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Appreciation post: the $12 thrift store sweater that outlasted my $80 department store one
I found this beat-up merino wool sweater at a Goodwill in Phoenix for $12 three years ago. My buddy pointed out the label was from a defunct Scottish mill, and it still looks better than the one I bought new last spring that pilled up after 2 washes. Anyone else notice older stuff just holds up better?
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the_leo2mo ago
Double down on what you said about planned obsolescence, it is real and older stuff just proves it.
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kimfisher1mo ago
Oh man, I totally agree but here's something nobody talks about - the repair culture back then was completely different too. People actually knew how to fix stuff themselves instead of just tossing it. My dad still has a drill from the 70s that he's rewired three times and it works better than any new one I've bought. The manuals actually came with schematics and part numbers, not just a QR code to a dead website lol. They basically forced companies to make things repairable because customers would actually take them apart and complain if they couldn't fix it. That's the real reason old stuff lasts, not just because it was built better but because the whole system expected it to be fixed.
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the_christopher2mo ago
New stuff is engineered to feel nicer in the store and look good for a photo, not to last - nobody cares about longevity when they can sell you another one next year. Vintage stuff had to be built tough because people expected a sweater to last a decade, not a season.
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