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One of My Favorite Things

February 21st, 2009

I love the comfort of old familiar things. I would much rather have a comfy old piece of clothing than a crispy new one (one good thing about working from home). I hate to go shopping because I know that means breaking in new jeans or a new sweater. I’m very sad that I may have to retire my old gardening jeans this year. These jeans have been in my life 2 years longer than Mr Chiots, and he’s been around for 13. I have more than gotten my money’s worth out of them, especially considering I got them on sale for $20, but I’m still sad to see them go (I’m hoping they last at least half of this summer).
old-jeans
I love these jeans, they’re perfect for gardening. They’re soft , comfy, and roomy for bending, kneeling and doing all other kinds of gardening chores. They’re long enough to cover my ankles against the thorns around the woods and they come up high enough in the back so I’m not drawing unnecessary attention to myself while bending over and pulling weeds. I have considered patching these, but I’m not sure what would happen, they are pretty threadbare. I think I would have to actually line them entirely. I also have a favorite shirt for gardening, it’s a thrift store cross country shirt that’s bright yellow. Once I’m wearing my jeans and my shirt all I need is my gardening hat & gloves and I’m ready for a day in the garden. I also prefer to wear sandals or flip flops if I can. my feet love to be free!

What’s your favorite gardening attire? (take the poll)

17 Comments to “One of My Favorite Things”
  1. Mangochild on February 21, 2009 at 6:05 am

    I don’t think that I have fav gardening attire – its usually just whatever “grubbies” I’m wearing around the house that day! Though I will say, I have a couple of sweatshirts I can’t seem to let go of, no matter how tattered they are getting. They are nothing very special in either the history or a print on them or anything, just a plain gray sweatshirt with a hood. But it just “feels” right. The comfort of it, the well-worn feeling, I guess. New clothes often feel more formal somehow, even if its a sweatshirt!
    $20 jeans and 15 years of heavy wear, yup, that’s a deal :-)

    Mangochild’s last blog post.. Feeling Daunted: seed starting, planting, and using winter stores

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  2. catalangardener on February 21, 2009 at 7:05 am

    Oh I feel your pain I had to let go a pair of very lovely soft jeans last year – they had two extra years as patched up shorts but eventually I couldn’t risk the amount of bare bottom peeping through! It was a sad day indeed!

    catalangardener’s last blog post.. Crop Rotation in Your Vegetable Patch

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  3. Chicago Mike on February 21, 2009 at 8:27 am

    Gardening requires attire? :)

    My hats (one of which will probably get worn to Monticello) that actually cover my neck/ ears and a particular pair of leather gloves that have become thin, supple and only fit my hands.

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

  4. Emily@remodelingthislife on February 21, 2009 at 8:44 am

    Oh your poor jeans :( What a sad day! I love me some jeans and an old tshirt for gardening when it isn’t too hot.

    Emily@remodelingthislife’s last blog post.. Link Love: Baby, It’s Cold Outside Edition

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  5. Judy on February 21, 2009 at 9:06 am

    No particular favorite clothes but I agree with you on the footwear. I only wear ‘real shoes’ when doing heavy work. For general gardening it’s sandals or flip flops. There are even somethings that I prefer to do in bare feet. I can’t seem to wade into cucumbers to harvest them with shoes on. I think it has something to do with worrying I’ll step on the vines- in bare feet I can feel where I’m stepping.

    Judy’s last blog post.. No new developments

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  6. Mike on February 21, 2009 at 9:51 am

    Most summer gardening days find me in a pair of Carharrt double front canvas pants, a light sleeveless (black) shirt and a good hat to help shield the suns rays. For footwear, a good pair of leather roper style cowboy boots that won’t track to much dirt but can handle a shovel all day long.

    Mike

    Mike’s last blog post.. A Cooler Full Of Carrots

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  7. Susy on February 21, 2009 at 9:59 am

    catalangardener- that’s exactly why I may need to retire these this year. A little too much showing while I’m out working.

    Chicago Mike – I also wear a hat while out gardening, gotta save the skin from the sun! And no gardening doesn’t require attire, but your neighbors might :)

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  8. Kelly on February 21, 2009 at 10:50 am

    I hate new jeans…but yes you ar right – that pair is looking pretty bad- I say get one more year out of them ;)

    Kelly’s last blog post..

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  9. Chicago Mike on February 21, 2009 at 11:06 am

    I’m not so sure. I’m pretty cute. :)

    Reply to Chicago Mike's comment

  10. Maureen on February 21, 2009 at 11:37 am

    I mostly wear whaever I have on at the moment (which explains my dwindling wardrobe) but I do have a pair of jeans in a similar condition as yours..and love them for all the above reasons :)

    Plus a hat!

    Maureen’s last blog post.. Quote for the Day

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  11. Maureen on February 21, 2009 at 11:38 am

    I mostly wear whatever I have on at the moment (which explains my dwindling wardrobe) but I do have a pair of jeans in a similar condition as yours..and love them for all the above reasons :)
    Plus a hat!

    Maureen’s last blog post.. Quote for the Day

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  12. Allie on February 21, 2009 at 11:39 am

    Those are great jeans! I hate breaking in new clothes too.

    Allie’s last blog post.. An Interview with Douglas Farquhar from ReJAVAnate

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  13. Farmgirl_dk on February 21, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Ohhhhhhh, I *totally* have a pair of jeans like yours…only mine, sadly, are now completely ripped on the opposite side – making any shots of me walking away rather obscene. Fortunately, I’m working outside by myself most days, so as long as the chickens and donkeys aren’t offended, I’m doing ok. :-)

    Farmgirl_dk’s last blog post.. Good girl, Dottie!

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  14. kristin on February 21, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    I can’t imagine doing anything in our garden in flip flops. I have to be wearing at least tennis shoes, and should ideally be wearing boots. I do a lot of hand-digging, which means jumping on the shovel with my feet to drive it down. Also, the thought of stepping on a slug with bare feet makes my skin contract in horror.

    And the rest of me has to be similarly covered. I can’t STAND the feeling of crusty, itchy dirt on my bare, sweaty skin. I usually wear an old, baggy pair of khakis and a small, long-sleeved men’s dress shirt made of really thin cotton, both of which I got at the thrift store. And shoes and socks. And a hat. But no gloves unless I have to.

    I am not a pretty sight when I garden.

    kristin’s last blog post.. It’s a Dirty Job

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  15. warren on February 21, 2009 at 10:08 pm

    I’d so sew those babies into a tool bag or a garden carry-all or something…don’t let the old friend go away!

    I wear crocs and shorts, etc and a big floppy hat!

    warren’s last blog post.. Yes and No

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  16. Susy on February 21, 2009 at 11:33 pm

    Kristin – I wear boots when I’m digging (at least after wearing my flip flops for a while, I resort to boots when my feet hurt).

    Warren – I was trying to decide what to do with these jeans. I was considering composting them, that’s a proper burial for gardening jeans.

    Farmgirl dk – these are getting almost to the point of yours. I make sure I stand up and turn around if I hear traffic coming and I’m working out front.

    Reply to Susy's comment

  17. […] wearing these old ones. I have a hard time replacing something until it’s completely unusable (remember those jeans, I’m still wearing them and they’re much worse now). You see my shoes still have some tread, […]

    Reply to What is the perfect gardening shoe? | Chiot’s Run's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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