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Comment by zalew | Hacker News Reader

> It looks better and feels substantially more durable—Winthrop says it will last a lifetime.

who needs a sweatshirt to last a lifetime? when was the last time you wore a 10yr old piece of clothing outside of your own house?

you buy $79 hoodies/shirts for the brand and current trendy design, not to pass on to your children.

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I wear a lot of 10 year old clothing out of the house. I have a DAKS suit jacket which I'm wearing at the moment. I have some ties from 1970 - 75. I have shoes which are at least 5 years old, and which I expect to last significantly longer. (Dr Martins do a range called "For Life" which would last even longer still.)

Some good quality wool sweaters (bretagne or faroe) can be expensive, long lasting, and without current trendy design.

Most modern clothing is not made to last. See also cstross's comment about clothing cost and quality here (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1622503)

I happily agree that 'added value' is mostly nonsense in the form of brand names or trendy design, and not in excellent quality materials and manufacturing.

I've never worn a 10 year old piece of clothing outside of my house, because none of the clothing I've bought has been durable enough to survive even 5 years.

Based on the article (which does seem biased), these sweatshirts are a throwback to the days when you would buy things and expect them to last. The fancy Kitchenaid standing blenders used to be durable as hell and just keep working. The newer ones are made a lot more cheaply, and while they last longer than some other kitchen appliances, they're a far cry from their original model... without any significant improvement in features.

Our manufacturing mindset was originally about durability and quality. Cheap labor and cheap materials led to a shift into replaceable, cheaper goods. But as materials/labor get more expensive, hopefully we'll see more of a shift to making quality, lasting goods again.

Since you asked, and because it's ridiculous, and because it's rare to have such a great opportunity to mention it: I have an T-shirt/undershirt that I still wear that I've had and worn since 1994. It was written on as an activity at camp and signed by a number of friends, one of whom died of cancer when we were still kids. I love wearing that undershirt. I'd have lost track of how old it was if it didn't say 1994 on the front.

I'm about to turn 21, but I've been about the same height and weight since I was 11 years old. Two years ago I tried a new pair of sneakers, otherwise most of the clothing I own are gifts from the holidays (a sweater, slacks, work boots). The rest is clothing from when I was in middle school or just things from my father's or grandfather's closet. When I do buy clothing, I want it to either be incredibly inexpensive or something that I'll never have to replace. I could care less about branding or design if it still fits well and looks right.

I have owned and worn several pieces of clothing for more than ten years. Some styles are just classics. I find it odd that one would deride a company for attempting to produce a quality product.

I see most people argue the fact that something can be of quality or that you technically can wear old clothes. My point was, current modern fashion empires (Zara, HM, etc.) are popular because they offer fashionable items often of random/poor quality (notice 'because' not 'despite'). Buy cheap, look good for the season, throw it away. One or two levels higher you got all the Tommy, Polo, Lacoste, etc. where you upgrade for the brand and better quality (I know it's still slave labor, but the quality is better). People buy clothes to look good, and buy the ones that look good in their affordable price range. It's how it works, and somehow I believe people wanting to buy a hoodie 'for lifetime' are a vast minority, especially in the hoodie target group. Yeah, I own a jacket which was cool 4 years ago, is cool now, and maybe will be still cool in the next 3 years if I don't destroy it, but durability is IMHO a weak selling point for an newborn apparel company who positions itself in the price range of the lower-end designer brand clothes.

I hope I clarified my opinion a bit, I'm not against quality, I just doubt it will work in the long run for the reasons above.

Have you ever HAD something that was built to last. Its freaking amazing! I actually have one of those old american made sweatshirts that my dad gave me and ive been looking for someone to make a quality sweatshirt like that my whole life!

Need aside, I want most things I buy to last a lifetime.

Exceptions are for things like food and toilet paper.

You're not the target audience. I'd buy a piece of clothing that would last 10y

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