does it feel a little creepy wearing a dead person's clothing?

[Amy Jeanne]

Nah, death doesn't freak me out. I'm fascinated with it and even thought of becoming a mortician at one time. I think it's neat that I'm wearing a dead person's clothes or jewelry! I have personalised bracelet from a woman who died in 1959 and I wear it every single day. My mom is lucky -- she has the woman's teenage daughter's matching bracelet, who died in 1917.

 

[RondoHatton]

No.

would you wear a wool great coat that was originally worn by one of the Nazi guards in the Auschwitz death camp?

No.
That IMHO would be appropriate displayed behind glass in the context of a museum.
I recall reading a few years ago people (in eastern Europe?) were counterfeiting deathcamp prisoners uniforms for sale on eBay. That is so tastless on so many levels. I've got "taste in my feet", i.e., fairly lowbrow, but that is a bit much.

"I'm not a Nazi hunter. I'm a Nazi killer!" - Sam Fuller as Van Meer, "A Return to Salem's Lot" 1987

 

[PA Dancer]

Green Papaya,

I know exactly where you are coming from with this thread.
I think it comes from having an artistic mind.

A friend of mine had a theory about wearing used clothes that you take on a bit of that persons personality or energy.

I was huge into thrift store shopping years ago (I used to buy for the fabric to make it into something else.) and it never bothered me...then I became a little hypochondriac. eek!

I went thru a phase where everything I had...had to be new. I wanted myself to be the first owner. But ya know...I bought something at a yard sale about a month ago, and I was OK with it after I found out that the people I bought it from were the original owners...and they were really nice.
I seem to be OK if I know where/who the something came from.

Clothes...I'm still working on that...but if it makes you feel any better, when you buy something....wash it in HOT water...then sprinkle some salt on it.
To this day...I won't move into a house without sprinkling salt in all the corners. They say it gets rid of bad energy.

Shoes...I can't do...I can't put someone elese foot funk on my feet, especially the old musty ones. No can do. The new styles coming out over the past year are going back to a vintage look, and they are made better for support. I protect my feet at all costs being a dancer. I even find a lot of newer clothes have a old look to them.

We all have some kind of irrational fear of something.
Do what feels good to you.
But geezz...would I love to get all dressed up in an all original outfit, shoes, purse and jewlery once and awhile.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

It has to do, as I said earlier, with whether or not I liked the person. I will proudly wear my Uncle Jack's cashmere coat and, if a little of his funny, charming spirit makes its way into my psyche, fine. Same with my Aunt Ruth, who left clothes and things when she died. Same with my cousin, Gloria or my best friend, Rickey.

But, no, it would bother me to wear the clothing or shoes of someone who was known to be evil, or even just an obnoxious person, like my Aunt Helen.

I buy some clothes, shoes and cowboy boots off eBay, as I do fedoras. Once in awhile, when I wear something, I wonder about the person who wore them before me, are they dead? Alive? Were they psycho-murderers?

I did win two cupie dolls one time off eBay and the seller left me an email saying, I hope you will take good care of them, they belonged to my grandmother. I emailed her back and said they would be cherished among my collectibles -- and they are, not because they are unique, they are ordinary cupies, but because of that email. Another thought I had was, wonder why they sold them if they felt that way?

Now, if I got the chance to wear James Dean's red jacket from Rebel Without a Cause, I'd do it once, then make sure it was displayed behind glass. Jacket probably wouldn't fit me, anyway.

karol

 

[Rosie]

Nah. I actually usually give a general thanks to the lady for keeping her items. Sometimes I may get something that still has the person's smell on it, that makes me feel (not sure of the word) maybe closer to the person (but not really).

On a somewhat unrelated note; I was visiting the Boston Museum one day and stumbled across the antique furniture section. As I was walking, already somewhat uneasily past a bed, on my way to the exit, I felt this "force" come out me, it scared the batootie out of me and I hightailed it out of there.

 

[green papaya]

Nah. I actually usually give a general thanks to the lady for keeping her items. Sometimes I may get something that still has the person's smell on it, that makes me feel (not sure of the word) maybe closer to the person (but not really).

On a somewhat unrelated note; I was visiting the Boston Museum one day and stumbled across the antique furniture section. As I was walking, already somewhat uneasily past a bed, on my way to the exit, I felt this "force" come out me, it scared the batootie out of me and I hightailed it out of there.

