What is your most worn in, but not worn out item?

Good question.

I'll try these out to see what I think about them -

My parents' Webster's New International unabridged dictionary, published 1934. Certainly out of date, but a treasure I still look at once in a while, for the pleasure.

A heavy multi yarn (cotton, mohair, angora, in peach, cream, lavender, coral colors) vest I knit in the early eighties. Still love it, don't wear it often in Albuquerque, but did more back in northern california.

I still have my cast iron dutch oven too, but I bought it myself in the seventies at a quonset hut army navy type store from an old curmudgeon.

A ring that was my mother's, given to her by her brother when she was sixteen, in 1917. Two colors of gold, ornately worked, with a fairly big cut true zircon stone. Luminous thing, sort of aqua green stone but that doesn't really describe it. Probably worth nothing much. The cut facets are by this time a little worn.

Newest oldie but goodie: my loafers from Taryn Rose. Sale item. Every so often I try to snaz them up with a little tender care but mostly they are scungy. Fit perfectly - they're my driving shoes.

I happen to like "patina". Lost my interest in everything looking all new when I first went to Italy/talked with my teacher/read books that told me about the value of buying something good and taking care of it. So I like, for example, having a wallet that works for me and keeping it a long time.
This is contradicted by the fact that I also can enjoy cheap crap, but hey, take those together and I don't look quite like anyone else.

One more and I'll stop - I have a man's trench coat that I bought at a vintage clothing store in Venice, CA in the seventies, having always liked trench coats. I had the sleeves shortened. Added a strange and wonderful sort of military pin (from canada, it turned out) in the lapel button hole. As my weight has gone up or down, the coat is either a near perfect fit or great for the kind of use it was designed for, as a gabardine overcoat over a suit (or sweater/jacket). I don't really need it anymore, but it hurts to give it away. I must, I must. Anyway, I always felt a little odd that it was a man's coat, but then one day, can't remember when, I read that the latest thing in Paris was women wearing mens' trench coats. Saved that article for a while - I felt ahead of my time.

I had a feeling you'd show up here. Thanks for the marvelous reply.

I feel much the same as you do.

I too have a man's coat. It was my grandfather's. Mine is a brown and tan, hounds tooth overcoat. I never had it altered because it feels so much more like him when it's big. He was lanky, I'm not. Even though it's overly long I always get tons of complements on it when I wear it.

I also have my grandmother's moccasins. They're too small but I've been known to carry them in my pocket.

Aw, that made me tear a little, the coat and the moccasins.

You make me remember a coat of my mother's that I wore when I was maybe twenty. It fit well, schniff. Gave it away at some point and am certainly sorry now. She had bought it for the time she and my father spent in Ottawa, Ontario, in the winter, pre the US getting into WWII. My dad was up there to work with a director friend who was at that point in the Royal Canadian Navy, there and in Halifax, I think. I wasn't born yet. That guy was John Farrow, a Commander of some sort, I think - making a film I remember nothing about except it was for the Navy. He was Mia's father (and other children) and Maureen O'Sullivan's husband, but known to me as a good writer. (I never met Mia). Anyway, the coat: it was thick wool with brown and tan small squares, with a satiny lining (I think) - I don't remember if that's houndstooth or not, have thought of it that way. I said I think re the lining, because it might have also had a zip in lining too. The lines were similar to a London Fog camel hair coat. Long time ago now. Sigh.

<sigh, indeed>

For year I wore a coat of my moms. A swingy thing made of deer skin with huge, brown buttons down the front. I loved that thing. I have no idea what happened to it though.....

I was visiting my mom recently and noticed that she still had "The Popcorn Pan". The most important and well remembered pan of all my days on Earth.

I tried to smuggle it home. She caught me. "I still use that pan!" she said "but you can have it, someday."

I hope someday is a long ways away.

Yeah.

baseball glove...

My Brunton compass is over 70 years old. I inherited it from my Uncle Stash (who was given the compass by some of his students in the 1940's). Its nicked up, its had its mirror replaced twice and was gone over by the company that made it and was refurbed in the 1980's

On the bottom of the case is a small plaque of trig functions. I had this removed and had the case bottom powder coated with a "hunter orange" so I could find it when I used it as a size reference in a photo.

