My gardening clothes are what were downgraded from last year's casual wear :) Right now they don't look too bad, no holes or stains, fairly presentable. Wouldn't matter what I wore, if it were an evening gown, by the time I've been outside a couple of hours, I look gosh awful. I rarely have unexpected company, but there must be a neon sign I've never been able to find, announcing when I am at my absolute grubbiest & the whole county should drop by for a good laugh. And I swear they do!

I have old clothes that I have decided to make gardening clothes so I don't need to worry about stains that never come out. Old pants sweatshirts and tee shirts. They look pretty bad. Don't wear them anywere but the yard and then only when I work out there. I always get dirty. Can't wear any good clothes LOL! And I have old shoes for gardening too.

Love my stretchy jeans for bending and stooping.A very light colored T shirt(light colors are cooler)My little apron from home depot. A bandana for my head and my rubber ladybug shoes.Forgot my gloves which usely donot stay on me very long.
Pat

I have some Land's End 100% cotton T-shirts which are all stained and faded, but they are the coolest shirts I have. I am very hot natured (and too chubby) so I wear denim or dark kulots, NB tennis shoes, and gloves. I have a drawer full of left gloves (not many right ones) so, my gloves are usually mis-matched. I change socks often. I am known as the dirtiest woman in the neighborhood. But at 64, I don't much care what people think as long as I am covered up!!

I have loose shorts that come right below my knees bc they are way too big for me. They have very roomy pockets though, and I wear an old tshirt, which ever ones are too stained to wear in public. I have some fake crocs that I am wearing right now, sometime I wear my old NB work shoes. No hat, sometimes gloves, depending on what I am doing. I go for pure comfort, don't care what the neighbors think, lol. sharon

Gee, We suppose to have special clothes to garden in? I just wear every day pants with pockets.I wont wear pants that have no pockets.I wear sweatshirts in winter,and tank tops in the summer.No Hat,usually.Only wear gloves if I will be pulling weeds or planting some thing., and I;m wearing a pair Walmart shoes that are too wide,and the only thing they good for is the yard.I have a cell phone in one pocket,and my keys for everything in the other one.

Jean

Somehow all my clothes end up being gardening clothes, because I'll walk out into the yard, not intending to do any gardening, then notice a couple of weeds, then spot a plant that needs to be moved,then decide that, well, since that plant is moved, now this one will look better some where else, and before you know it, my shoes and knees are muddy, and now I might as well spend a few minutes turning over the compost pile, so now sweat is dripping into my eyes, but my hands are dirty so the only way to wipe my face is with my shirt: presto, more gardening clothes.

Christine

LOL! I'm completely with Christine on this one ..I also wander into the garden and come out with new work clothes. I try to remember not to go out in them because in my section of the city, half to more of the moms wear high heels and nice clothes to the PARK!!! I feel like a slob:)

I just wear old clothes. I simply have to make my first garden run once my eyes are fully open, the coffee takes hold and balance is restored. I usually grab whatever moves me to throw on in a hurry. Jeans in spring, shorts in summer, v-neck white t-shirts when it gets really hot. I have some old earthy type Wal-Mart sandals I slip into, often without socks. Sure enough, a fire ant or two manages to find me and then I wish I had taken the time to put on socks. If the weather's bad, I'll pull out my old black rubber boots, which protect me from ants. I learned from our helpers that the bandanas work great for keeping sweat out of my eyes, so if it's hot outside and I remember, I'll put one on. Nothing glamorous, but then the back yard is surrounded by a high wood privacy fence.

Now, when we spray with nasty chemicals, I really look a sight! Yellow rain slicker, rubber gloves, serious pro mask and goggles, with rubber boots. I hope no one is looking.

Yesterday, I decided to start using up all the liquid Miracle Gro fertizer I had, so just grabbed the sprayer and got started. Of course, I fertilized my jeans while at it. It's too difficult for me to drag all the hoses inside the beds, so I just sprayed the bordering ones. I'll start putting out dry fertilizer today and watering it in. Not the best time to fertilize, I realize, but the expensive "soil mix" we bought when putting in these beds is terrible - ended up mostly ground up pine bark, it seems.

We have encountered what Ed calls "dog vomit fungus," and I think it is officially called red slime mold. Nasty stuff, but I understand it is harmless to plants. We must have acquired it in the soil mix. Also out-of-space looking mushrooms. With me pollinating all over the place, I have managed to do a thorough job of spreading it. Hubby spread fungicide yesterday all over.

