does it ever bother you that vintage clothing is a deceased person's clothing?

[green papaya]

I think I would prefer to wear modern recreations of vintage , old clothing has an odd odor that doesnt smell very pleasant, kind of like the smell when you walk into a thrift store full of old clothing

 

[LizzieMaine]

I live in a dead person's house, sit on a dead person's furniture, sleep in a dead person's bed -- why should I be bothered by wearing their clothes? After all, every single thing any of us own will eventually be a dead person's belongings and someone else will be using or wearing them.

 

[St.Ignatz]

I think I would prefer to wear modern recreations of vintage , old clothing has an odd odor that doesnt smell very pleasant, kind of like the smell when you walk into a thrift store full of old clothing

Try a dry cleaners. I suppose if they had died IN the clothing and weren't discovered for a few days it would have some effect on my decision but nah no problem at all.
Tom D.

 

[gtdean48]

I've worn hats, shirts, slacks & boots worn by my dead grandfather & dead father.
I figure many of the vintage hats I have from the 40's, 50's & early 60's are from dead people.
I hope someday that somebody is enjoying any of my prior garments, hats or boots after I'm gone.
Good stuff should last ages....

 

[sheeplady]

I grew up pretty close to a culture where death is considered natural and not at all "shunned" or "hidden"- I'm only a generation away from my family holding "viewings" and "wakes" in their homes, and it actually would not bother me to have one in my home. Death is a natural part of life. I grew up on a farm, and I saw enough death (both kind and unkind) to know that it is the natural conclusion of our time here. It is not something to be squirreled away to hospitals or made out to be unnatural or foreign, in my opinion, no matter how unpleasant. When my parents' times come, I'd prefer for them to pass in their own home. If I had a viewing (they have requested no viewings and a private memorial service graveside and I will respect that) I'd much rather have it in their home than a funeral parlor.

Dead people's clothing or jewelry doesn't bother me. I don't like or wear "hair jewelry" (hair from the deceased was often made into jewelry in the Victorian era) because I feel it's disrespectful to wear it in a casual way when you're not in mourning. Also, it's delicate and I'd probably damage it and I don't have an appropriate place to wear it anyways. I might consider wearing it if it came from a family member, as then I'd have a personal connection, but I'd only wear it when I wanted to personally remember and respect them. I don't have any family pieces (or any pieces) so that's moot.

Dead people don't typically bother people (with the exception of zombies). Cemeteries make quiet neighbors (except in the event of a zombie apocalypse).

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

And the dead don't seem to mind cause they're not complaining.

 

[O2BSwank]

Well, If you find some vintage furniture or decorator item it probably came from an estate sale which usually means that the owner has died. I have a jacket that belonged to my father who has passed away. I think that it would please him that I am getting some use from it. I really wish that I could have had my grandfather's ring, watch or hat which I would be glad to own and wear. Since I can't, I'll find someone else's grandfathers stuff to wear. Air out, wash or dryclean as needed

 

[rue]

I live in a dead person's house, sit on a dead person's furniture, sleep in a dead person's bed -- why should I be bothered by wearing their clothes? After all, every single thing any of us own will eventually be a dead person's belongings and someone else will be using or wearing them.

Exactly.

 

[rue]

The only thing I wonder about when I wear vintage clothing or use anything else that belonged to someone else is ....... what was that person like? Were they happy? Did they enjoy said item as much as I do? Things like that

 

[sheeplady]

And the dead don't seem to mind cause they're not complaining.

When a well dressed zombie comes towards you saying: "Give me back my fedora!!! Give me back my pillbox!!!" then you'll know they mind. For sure.

The only thing I wonder about when I wear vintage clothing or use anything else that belonged to someone else is ....... what was that person like? Were they happy? Did they enjoy said item as much as I do? Things like that

Me too. And do they know I appreciate it so much?

 

[Flicka]

The only thing I wonder about when I wear vintage clothing or use anything else that belonged to someone else is ....... what was that person like? Were they happy? Did they enjoy said item as much as I do? Things like that

Me too! I love to know the story behind things. I love it when I buy things and the seller tells me if the item's story. My 3 pairs of '30s shoes for example -- the seller told me they had been her mother's and that the one unused pair had been too small for her. Or my art deco earrings, when the seller told me that they had belonged to his grandmother, born in 1897, and that they had lain untouched in her jewellery box since she died in the '60s and the reason he sold them was that he thought they deserved to be used.