One time I was in the back storage area of an old antique store and I felt a chill and this old cabinet door slowly opened up right in front of me! I couldnt believe it, I think it was a ghost? then I kind of felt a little ill and left the store.

 

[Forgotten Man]

New guy here, but, old time collector.

It never bothered me in any regard wearing vintage. Some items I have were never worn, still had the original tags... in the collecting world we call that New Old Stock or, "Dead Stock" Dead meaning that it never sold.

I love to wear these old clothes because they have a history. Yes, most of the times the original owner is long gone but, now his suit is still being enjoyed by someone else... I always have my suits cleaned and then, it's ok. Some people aren't ok with the idea of used clothing but, for me it's a link and connection to the golden past.

If antique shops spook you, you may want to figure out why you like the old stuff in the first place... I think. Don't know.[huh]

Forgotten Man~

 

[skwerl-hat]

i think about this sometimes. It did disconcert me at first. Now i find it almost like throwing on a backpack and going hiking up some mountain.

The people who had my hats and coats are gone now but the hats still exist and i put them on and countinue on my journey as they did and the untold millions after me will .

 

[Forgotten Man]

Interesting story I'd like to share if I may.

I once met a man at an event who was wearing a suit, a beautiful double breasted model, I asked him where he found such a beautiful vintage suit... he replied that his mother gave it to him when he graduated high school in 1937! I almost cried... for a man to hold on to a suit, and still fit into it after 70 years, it must be special! He said his family didn't have much money at the time but, his mother managed to scrape up some money to buy him this nice suit for his graduation present... the suit looked brand new... fit him perfectly.

We can never know the history behind all of the clothes but, I'm sure for the most part, these clothes could have been special to someone and that's why they're still around with us. Kinda makes me feel good inside.

Forgotten Man~

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Does it feel a little creepy . . . ?

No. why should it?

I'm sure at least one of the hats I bought from Mr. Lucky belonged to someone who is long gone. My father's long gone, and I have the wool coat that he wore while in the army. I have two antique pocket watches; one belonged to my grandfather and the other a great uncle I'd never met. Both died decades ago.

The clothes of dead people are, to me, much like the objects of dead people: by keeping them, we're preserving, if not their memory, a part of history.


Lee

 

[BegintheBeguine]

It just occurred to me that if I didn't wear dead persons' clothing I would be wearing only a brassiere.

 

[Dinerman]

Today I wore clothes from 5 dead guys.

 

[Dr Doran]

We'll all be dead in a few years.

 

[Caledonia]

It would only creep me out if I knew the person was an evil wretch in life, like Al Capone maybe,...otherwise it wouldn't bother me.

Ditto! Otherwise wash it, wear it.

I do get a bit grossed when I buy a pair of shoes or a hat that clearly haven't been cleaned, but that's what cleaning cloths are for. And I tend not to buy used tap pants or their ilk, although I confess to having bought what I think may be an original version of the thong for wear under 30s clingy evening dresses. I admit to that on the basis of its historic and collectable value!

I have had to cover the back so of a pair of chairs that were from an old gentleman's club. Despite scrubbing, the stains from years of hair oil from heads slumped against the chair back and wings will not shift, and that is just a yuck too far for me! Nothing that a bright piece of material didn't deal with though.

 

[Ecuador Jim]

Sounds like an ealy Halloween discussion

The discussion reminds me of an old TV series "Friday the 13th, the Series".

An antiques dealer made a deal with the devil, and sold cursed objects. When someone bought the object, they were somehow affected by that object. The guy's descendants were tasked with returning said cursed objects to a specific vault. Sort of a modern Twilight Zone.

 

[pigeon toe]

My love for vintage actually grew out of a severe anxiety over death. I began collecting vintage photographs and negatives. I would spend hours going through them, printing up the negatives and thinking about the people in them. In my mind, even though perhaps these people were forgotten by their family (as I got the photos from ebay and thrift stores), they weren't forgotten by me. It was comforting to think that someday someone would be looking at my image and wondering what my life was like.

The same sort of thing applies to vintage clothing for me now. Besides the fact that I just feel "right" wearing vintage, I think wearing vintage kind of honors it's previous wearers. When I go to real estate sales, where the owner has recently passed, I don't feel creeped out at all. I'm appreciating all the things that they owned and loved in the past, things that would probably get thrown out if I didn't scoop em up.

So no, dead people and their things don't give me the heebie jeebies at all.