The Oldest Things In My Wardrobe…
A recent study hit the Belle desks recently telling us that 14 million Brits were pledging to reduce or ditch fast fashion this year.
I get it. I remember my first time in a Primark. My heart was racing with excitement at the price tags and my potential to procure. I hit the till with about 20 items that amounted to the cost of two things in the normal shops I used. It was like a retail induced high. This lasted until I realized that a top was see-through, four other things chaffed to third degree burns and everything else dissolved in the wash. The economics didn’t work for me, neither was I ‘fashion’ enough to pull off anything that wasn’t classic chic.
This reported increasing rejection of fast fashion got me thinking about longevity in my own wardrobe. What have I actually got that has truly served me in clothing pleasure whilst reducing my textile and financial waste?
These are those things:
- M&S Cheap skinny jeans (vintage: 6 years)
OK, I may have stumped you there, sounds like fast fashion, right? Nope. I actually read about this somewhere recently and felt duly validated. These cost me, if I remember correctly, in the region of £22. They are my best ever jeans. I am, true story, wearing them now. I wear them casually and I wear them out with a nice top. The only sign of wear is a bleach splash of my own accidental making which actually adds to their rock star cachet. I look thinner in them. I’m complimented in them. I inadvertently once saw how good my calves looked in them and that alone is worth thrice the price.
- Chanel going out bag 2.55 style (vintage: 14 years)
This was a very expensive bag. I bought it back when ‘it’ bags were way less than the price of a small car as they seem to be now, but yes, it was an eye watering outlay. It has, and I promise this to be true, been the only going out bag I’ve used in all those years. I’ve taken it to clubs, weddings, the races, restaurants, balls, all things. It’s always noticed. I always feel like I have the best bag. I never even look at other bags. It’s a bond stronger than most marriages. It paid back in 2009.
- New Look square neck t-shirt (vintage: 20 years +)
No lie, I have had this over 20 years, possibly more, that’s just the last time I have a definite reliable memory of wearing it. It crops up in photo albums that cover jobs, boyfriends, husband, kids and residency in different continents. I bought it from a sale rack in an already cheaper shop. This may have been, by definition a fast fashion purchase but it turns out it was slow, so very, very slow and so very, very loved. Who knew?
- Black Jimmy Choo stilettoes and nude LK Bennett ones (vintage: approx. 10 years)
Similar to the bag, these are pricey shoes, but they can really be all you need. They are like Dorothy’s ruby slippers; in them I feel I may slay witches, admonish bad men and conquer dance floors. They are not likely to last the lifetime(s) I’m expecting of the Chanel, but they paid back in three nights out vs. a standard chain store shoe – and the price ensures I give them due care and repair that would not be deemed worth it for a normal shoe.
- Karen Millen LBD (vintage: 10 years +)
This one cost something in the region of £100, so not cheap, but not insane either. It’s plain – but yet, it isn’t. It’s fitted, but in a flattering A-line way, so as to look amazing whatever is in your stomach (pregnancies after beginning of second trimesters excluded). It has a couple of shiny buttons on mock pockets that are not entirely un-Chanel and it has a chrome zip that runs down the back. It’s an LBD, but it’s also special. I can wear it with fishnets and heels (see point 3… oh and 2), ballet flats, flip flops and high boots and opaque tights. It’s all the LBD I’ve ever needed in at least the past decade.
My conclusion is that longevity in clothes is linked to the amount you love the thing. I have heard it said that you should aim to buy the best you can afford. I think there’s logic in this, but truly you have to LOVE it at whatever price. Love can be found however, in the strangest places and money can’t always buy it for you.
So, I say choose wisely, choose love and every girl, at some point, should own a Chanel.