I have lots of my grandparent's stuff, and I swear that every year when I take out their Christmas ornaments, I can feel their presence -- like a small gust of benevolence and happiness at seeing them used.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

It's funny the things that remind you of departed loved ones. I have a pair of my Mom's pinking shears -- she did a lot of sewing -- which I use for general purposes and, I swear, the sound that they make remind me of her.

 

[William Stratford]

I think I would prefer to wear modern recreations of vintage , old clothing has an odd odor that doesnt smell very pleasant, kind of like the smell when you walk into a thrift store full of old clothing

It actually used to be the norm in society, before consumerism was invented with the notion that new is best (in service to industrialised mass production and its financiers, which needs a constant turnover of new purchases), where instead we remembered inheriting is the core of real life. Afterall your DNA was also inherited from dead people.

 

[Edward]

Never caused me to think twice.... except when I was fourteen and first got into army surplus clothing. Back then, I had a morbid fascination with the idea that someone had died or been wounded in the uniform bits I wore. I my eyes it gave them an added cachet. Fortunately I grew out of that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Never caused me to think twice.... except when I was fourteen and first got into army surplus clothing. Back then, I had a morbid fascination with the idea that someone had died or been wounded in the uniform bits I wore. I my eyes it gave them an added cachet. Fortunately I grew out of that.

The only item I own that kind of gives me the creeps is a WW1 German army gas mask that I found in a trunk full of stuff I bought years ago. It was brought home as a war trophy, and every time I look at it I wonder what happened to its original owner. He likely didn't come home from wherever it is he was sent.

 

[green papaya]

I have a military bayonet collection and many are captured war souvineers from the enemy, I sometimes wonder if some may have been used in combat? some are from the 1850's - WWII era

but I read that bayonets are rarely ever used in combat, mostly used during guard duty or as a tool

but clothing is different, it may still have the sweat & smell of the previous owner, clothing is a more personal item than other objects like a book or old dishes, etc

 

[DonnaP]

The first time I went to an estate sale I remember feeling very uncomfortable that we were walking around the house and rummaging through the things of someone who had just died. It just seemed sad to me and I didn't buy anything. That was probably about 15 years ago and since then I've grown to feel much differently. I went to a sale yesterday and based on the things in the house, the people seemed as though they must have been so interesting, I enjoyed the chance to have some of their things pass on to me.

With regards to clothing though, I don't think I've ever given it much thought that I'm wearing a dead person's clothing. Although I buy most of my clothes at the thrift shop, so who knows what the history of the previous owner was? Although I suppose if I found out they were wearing that exact article of clothing when they died, I might feel a little morbid about wearing it.

 

[Angus Forbes]

I have lots of my grandparent's stuff, and I swear that every year when I take out their Christmas ornaments, I can feel their presence -- like a small gust of benevolence and happiness at seeing them used.

I feel exactly the same way, especially regarding past-generations' Christmas ornaments. Just about everything in my house has a story, which I enjoy and appreciate.

The only vintage item that ever gave me the creeps was a Nazi SS Officer's ring I saw in a local antique store. Chilling. I could only imagine the chap who first wore this.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

but I read that bayonets are rarely ever used in combat, mostly used during guard duty or as a tool

Not to sound morbid but, if anything, the humble, utilitarian entrenching tool was often the preferred weapon for hand-to-hand combat. When sharpened it could be wielded like a battle axe.

Never caused me to think twice.... except when I was fourteen and first got into army surplus clothing. Back then, I had a morbid fascination with the idea that someone had died or been wounded in the uniform bits I wore. I[n] my eyes it gave them an added cachet. Fortunately I grew out of that.

Probably among the creepier things I'd seen was this one Russian or Chinese-made SKS carbine I had seen in a gun shop. It was brought back from Vietnam and still had bloodstains on the stock from its original user.

 

[LolitaHaze]

When I first started dressing vintage I was a bit icked that the clothes were worn by someone else, whom I didn't know -- being a poor chil' growin' up I got to wear nothing but my sister's hand me downs. It wasn't so much that they had passed. That quickly changed when I realized that "new" meant I couldn't get some of the same styles I liked and "repro" meant at least 5 girls wearing the same dress at any event -- especially in the Rockabilly Scene. However, due to having the body of a praying mantis, I had to start sewing my own vintage from vintage patterns because the waistline of many vintage tops and dresses fell just under by bust line and would crush my ribcage giving my silhouette an awful drape. I do find pieces that fit correctly at my waistline and when I find those I snatch them up quickly! And I like to think that my wearing these clothes makes the family happy because something that was so loved by their mother or Grandma is still being appreciated instead of being tossed in the trash.