(no subject)

[unicornduke]

Just splurged on fancy underwear (2 for $50) from tomboyx and wow am I suddenly very anxious about money. I've got plenty, I even checked my credit card to make sure I'd be on track for paying it off this month. (I'm not paycheck to paycheck only because I have a buffer built in from my previous job but I'm not making much more than I'm spending. More than half my paycheck goes right to rent and loans. Sometimes I wonder if I should have stuck it out for another year at my last job but I don't think it would have been good despite the money)

I've never spent that much money on underwear and it's more than I spend on most of my clothing. I hope they're really soft.

Comments

[graydon]

If one's a reasonably constant size in adulthood, the thing with clothing starts being "how many years per dollar?" Provided one has the dollars, it can make a lot of sense to plunk down money for quality.

So you're not being frivolous or profligate! It does actually make sense to buy things which are well-made and will last.

(Also, sanity is priceless.)

[unicornduke]

I've been the same size for about ten years now, still can't shop for clothes well. It's hard to spend the money especially because I tend to destroy clothes that are "well-made". I ruined probably ten pairs of carhartt pants in four years at my previous job because they weren't actually very good quality and I ended up putting giant holes in the thighs on every single pair.

I am trying to invest in nicer stuff that will last, it's just hard to figure out what will actually last. Boots are a forever problem for me. I've got two pairs right now that are wearing out and I don't want to buy another pair but I need them. ugh.

[graydon]

Carhartt isn't so much variable as bimodal; there's some good stuff, and some cheap crap, and you apparently just have to know.

Boots, oh dear gods. I have large narrow feet; boots are a problem. I've had good luck with Danner, who are gasp-choke expensive but who will tell you the last they made the boot against so once you find one that fits you can find the other ones with good odds. They started off making logging boots in the Pacific Northwest and do make some women's work boots if that'll help with fit.

[unicornduke]

Yeah, they're jackets and stuff are amazing, but those pants were garbage. I don't get it.

Some of Danner's stuff doesn't look toooo expensive, a little more than what I normally pay but I generally pay $100 to 140 per pair of boots and then destroy them in a year or two so maybe they'll last a little longer. I just got a pair of muck boots from my parents as a gift and we'll see how long they last. I think the muck boots will help with the reason I destroy all boots: getting wet and then drying out.

[graydon]

My oldest pair of Muck Boots are 10 this year. They don't get regular use; they're a pair of Wetland boots used for birding in certain places and seasons.

The thing with boots in that style -- the structure of the boot is closed-cell foam -- is that if you wear them every working day, you need two pair so you can switch so they actually dry out. (And possibly a boot dryer.) But in general Muck makes a robust product with good traction and I've never had a problem with the waterproofness. (I do need to drop a heel cup in them so my heels don't gnaw through the lining, to the distress of all concerned.)

There are apparently trades where pants are basically disposable; Carhartt sells to those by making the cheapest possible pants because you're going through thirty pair a year. I've found the heavier stuff, the original denim dungarees and the 10oz fabric work pants, to be robust, and the 6oz fabric cargo pants I got -- out of the eleven kinds, this is not actually helpful -- were pretty good. But it does seem to be something of a crapshoot, especially if one is not basically skinny.


The Danner thing that actually fits me is the Acadia; a 500 USD police boot, but really comfortable and I can walk all day and this is not generally otherwise available. It's slanted my view of their prices.