Kitchen Garden Forum

So does anyone here worry about http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2011/apr/26/gardens what they wear when they garden?
Like most people, I wear clothes which have already lost their place as more presentable items. Jeans with holes in the knees, old fleeces, polo shirts with logos of companies for whom I no longer work, that sort of thing will do for me. The essential qualities they possess is that they can go into the washing machine and come back smiling (even if it is the lopsided smile of a garment which knows the inside of the washing machine very well indeed!)

I made my husband smile when he found me in my gardening clothes (I hadn't found time to change...), making myself a very pretty summer dress . He found it most amusing.

Old stuff that I wouldn't be seen in anywhere else. The sort of stuff that if I have to go somewhere straight from the allotment I have to apologise for.

Oh and sometimes my husband's swaeters etc that have shrunk - honestly I don't shrink them on purpose.

Old comfortable clothes that come out of the washing machine clean again whatever dirt and muck I have plastered them with

I think that comment that covers it is that my wife used to look after a Downs lad who used to call me Compo.
I usually load the washing machine but my wife pegs it out and finds gardening clothes and says this should go in the bin, doesn't understand why I wear it one more time, seems wasteful to throw things away clean!

The all important zip broke on my favourite pair of working trousers but I still put them through the washing machine and wear them. One of my daughters scolded me because my zip was open. I told her that the zip was busted and she said that it can replaced so I said well if you are offering---. She has never mentioned it again.
I couldn't give a fig what I look like when I am working and wear what I find most comfortable.
JB.

I had a rather surreal few minutes yesterday....I left the allotment, walked a minute across the green to the hair salon, got my hair done and back to the allotment all in about 20 minutes. The plants hardly knew I'd gone.
Nina is a terrific hairdresser and isn't fazed at all by my scruffiness; I think she has only ever seen me on my way to or from the allotment.

I'm built for comfort not speed and am a natural slob. It comes easy to me.

JB, i bet the cage was open but the beast was sleeping

I,too use old fleeces and polo shirts with the logos of companies for whom I no longer work and,essential for me, a good pair of shoes/boots to wear whilst gardening.

I wear my oldest and most comfortable clothes. One of my gardening anoraks is the one I wore on honeymoon 45 years ago. It's falling apart now and splashed with fence stain by I can't bear to throw it away. Even my husband, who is not renowned for his sartorial style, thinks it's disgusting !

And I certainly don't change if I have to rush out to a garden centre to get something I find I suddenly need when I'm in the middle of a gardening chore either.

I'm starting to feel the odd one out!

Why are you the odd one out, OH? Do you garden in a tuxedo? or boiler suit? or the niff? Do tell us.

I think I am like the rest of you - old t-shirts, fleeces and jeans which are no longer fit even for a stroll through the village. My best piece of clothing, however, are my trainers: well worn, tatty and very comfortable - long may they last.

oldherbaceous wrote:I'm starting to feel the odd one out!

I've got it! Like me you wear the same clothes for everything. I find round here that if I wear jeans and a work shirt at all times I fit in a treat in the village

Hi Alan,
I wear Winter Balers, which are lined green working trousers, in the winter and Summer Balers, which are green not lined, surprisingly in the Summer. I also wear a Wind Cheater, an all in one garment, as used by the sailing fraternity, most of the time and wear a long sleeved jumper underneath when it is cold. I do not possess either a pair of Jeans or a 'T' Shirt.
I think I was too old when Jeans came into fashion and have never owned a pair. The nearest I get to a 'T' Shirt is a vest, long sleeved for Winter and short sleeved for Summer.
The Wind Cheater is over thirty years old and I would suggest that it could be construed as disgusting.
I would buy a new one but cannot actually remember the correct name of it. Perhaps some kind person might provide me with the correct name.
Clothing whilst gardening must be comfortable and not restrict your movement in any way. If it has the odd hole in it only adds to the comfort and if it is unsightly who cares!
JB.