The oldest thing in your closet

Minimalism in the wardrobe and this unique thing…

If you are serious about following the rules of minimalism, then surely you’ve already cleaned up your wardrobe. You got rid of everything redundant, damaged, things you don’t want do wear. The minimalism in the wardrobe has its own rules. You sorted, refreshed, thought over and determined your base. I suspect that it was not the first wardrobe decluttering in your life, although it may be more comprehensive and ruthless than the previous ones.
Now consider if there is a thing hanging in your closet for years and surviving all revamping and decluttering? The thing that you take care of exceptionally, that wears out very slowly, although you like to wear it and are you glad that you came across it X years ago while shopping?

The oldest thing in your wardrobe

The oldest thing in your wardrobe proves that there is a room for good investments in clothing shopping. It is also proof that it is worth paying more for something. I do not expect that a mass market t-shirt for a few euro will survive the next 6 years in almost perfect condition.

Look at your clothes, shoes and accessories and answer the following questions:
Which are the oldest?
How long do you have them?
Why do you have kept them all the time?
How often do you wear them and how much do you like to wear them?
How is it that you like them all this time and you don’t get bored?
What are they made of? (is it, for example, shoes or a handbag, are they made of leather, etc.)
How are they made? (check seams, quality of stitching, buttons)
How are they cut?

The oldest thing in your wardrobe? 99% of these items are made of good materials, they are neatly sewn and evenly cut. They could cost a fortune, but they didn’t have to. They could also have been worn by generations. They have a timeless design, they are well tailored and they have that „something”. These are either elements of your clothing basa or a characteristic statement piece (I wrote about it here), which is always up to date.

Now take a look at the rest of your clothes. Do they have the same chance of surviving in your closet? Is their quality sufficient? Are the cut and pattern equally timeless?

If you often buy something and like to go crazy on sales: If you were to go shopping today and compare everything you take with the quality and timelessness of those oldest beloved clothes, would you buy anything? How do all these answers affect your purchasing criteria?

The oldest thing in my closet

is at least 40 years old… This is a party dress from my mother’s youth, which was re-designed by a very talented young tailor when I was in high school. This thing is decades old, but because it was created at a time when the quality of the materials was completely different, it’s great. The new cut is also universal and I can successfully wear it today. A clutch bag three generations old fits it perfectly, but you can already see time on it – still it can be effectively refreshed.

The oldest clothes that I bought myself are:

• pink Troll blouse with a floral motif, bought about 13 years ago – it’s great, although I wear it often in summer. This year it takes place in a business mini-capsule
• red fitted Echo dress also bought about 13 years ago – it is also great, although I have definitely less opportunities to wear it.

Two suede outer garments from Orsay are slightly younger – a long trench and a jacket, bought probably in 2006, that is when you could buy much better quality clothes there. Certainly they were not expensive, because for the salary from my first job I would not be able to go crazy. It was very good value for money and I have not seen such cases since then :).
Next in line is probably the elegant woolen dress from Mango, bought some 6 years ago. It’s fair to say that after three years of infrequent use, the zipper pushed up at my butt and I had some adjustments at the seamstress. I wear it relatively rarely, because it’s more of a fall / winter garment, so we’ll see if it’s the last time it needs to be repaired. I have some decent dresses by Mango, but I haven’t found anything like it in at least three years.

Conclusions

In the past, you had to pay relatively less for good quality. A well-tailored jacket made of thick suede for 50 euro? Anyone seen?

The quality of clothes in mass market has decreased. Unfortunately, in more expensive boutiques, we pay more for a logo than for quality.

Having an average budget, we will never achieve the same quality of fabrics and sewing in the wardrobe as our parents achieved in times when there was little to buy, and their budget was probably even smaller. Even 20 years ago it was easier.

Once ona a men’s fashion blog, a woman stated in the comment that the only clothes she could pass to her daughter were two coats, because nothing else would survive to the moment she is an adult. It’s hard to disagree. Today, manufacturers do not sew their clothes to be worn by three generations, but so that in a few years (the optimistic version) they have to be replaced with new ones.

Good quality clothes pays off. You just have to bet on a timeless model. The straight cut dress is as fashionable today as it was when I bought it 13 years ago.

If you are aware that you can enjoy something for several years or longer, the approach to investing in clothes changes.

What’s the oldest thing in your wardrobe? How this awareness influences the criteria of your purchases?