I am most curious about the special SPF shirts - I really should be wearing long-sleeved white ones. Where do you get them?

Hope I haven't rattled on too long.

Nancy - an Unfashionable Gardener

I have a netted hood to wear during black fly season but aside from that I am a jeans and T-shirt guy.

I am like Christine, I never plan to garden, but always end up doing so. I can always find something to do outside. One thing I always wear is my large yellow floopy hat, and my shoes are in the house. Barbra

I wear thick heavy men's sweatpants with draw string waist so they stay up with all the bending and elastic at the ankles. I end up on the ground a lot. I wear ratty old tee shirts and Anywears rubber clogs. I often wear a bandanna to keep my hair out of my face and sunscreen. :)

I'm still on the hunt for a comfortable gardening bra. Underwires are NOT comfortable with all the bending, reaching and pulling I do. Most sports bras are too tight for long wearing comfort and smash instead of support. I have some I wear to ride horses but they aren't comfortable to garden in. I've tried about a dozen different options and still not satisfied. I have some light cotton ones but they snap in front and all those snaps hurt/poke when I bend over. Wearing a tight tank under my tee works but DH's friends and family always stop by on weekends without notice and I hate to be braless.....my nieghbors mostly can't see because of fences and tall plants ;)

I do not know about long sleeve SPF gardening shirts but I have horse riding shirts that are long sleeve and 50 SPF of moisture wicking fabric that is cool in summer and warm in winter. Never thought to garden in them. They are about fifty bucks though so probably won't.

While designed for riding they would be comfortable for gardening too. They wash and wear well and don't shrink. I'm plus sized and take the XL and it fits nicely though the sleeves are long on me. I have six of these shirts for riding and am very pleased with them. I do not work for Kerrit's though they are from Oregon like me....

Doesn't say they are SPF 50 on this ad but that was a trivia question on their Facebook page recently. It says it somewhere on their website, I remember reading it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Long Sleeve Ventilator Jersey

I don't own old clothes really and I'm a clean freak so when I garden I try and be really careful but 9 times out of 10 I end up with mud stains on my jeans (if it's cooler) or my shorts (if it's warmer) so I usually get the stain remover out, spray the bad spots, give it a good scrub and throw it in the washer and just put something clean on after. I almost always wear gardening gloves because when I don't my hands get so rough and dried out and it takes forever for the ground in dirt to wear off, even with me scrubbing with a nail brush. All in all, when I'm out there, I'm so into what I'm doing that it doesn't even matter what I'm wearing. If it's too cold I wear a coat, if it's too hot, just a t-shirt and like I said before, jeans in spring and shorts in summer. For footware I am usually in flip-flops if it's hot and hiking shoes with socks if it's cool or raining.
Jason
P.S. Sometimes a baseball cap too if the sun is really blazing!

I just bought a couple of Slogger hats too ... I have a gardening friend who is dealing with skin cancer ... he never wore a hat or used sunscreen.

Since I have a farm, I have office clothes for work, fram/gardening clothes that can get muddy and stained, and very few casual clothes. Farm/gardening clothes basically consist of jeans/shorts and sweatshirts or t-shirts.

As soon as I get home from work, I immediately change into farm clothes ... my office clothes cost too much to be wandering around the farm/gardens/dogs in.

What an interesting thread! I just started to think about designating some old clothes for gardening.
I always wear athletic pants and shirts at home and that's how I go outside to garden. I prefer long-sleeve, and don't like shorts. I don't like to put sunscreen all over. I didn't know about SPF shirts! I thought if you covered you are protected.
I don't like shorts, especially when Japanese beetles come, yuck. I then tuck my pants into socks, so they don't crawl in (they do sometimes :((
Old wedges are my garden shoes, and I also bought crocks for rainy days but they turned out to be not as comfortable.
Still can't find anything to wear on my head, baseball caps block my view, hats fall, so I go without and sometimes get dizzy from the hot sun.
It's getting more and more hard to squat and bend, I tried knee pads (that you velcro under your knees) and it helps.
And of course garden gloves, love them! In fabric ones I usually tear holes with my nails, so this year I'm trying rubber coated ones.

