availability, washability, and reasonable price if not designer or famous brands.

They are not however the best choice for most emergency or survival situations.
The heavy cotton looses all insulation value if wet, and takes a long time time to dry.
Most syles are a fairly tight fit and might impair movement in an emergency, especialy if they "shrink in storage"

If planning for the long term, I would purchase a good supply of whatever jeans or other trousers that you wear normally, perhaps in a size bigger than you normally wear so as to allow for easy movement and/or the wearing of long underpants.
Consider these for everday wear in a future where replacements might not be affordable.

If planning for some short term emergency, then mid-weight, generously sized poly-cotton work trousers might be a better bet, and waterproof overtrousers for heavy rain.
A dark colour might be advisable in order to keep a low profile in an emergency.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 18 Jun 2012, 14:41

Marvellous Other 1/2 wears Rohan fttt: they look good, seem well-made and wash and dry well.

If you think it's difficult for you to get decent quality, durable, presentable and useful kit, spare a thought for us girlies. I tend to wear wool sweaters (I scour the earth looking for ones with a waistline) and stretch leggins (because no female keks even go up to the waist these days, let alone have a waistline!). I buy a lot of stuff second-hand: it's cheaper, better quality, and as I said, I have an old-fashioned figure.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 18 Jun 2012, 16:49

I've just sent off for some Amish patterns. I'm going to have a go at knocking up some broad-fall pants and waistcoats for myself. This is more of a functional exercise as opposed to an aesthetic/philosophical exercise than you might imagine. I am 6 foot five inches tall and built like a thug. It's a complete ball-ache to get hold of clothes that fit me. Hence I have decided to bite the bullet and make my own. The Amish patterns just happen to be the simplest and so make the greatest sense for me to have a go at.

If they turn out OK, I'll post some pictures up on here

If they don't turn out OK, you will never hear about this from me ever again.....

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 18 Jun 2012, 18:42

Steve, I think you'll look rather fetching in your new apparel. Only joking.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 18 Jun 2012, 20:41

I wear gilets/waistcoats quite a lot. Very useful for keeping the core warm while limbs are freer to do stuff.

There used to be a chain "High and Mighty" for clothes for tall blokes (and "Long Tall Sally" for women), but I haven't seen them lately.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 18 Jun 2012, 20:46

RenewableCandy wrote:I wear gilets/waistcoats quite a lot. Very useful for keeping the core warm while limbs are freer to do stuff.

There used to be a chain "High and Mighty" for clothes for tall blokes (and "Long Tall Sally" for women), but I haven't seen them lately.

High and Mighty's clothes are absolute crap. They are appallingly made and fall apart in no time. To add insult to injury, they cost way over the mark. I get most of my clothes off cotton traders who sell quit e fews items in large size. Even then, I am always having to put up with things that are never quite big enough.

Kentucky Fried Panda · Post by **Kentucky Fried Panda** » 18 Jun 2012, 20:53

For cotton canvas cargo trousers I went with 5.11 Tactical. I bought 10 pairs and so far one pair has spilt and another has had a zip fail. I have been wearing them for work since 2007. They're originally designed for rock climbing so there's a bit of room to move and they don't come in skinny leg fit... Avoid the camouflage patterns. I got black, grey, khaki, tan and OD.
Back then the $/£ was almost 2-1, shipping was cheap and I stocked up from American ebay.

I got 30 pairs of wool blend socks from Costco about the same time and must have thrown 18 pairs away by now. The horizon wool snow boarding socks I've had since 2002 are still hole free and going strong. If only I could find the same quality again.

My main outdoor foul gear is goretex military surplus, unfortunately in a camouflage pattern, but excellent stuff for the price.
I've also got cheap hi-viz over trousers and jackets by the crate load, a bulk buy along with some PPE for work. Gloves too, kevlar fabric ones are best for working with tools or near sharp steel.

For keeping your clothes in good nick, consider a few boiler suits. Or for cold weather an insulated polar suit, they're about £80- and I've worn one to work inside -25 degree cold storage freezers. In a pinch you can sleep wearing one and it's warmer than most sleeping bags.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 18 Jun 2012, 21:14

Aurora wrote:Steve, I think you'll look rather fetching in your new apparel. Only joking.

I'm thinking more along these lines:

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 18 Jun 2012, 21:27

Natty. Good luck with your clobber, Steve.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 18 Jun 2012, 21:43

stevecook172001 wrote: I'm thinking more along these lines

Cool dude!

Post by **adam2** » 21 Jun 2012, 10:21

Kentucky Fried Panda wrote:For keeping your clothes in good nick, consider a few boiler suits. Or for cold weather an insulated polar suit, they're about £80- and I've worn one to work inside -25 degree cold storage freezers. In a pinch you can sleep wearing one and it's warmer than most sleeping bags.

I would certainly second the suggestion about boilersuits or other overalls/workwear.
Such garments are not only for paid employment, but useful around the home.
They are durable and stand repeated hot washing.
Dayglo overalls enhance safety on or near roads, and dark blue have the merit of keeping a low profile, which might be important.

I find boilersuits rather restrictive, but often wear overall coats/wharehouse coats. These are cheap and durable, have large pockets for the small tools, parts and keys that I would otherwise misplace.
Such garments should be genoursly sized so as to permit of wearing warm clothing under them in winter.

New workwear can be obtained cheaply from ebay.

Secondhand, ex rental workwear can be obtained very cheaply indeed from a supplier in London.
This is a shop in SCLATER STREET, near brick lane market, opens on SUNDAYS ONLY from about 08-00 until about 13-00.
They have a vast selection of laundered ex hotel linens, towels, table clothes, bathrobes, and work wear.
They sometimes have new, second grade or surplus articles as well.
I have no connection with this firm, but would recomend a visit if in the area.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 26 Jun 2012, 18:38

A waxed cotton jacket will provide years of service, keeping the wind and rain out, and protecting other clothing when working outdoors. Easily re-proofed and repaired with locally available materials. You don't have to spend a fortune on a Barbour original either. I bought one for about 20 quid in a motorway service station years ago, and it's still going strong.

Also, cotton ventile clothing, which works on its close weave to achieve water resistance. Again easy to repair and long lasting. Expensive new, but will last a long time.

bealers · Post by **bealers** » 02 Jul 2012, 18:31

In a fit of extravagance I bought some Fjallraven trousers around 3 years ago (not sure of the model but they were around £70).

An absolutely fantastic purchase, not only do they dry in record time - initially they come wax covered but (obviously) when you wash them that is gone unless you re-wax - but they are also pretty tough and have loads of good pockets including one for a knife/small axe.

They are starting to wear out now, I'd say they've got a year or so left in them, so I'd love to know of a cheaper alternative as the cheapest ones now seem to be £100. It's the quick dry which is so important, with a pair of those on and a wide brimmed hat rain is no longer a problem as long as it's not torrential.