Choosing clothes with hand-me-down potential

Tag : Reinforcement Fabric

N ot all hand-me-downs are created equal. Clothes of a higher qualityand timeless style will likely fare better than trendy fast-fashionitems.
Michele Casper, spokeswoman for Lands’ End, offers tips forchoosing new clothes that have potential to be worn by many wearersfor many years:
—Look for durable construction, especially on the knees,elbows and shoulders. Some children’s pants —especially boys’ pants — have double layers of fabricon the knee.
Double-stitched seams should mean fewer rips or pulls, and somegarments are "bar tacked," meaning a reinforcement of stitching onpressure points, especially on shoulder seams where the sleeveconnects to the rest of the body.
—Adjustable waistbands allow for more flexibility in sizing.
—Outerwear is a popular hand-me-down, Casper reports.Waterproof fabrics and especially those with dry-off finishes tendto have a longer life because water, which can break down fabricover time, doesn’t sit on the garment.
—Garment-washed knits are washed during the manufacturingprocess, which should cut down on shrinkage.
—Blue is one of the safest color choices because both boysand girls like it, and stripes are a gender-neutral detail, Caspersays.
—Don’t hand down shoes because each shoe conforms tothe foot shape of the original wearer.