Actually, material has turned into crap and quality in general went down the toilet.
Back in the day, I’d get a pair of Wranglers that were made out of tarp material. It’d take me months to “break ’em in”, and I’d be doing the Frankenstein walk the whole time until that happened.
Last 2 pair I got, the material was so thin and flimsy it ripped open in the same place on my front thigh. Not on the knee or any stress point, nope.
Shirts? I had one “terrycloth” shirt that I was given as a b’day present in probably high-school, that I kept wearing in regular rotation for decades. Sis who gave it to me said that it grew right along with me over the years. Perfect condition until the piping around the collar finally started detaching. I wanted to spring for a formal burial, but people talked me out of it.
Today? They stretch and rip and seams pop and they develop Mystery Holes in ’em. One shirt that I thought would last forever because (at first) the material felt thick and durable, ripped at the seams at the underarms, and whatever fluff was stiffening and thickening the shirt started wearing off, until just the base material remained.
Teeshirts? Had one that turned into what I called “my dress”. Only wore it inside the house, because it was intact but stretched to 4-5 sizes too big. Most cheap shirts are like that nowadays. They’ll stretch out of shape, hang like bags, and otherwise just rip for no reason.
So now it pays to get Carhartt shirts that have a rep for durability. I’m trying to “wear out” my crap shirts ’til I’m left with the good’uns, which I’m “saving”.
But I do have a pair of BB shorts that my gf got me, caught the pocket on a kitchen chair and ripped the pocket at the seams, but did hand-sew it because I didn’t want to toss ’em. Again, I’m “wearing ’em out” before I reluctantly start regularly wearing 2 other virtually-new BB shorts.
I can’t understand how people just toss perfectly good clothes just because they’re “old”, or even if need of some minor repair.