“That's a very nice shirt you are wearing”, said a friend of mine the other day. “It is a very nice tartan pattern. Where did you get it? England?"

“No”, I replied, “A Canadian University Overseas Service colleague of mine gave it to me as a Christmas present in Dhaka in 1985.” "So, if anyone says that Bangladesh shirts are not of good quality, you can tell them about my shirt, now 27 years old”, I added.

A lot of people throw out or give away clothes each year so that they can always be 'in fashion'. However, I grew up in the years after the Second World War (1939-45) when many things were rationed including clothing. Clothes were handed down from one child to another and between cousins too. I remember my mother forever mending clothes and darning socks in order to extend their usefulness. So I grew up trying to make things last and became a bit of a hoarder.

The day my friend was asking me about my shirt, I was wearing a pair of thick nylon maroon coloured socks on top of a pair of thin cotton ones. I have three pairs maroon, green and brown and they have been with me for fifty years. In the very severe winter of 1962-3 in the UK, I was working on a dairy farm to get practical experience before going to agricultural college. At that time I was wearing woollen socks inside rubber 'Wellington' boots and holes were appearing at the heels of all my socks. One day I saw an advertisement in the weekly 'Farmers Weekly' magazine announcing “Indestructible Socks-3 pairs for the price of 2". All three pairs are still going strong and probably will outlive me! The socks have been used with rubber boots bought in the UK in 1967 when 'Dunlop' still made them and these boots have seen service not only in the UK but in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia as well.

Of course, as I grow older, it feels good if I can still wear that jacket which was made to measure in New Delhi thirty years ago, or fit into the Dhaka made trousers which were stitched fifteen years ago. Bangladeshis are very good at recycling things and in the last few days I have seen many handing out second hand clothes and blankets to the homeless who are suffering so badly with this very severe cold wave.

My Bangladeshi friends have told me strongly to clear out my clothes and give them to the poor, which I do every year. But I will certainly not be saying goodbye to my 'vintage' clothes!

JULIAN FRANCIS WAS RECENTLY HONOURED AS A FOREIGN FRIEND OF BANGLADESH FOR HIS ROLE IN THE COUNTRY'S WAR OF LIBERATION IN 1971.