About 7 years ago, I was the happy recipient of 21 men's shirts from Freecycle. I sent several to big grandson after conferring with my daughter. She may have used them for rags or set them out on the sidewalk as free. I don't care. They were all in excellent shape and excellent brand names.
The rest I gave to exbf. He picked out what he liked and what fit him. He is still wearing them. I think he took 10 shirts. A few months ago, he had on really nice jeans, the kind that are just a big baggy in the leg and pegged a bit at the bottom. I complimented the look, the fit. (maybe they are out of style). Since I had never seen them, I questioned him.
He worked as the guy at the gas station at Sam's club. Now, he is a greeter. A regular customer came in one day and asked him if he would like a stack of pants. He had lost weight and thought exbf might be able to wear that size. I think the guy had six pair. He gladly took all the guy offered and all fit.
I found unused socks in a free box one day. He wears those, too.
So, the exbf is practically clothed for free. He is easy on clothes at his job. He cannot mow his yard or mine. But, all old clothing is saved for work that might damage clothing.
Neither the shirts or pans had stains, holes, or any signs of wear. It's not that he will wear anything! He has okay taste and looks good in his free, barely worn clothing.
Your turn
Do you have anyone in your family that is lucky enough to get free clothing? Does your family rebel against free clothing, used or new? Got a spectacular free clothing story or a mundane story?
One of my favorite sweaters came from a garbage bag full of clothes that our former maintenance man gave me when his daughter had gained weight and was going to give them to Goodwill. He asked me if I wanted them first, and I said yes.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few items from that bag still in my wardrobe, but I had always wanted a "beatnik sweater," so the plain black turtleneck sweater gets the most wear. Maybe some day I'll find a free beret and walk around looking very eccentric!
Jess
"a raspberry beret, the kind you find at a second hand store? ? (from a song)
DeleteI love bags of clothes since there is always a chance of finding at least one thing you like and can use.
Raspberry would work! Any color would do, really. One of my friends from college used to sing that song, among others, just out of the blue when she was bored or driving.
DeleteI agree--bags of clothes are great!
Okay, glad you knew the song. It does lend itself to spontaneous outbursts.
DeleteA friend of mine knows some people who buy a lot of clothes and then donate them to charity barely worn. When my friend realised what was happening she asked if she could have the clothes, neither she nor I fit them but my daughters do. My daughters' style isn't really compatible with most of the freebies but we nearly always get two or three useful pieces and trying on things they would never have considered if they had to pay for them has expanded the girls' style range.
ReplyDeleteWe have had a lot of hand me downs from various places over the years, some in very good condition, some obviously loved but perfectly ok. It always feels like a bonus to get them
kylie,
DeleteYour daughters are lucky . They can take a chance on styles. When I was a little child, my aunt worked for someone with money and two little girls just a size larger than my sister and I. We wore some fancy clothes. Then, we moved. Yes, it must feel like a bonus.
We love free or cheap clothing around. Free and used is fine; cheap and used is fine. The more, the better.
ReplyDelete444,
DeleteExactly
My kids wore only used clothing until about 2nd grade. Now, it's harder to find their sizes, but thrift shops are always are first stop. I pretty much only wear used/thrifted clothing. Back in my early 20's, when I was working a 9-5, my best friend managed a mall clothing store...she got lots of samples. Periodically, she'd weed out her clothes, and I would get to pore through the bag before she donated them. Yeah! Luckier, my family doesn't reject the second-hand lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteMeg, B..
DeleteLucky you.
I don't think that we have come up with any good finds like that. But my MIL and FIL have very large families so everyone passes things around so they don't go to waste.
ReplyDeleteSonya Ann,
DeleteI didn't have a large family to pass things around. However, I passed clothing to my sister' girl, and she gave them back for my younger daughter,
You are lucky to have such a large pool for clothing.
My friends one time gave me a huge bag of clothes for my boys. We took what fit, then passed it to another family
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
DeleteThat sounds like a good deal for lots of people.
Hi Linda...the only memory I have of free clothing was when I was about 10. A friend of my mother's gave her a bag of clothing that absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke. She washed them severla times and hung them outside to air but never got that smell out. Lovely clothes too. My mother was a sunday school teacher and would have been mortified to wear them. I of course am a thrift store addict and have to restrain myself from buying any more clothes. We have some great thrift stores around here and it really spoils you for retail.
ReplyDeletecarol,
Deletemy father smoked, so I supposed we all reeked of cigarette smoke!
I used Amway LOC to soak a dress I bought that had been in a store fire. Amway in water, soaked did the trick to remove the smoke smell.
I cannot stand long enough to find good bargains.