A hand-me-down carries somebody else’s past into the measurements of your body.

Clothing keeps the shape of the person who wore it. A hand-me-down arrives already stretched at the elbow, worn at one hip, faded where a bag strap sat, and your body now has to meet all that. You are not just given an object but a set of impressions made by someone else’s habits, and wearing it is a slow negotiation between two lives.

If something passed to you sits oddly, that is worth noticing rather than fixing straight away. Ask whether you want to keep the shape it came with or let your own use gradually overwrite it. Both are fine, and the same question applies to habits and expectations handed down the same way.