Its used daily by me and its gone through several new leather cases over the years.
It is the envy of many of my colleagues.

I've got these wonderful seersucker shorts i'm a-wearin' . . . but it ain't lookin' good right now. The girl is sayin' i have to change my clothes at least once a month . . .

I have a vintage amber glass jug that held ansco rapafix. I found it in the white clay dirt under an old house. It is dirty in just the perfect way, and I use it to hold my peacock feathers. It is shaped like those cartoon whiskey jugs that you would see thrown over the characters shoulder and held with one finger through the small hole in top.

I have a bank book from 1917 that someone filled out every day. All written in pencil, you can follow their weekly shopping. It seems that this person rarely went to the store for anything except major things. There is an entry for a new pot, some rope, shoes and metal . Those were the biggest purchases , the metal being the most expensive at 12.00. Both pairs of shoes were 85 cents.

I have some photos from 1938 I believe, that are in clear glass floating frames mounted on my bedroom walls. Simple shots, a very poor family around the table and you can see their cots stacked against the opposite wall behind them if you look through their very vacant , awkward stares. The print is still in good shape, but you can tell the film that was used was not well taken care of.

I have a 1938 Tower camera that is finger worn from the previous owner . I am using it almost exclusively now and it is giving me some amazing shots.

In New Orleans with my friend Robert earlier this year, we visited a lot of the old large grave sites. One of them that was closest to the french quarter had a large pile of debris outside of its walls where the keeper said that it was going to be hauled to the dump. It was FULL of bits and pieces of headstones, door nails, and personal items brought and left over the almost 200 years that place has stood. Because of the hurricane, everything was washed away from its original place. There was no way to match it all to the right crypt and we were given free range of the trinkets that were in it. My favorite of the collection of things are the old shirt buttons made of sea shell. A few pieces of beautifully colored glass , tons of old nails and small pieces of broken jewelry are my close second. All of which are mounted in different ways on my walls.

I'll say my desk. It's older than the 50's, but not sure how old -- I think 30's. It was my first-ever major furniture purchase, something I couldn't afford but absolutely had to have because I fell in love with it. (Gorgeous walnut, great size, functional drawers, a finished back -- it's really meant to be used by two people at once, facing each other -- and a really lovely semi-circle detail on the "middle" leg.)

The antiques dealer hadn't priced it yet, it was fresh from an estate, and saw the love in my eyes and asked me what I was willing to pay for it. I named what I thought was an astronomical sum (because I wanted to be fair) -- $65. (I'd really thought $50, but added on as much as I thought I possibly could.) (I was still in college and broke, broke, broke.) He not only didn't laugh in my face, he accepted the price.

We did a lot of business with him after that, so he earned more from us through that goodwill gesture -- but he was also one of those people who really knows and really loves beautiful things, and was happy to see a beautiful thing go to someone who appreciated it.

So, that's where I am every day, and where I've typed pretty much all of my entire A2K and Abuzz oeuvre. It's not in perfect shape but it's still gorgeous.

Cornelius - my stuffed monkey I've had since I don't know how long ago. Although some may think he is worn out....he is not to me.

After the Lovely Bride and I bought our house, I saw that my set of tools
was woefully insufficient. Sears advertised an electric drill for a very
good price and I went to get one. Of course, once I got there, the
salesman explained to me that I'd be much better off with a sturdier,
more powerful (not to say more expensive) drill. He didn't hold out much
hope for the useful life of this one. That was over thirty years ago. I've
still got the drill. It still works.

Well over 40 years ago, Mr. P. bought me a silver lavaliere at the Greenwich Village outdoor art show, in Manhattan.

No one can quite figure out what it is. People have said that it looks like a map of Africa, others a Marine symbol. I have gotten many compliments about it over the years.

It is my "go with just about everything" piece of jewelry, and I wear it often.

I'd say my vagina.

i just broke my ribs..

Ewwwww --- ewwww --- ewww ---eww --ew --------

I propose that we take chai2's statement and go back to the previous posts
and find a sentence or phrase that applies.

Such as: I've still got [it]. It still works.

Here's an even better one, courtesy of greenwitch...

People have said that it looks like a map of Africa