I have recently been buying items from on-line consignment platforms. The fabulous Dior brown mules I am wearing in this photo are from one I tried for the first time. It is a great way to be sustainable and it also gives me a way to obtain pieces I admire when the original ticket price is somewhat beyond what I want to spend. This made me think about the possibility of starting an on-line consignment store for some of the clothes I no longer wear or are not the right fit. Among the many questions these musings implicated one was, “What would I hold on to and what might I let go?”
It got me thinking about how these kinds of decisions are made and then ironically in an interview yesterday someone asked my thoughts about why a person might decide to keep a piece in their closet for a lifetime. Of course there are those pieces you do because you collect and adore a particular designer (like Yohji or Rei) and you think of those pieces as part of a collection you have similar to art. Then for me there are those pieces to which memories are attached. Sometimes when I go into my closet I find a piece I haven’t worn for a number of years and as I bring the garment closer I can smell a faint scent of the perfume I wore at the time and a flood of memories of people, places and things takes me over.
The shirt I am wearing above was given to me by a very special woman I had the pleasure of meeting on a trip to Savannah. Wondering out of the tourist part of town, at the far end of a park where real life began, we came upon a cafe and went in. Seated at a table holding court was a tall, beautiful and statuesque woman putting me in mind of Pat Cleveland, albeit a few years older. As I walked by she engaged me by commenting on my outfit. Upon hearing we were visiting, she invited us to join her table of artists and other interesting folk from Savannah. She had been an illustrator for a greeting card company until she retired and now was spending her time making the most exquisite dolls. It was a wonderful afternoon and we abandoned all other plans for the day. We learned the city’s secrets and we felt as though we had been inducted into a Savannah secret society.
We saw her a few more times before leaving and on our last day she met us to say goodbye and presented me with the shirt I am wearing in this picture. It is spun of beautiful silk with the most exquisite open weave sleeves interspersed with knotted silken cords. She could not remember when and how she had obtained it, but it was from Japan and she clearly knew that it now had to belong to me. Though I do not wear it often, it is not a garment that will ever go into my possible future on-line consignment shop because of the memory it holds for me of this beautiful woman and the lovely experiences in secret places she treated us to that week.
What makes you “hold on” to your garments?
to be honest my reasons are the same as the ones you mentioned!
to be honest my reasons are the same as the ones you mentioned!
What an interesting story….and isn’t that the way that all such gifts be imparted ? She clearly saw it could be worn in the way she imagined. I’m also intrigued by on-line consignment for higher-end pieces and will have to dive into that world. No real thoughts on keeping vs passing on – I’m pretty ruthless with my wardrobe ( in terms of editing and purging) which is a manifestation of my need to maintain some semblance of control in my life (ha) and a desire to keep a considered collection of clothing. I’m not so fortunate as to have anything that could be considered a true designer piece of art, but if I did, I’d treat it as such.
What an interesting story….and isn’t that the way that all such gifts be imparted ? She clearly saw it could be worn in the way she imagined. I’m also intrigued by on-line consignment for higher-end pieces and will have to dive into that world. No real thoughts on keeping vs passing on – I’m pretty ruthless with my wardrobe ( in terms of editing and purging) which is a manifestation of my need to maintain some semblance of control in my life (ha) and a desire to keep a considered collection of clothing. I’m not so fortunate as to have anything that could be considered a true designer piece of art, but if I did, I’d treat it as such.
Nothing 🙂 The older I get the more I feel they are just clothes – lovely clothes but still clothes.
I keep things for the same reasons in this post, and one additional reason. There are some pieces of clothing that I keep because they remind me of who I was, tactile evidence that I existed in a different form than I do now.
I keep things for the same reasons in this post, and one additional reason. There are some pieces of clothing that I keep because they remind me of who I was, tactile evidence that I existed in a different form than I do now.
I like you often hold onto pieces due to an emotional attachment. Some vintage pieces are like works of art and I often choose to hang onto them if only to admire them. In my office I have a mannequin that I switch up regularly to show off some of my vast collection.
Bisous
Suzanne
I like you often hold onto pieces due to an emotional attachment. Some vintage pieces are like works of art and I often choose to hang onto them if only to admire them. In my office I have a mannequin that I switch up regularly to show off some of my vast collection.
Bisous
Suzanne
I am learning to get rid of clothes that no longer make me feel good to wear but if I have made them with fabrics I love and/ or have bought on my travels it is much harder .
I keep things that have given visible life to a piece of myself.
Last night my young musician friend joined us for an impromptu dinner, bringing his beautiful new girlfriend. After dinner we shared love stories, music, and scotch around a fire. Looking across the fire at this beautiful young woman I had a strong impulse to give her a gift, a treasured fringed red suede vintage jacket, exquisite, soft, sexy. Her boyfriend had given it to me years ago when he rented space from me for his new vintage venture, in appreciation of our shared sensibilities and the chance I was taking with him.
The gifting made all of us so happy. All, except perhaps my husband who wasn’t finished seeing me in it! The part of myself that jacket gave visible life to was a creative, feminine, independent woman who could be unpredictable. It was perfect for her.
I keep things that have given visible life to a piece of myself.
Last night my young musician friend joined us for an impromptu dinner, bringing his beautiful new girlfriend. After dinner we shared love stories, music, and scotch around a fire. Looking across the fire at this beautiful young woman I had a strong impulse to give her a gift, a treasured fringed red suede vintage jacket, exquisite, soft, sexy. Her boyfriend had given it to me years ago when he rented space from me for his new vintage venture, in appreciation of our shared sensibilities and the chance I was taking with him.
The gifting made all of us so happy. All, except perhaps my husband who wasn’t finished seeing me in it! The part of myself that jacket gave visible life to was a creative, feminine, independent woman who could be unpredictable. It was perfect for her.
I would love to see your store! Opportunity to buy some of pieces I admire will be great. After so many years of introspection, sentiments make me hold on things! Memories!
I would love to see your store! Opportunity to buy some of pieces I admire will be great. After so many years of introspection, sentiments make me hold on things! Memories!
I hold on to pieces that make me feel strong and confident while wearing them. I have a few beautiful things that I don’t wear, but keep because I can display them.
I hold on to pieces that make me feel strong and confident while wearing them. I have a few beautiful things that I don’t wear, but keep because I can display them.
I am quite ruthless in curating my wardrobe. I have disciplined myself to only buy what I love and many of those loved items are items of longevity. I actually feel quite sad to have items hanging in my closet that don’t get worn, so I tend to move those ones on. I like to think that they can go to another home and be appreciated and enjoyed by someone else. Years ago I would get quite attached to my clothes but not now:)
I am quite ruthless in curating my wardrobe. I have disciplined myself to only buy what I love and many of those loved items are items of longevity. I actually feel quite sad to have items hanging in my closet that don’t get worn, so I tend to move those ones on. I like to think that they can go to another home and be appreciated and enjoyed by someone else. Years ago I would get quite attached to my clothes but not now:)