# Would you wear a dead man's clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 28, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546 "2009-07-28T13:46:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/21 "2009-07-28T15:59:28Z")
Would I? Sure. Do I? Unfortunately, no. I bought a fantastic tie at an antiques store last year. It’s totally art deco. As it was made in the 1930s, surely its original owner has passed on. So I bought it for $29 and took it home. The next week, I put it on – it comes down to about my sternum. If I ever meet a midget with style, it’ll be his lucky day. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/22 "2009-07-28T16:15:56Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > But what if you’re in prison garb, having escaped from being falsing prosecuted, and you’re out to find the one eye witness that will prove your innocense, but on your way, an evil guy accidently stepped in front of a car while chasing you, and he died, but his clothes managed to remain relatively free from destruction, and now you need to change out of your bright orange prison clothes? > > I’d take them off the still-warm corpse and put them on in this circumstance… People tend to void their bowels in death, you know. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/23 "2009-07-28T16:16:34Z")
Yeah. I’m pretty sure I do it all the time, since much of my clothing comes from thrift shops. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/24 "2009-07-28T16:26:28Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Stuff from second-hand shops is probably from dead people. _Probably_, if it’s not worn-out, in good condition and not horribly out-dated. You will often find things from estate sales of well-to-do people, and the folks in the second-hand shop don’t always realize the quality of the item. > [@sugar\_and\_spice](#): > > I would, absolutely, but I do wear thrift store clothing all the time. As a kid, most of my clothes were hand-me-downs, so as I got older, I had no problem with second-hand clothes. Ironically, when I was eighteen,I got a job in a funeral home, and the only suits I could afford were in second-hand shops, probably from dead people. In fact, I preferred the cut of many second-hand suits, because they didn’t have those wide lapels in fashion at the time. And the silk ties cost the same as the polyester ones. > [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, when you go to the thrift store the ladies’ clothing is probably from live people but all the men’s stuff is dead, dead, dead. I certain would hope the clothes are dead. Living clothes don’t sound too appealing. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/25 "2009-07-28T16:38:10Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I’d wear a dead man’s skin. I don’t care. > > Seriously, this kind of thing doesn’t bother me at all. If you’d wear it while he was alive, what’s the difference after he dies? > > Anyone who ever buys clothes at a second-hand store has a good chance of purchasing something with a deceased former owner. > > Are you afraid the clothes will be haunted? What exactly bothers you? What do you fear as a worst case scenario? It sounds like you might just be squeamish about wearing second-hand clothes more than anything else. That’s a good point. The man died of cancer. He’d been sick for several years, so he almost certainly wore some of the clothes while he was sick. My family has been pretty paranoid about cancer ever since my brother died of it at the age of 6. So I think some part of me is thinking “These clothes might have/give me cancer.” Irrational I know, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/26 "2009-07-28T16:50:31Z")
When my father died, I got his ties. He was a Dr., so he had a lot of really nice ones, Ermengildo Zegna ties seemed to be his favorites. Anyway, I like them, and they’re a nice reminder of him. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/27 "2009-07-28T17:01:12Z")
I’ve done it. As long as they’ve been washed, I don’t have a problem with it. I also don’t have a problem with anyone who would feel better not doing it. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/28 "2009-07-28T17:29:11Z")
I’d rather not wear the clothes he was wearing at the time of his death. I’m sure I’d get over it rather quickly though. If it was someone I didn’t like, I’d take a great deal of pleasure from it. When my grandfather died I found some 1920’s prison issue stuff that I wore in high school. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/29 "2009-07-28T17:51:59Z")
Did the man die from a communicable skin rash? If not, then I’d be happy to wear his clothes. Ok, even if he did. ---
**Author:** ![tygre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tygre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tygre)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/30 "2009-07-28T18:42:50Z")
I have lots of jewelry that belonged to my grandmother and great-grandmother that I wear frequently. No problem. I am 8" taller than one of them and 6" taller than the other, and about 50-70 lbs lighter, though, so I didn’t get any of their clothes. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/31 "2009-07-28T18:51:12Z")
I think I’m doing it right now. This shirt is from a thrift, store, anyway. Wouldn’t bother me a bit, unless I didn’t like the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/32 "2009-07-28T19:30:47Z")
Well, I’m more likely to wear women’s clothes, but I’ve worn a couple of Dad’s old jumpers for years after his death (2000). The sleeves were too short for my brothers’ arms. His shirts went to goodwill, some things got thrown away, many went to my brothers’ or my grandfather; some items of clothing went to friends (mostly the kind of thing which works as a memento, for example a set of handkerchiefs embroidered with his initials to a friend who also hated paper ones). Then again, hand-me-downs are perfectly normal in my family and culture, be they clothes, jewelry or furniture. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/33 "2009-07-28T19:40:21Z")
I could never understand this but some people get spooked by death. My mother died and I came home form the hospital and slept in the same bed she died in. Which was also the same bed my father died in. But some people get the idea that if one dies on a piece of furntiture or in a set of clothes, those close have “death cooties” so to speak. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/34 "2009-07-28T19:49:49Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Living clothes don’t sound too appealing. You’ll never make it as a [Fremen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremen) with that attitude. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/35 "2009-07-28T20:03:59Z")
So what’s the problem here? You worried about old guy smell? A little Febreeze will take care of that. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/36 "2009-07-28T20:11:53Z")
Sure, assuming they aren’t the clothes they were wearing when they died. And that they aren’t full of bloodstains and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/37 "2009-07-28T20:12:37Z")
As **Hal Briston** suggested, it is a very good way to get nice clothes cheaply. Once you have a shovel and a flashlight, you can have all the fancy clothes you ever need. In my experience, dry cleaners can take out formaldehyde smells out of suits pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/38 "2009-07-28T21:11:40Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > As **Hal Briston** suggested, it is a very good way to get nice clothes cheaply. Once you have a shovel and a flashlight, you can have all the fancy clothes you ever need. In my experience, dry cleaners can take out formaldehyde smells out of suits pretty well. That’s good for you but what about the poor houngans? Do you have any idea how much it costs to cloth an army of zombies? Just because they’re dead doesn’t mean they’re not modest. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/39 "2009-07-29T00:41:37Z")
I’ve worn a lot of my dead brother-in-law’s stuff; I have a tailor made overcoat of his in storage now. He was a very decent guy----I just know he was never pissed about it. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546/40 "2009-07-29T00:50:43Z")
About a quarter of my sales on eBay are brand names clothes. I get most of the stuff from estate sales. I also keep some of the stuff that fits me too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-wear-a-dead-mans-clothes/504546.md?page=3)