This has been very interesting to read. I am like most in that my gardening clothes are my past year casual wear. Old long jeans and sweatshirts in cold weather. Then jean shorts, or gym shorts, with tee shirts in the summer. Always socks, old ones again with holes most often, then my old tennis shoes from years ago. I start out with gloves, but often take them off, and then I find pairs of gloves out in the garden. I cut my nails short during gardening season, so I don't ruin so many gloves. No hat, tried, but couldn't keep with it, although an old baseball cap did work best. I just tie my hair into a ponytail. I have a kneeling pad, but I was considering the knee pads that you wear. I carry my garden trug around with me, along with a small bucket that has a few tools in it. The cell phone sits on the picnic table set on a loud ring, along with my camera. Oh, I do try to wear sunscreen especially on my arms, legs and face.
So basically, I look a mess, and like most of you, I really don't care.
What is really funny, the local newspaper, had a gardening article this past week about "national nude gardening day," what the heck!!! It was too funny to read, but I guess it is a serious thing for those folks that seem to feel so inhibited by their clothing. Sure sounds like a really bad idea to me!!!
Cindy

Well it was fun to see what everyone wears, more alike than different it seems.

And I have ruined a lot of work shoes, usually when I just had to wander out and wee what daylilies were blooming when I got home from work in the mornings.
kay

Older clothes that I might have stained or the doggies snagged. (They're like that) Ratty old shoes that look pathetic, sunscreen, and start out with a hat, but usually lose it and gloves along the way. I can't stand them! I will sometimes tie a bandana around my head if really hot and muggy to keep sweat out of my eyes. In general, I look like a hobo. :)

You can find SPF shirts at a sporting goods/outdoor store.

We wear industrial coveralls for outdoor work. The people who owned our house before were both in the petrochemical industry (as am I), and they left behind several pairs of blue coveralls. They have the wrong names on them but so what! They're great for outdoor work because they keep the mosquitoes off and they're pretty rugged (also fire resistant but hopefully I'll never need that in the garden).

When it's sunny I also wear a wide brimmed hat and dark safety glasses (and of course gloves).

Nate

I'm surprised at how many of you don't wear hats.

Skin cancer isn't a concern?

These days I'm wearing high boots that tie, so the boot sucking mud we have from all the rain, doesn't pull my boots right off my feet. ANd had to pull the hooded carhart back out, since it's only in the 50's ... we're supposed to be about a month behind in our spring season ... this will definitely be an interesting summer.

Pam

I wear old jeans and t-shirts unsuitable for anything else. I rarely wear shorts as I cannot stand dirt at the back of my knees. Also always a baseball cap. I try to remember the sunscreen too but sometimes forget. I usually carry a bandana around to wipe my eyes if I get sweaty(which I do ). I wear last years hiking boots on my feet and always with socks. My pruners are clipped to my jeans in a holster, my pocket knife in my pocket and a pencil behind my ear. I try not to lose my gloves but it happens often. In fact I lost my right glove in the front yard and my left in the backyard on Sunnday! My mom came home from dinner and found them. I don't need sunglasses, my bifocals have transition lenses. I also use a kneeling pad for my bad knees. I tried the ones you wear but found the straps to be uncomfortable at the backs of my knees. When I worked landscaping for a living 20 years ago I had several sunscreen shirts. They were pricey but very nice. I have since not only aged but also expanded and they went to the goodwill years ago. My neighbors all think I'm a little off anyway when I'm talking to my flowers or out at the crack of dawn pollinating. So it dosen't really matter how I dress.LOL!

Kim

A silk sequined gown. Looks fab with the hoe, and it's glam in spades.

I am a nurse and I always have scrubs that are past their peak to wear. They are very comfy to garden in and I usually have them on if I plan to spend the day gardening. Otherwise, I wear just about anything, get grubby and curse myself for not planning better.

Uroboros5 I'm sure you look fab !

So I gotta know, Strappy sandals or spike heels????
LOL LOL LOL I nearly wet myself giggling over your post!!!

Kim

We're supposed to wear clothes?
Renee

Renee, you obviously don't have black flies and fire ants.

The best option for the garden wear is the unused clothes as per my view. I always refashioned or rebuilt the unused dress shirts to remake the short sleeves shirts & make the bermuda's or shorts from my previous jeans, by cutting them below the knees. I gives me an extra comfort as well as looks nice in the garden as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dress Shirts