On average, how long do you keep articles of clothing?

[Rain Man]

I've slowly acquired clothing over the years to the extent that I have a relatively large wardrobe now. That then means that I wear each item less frequently, which makes them last longer (which then feeds the cycle of growing the wardrobe more when I buy something new).

I part ways with clothing when it's worn out, and that takes a while. I've got a number of ten year shirts, and I wear them a couple of times a year. They look like new, and they're generally timeless in style.

The oldest shirt that's still in my rotation is a travel t-shirt that I got in 1989. It still looks great. I had four or five shirts from that trip, and they all wore out over the years except that one, which is indestructible.

That said, I'm a little annoyed at a jeans brand now. I've got a bunch of pairs of a brand that was pretty expensive, but they're very comfortable. I figured that I'd have those jeans forever given the cost and construction. But two pairs have recently gotten wear spots that make them unwearable, and I've got another pair in a pile to get a pocket fixed after a catastrophic collapse. I've got probably a dozen pairs of these jeans, and three of them have broken down in the past six months. In fairness, my inventory ranges in age from 1 year to about 8 years old, and it's the older ones that are breaking down. But still...I thought they'd last forever, and I only wear them maybe 15 to 20 times per year.