6 Personal Lessons on Consumption

Earlier this month, we learnt that Dior handbags are made for 53€ (not counting materials) and sold for close to 3000€. Amid rising prices for luxury products, this beckoned the question what consumers pay for, when they buy luxury.

With these news, we now know that the emperor is indeed wearing no clothes! Customers are being duped. They might expect a high-quality item that’s produced with care. What they’re getting is…something else.

While I was never in the market for brands like Dior, Hermes, or Prada, the handbag scandal got me thinking: Which of my purchases in the past were actually worth it? Where did the money I invested miss the mark? When did I feel duped by clever marketing and wanting to belong?

To reflect, I wrote up three great and three bad purchases I made in the past.

Three Great Purchases

1. High-Quality Basics

This is a duh in any closet! I love a good high-quality staple sweater.

I adore when my clothing slowly and over time attains patina. It’s lovely, when a sweater molds itself to your body ever so slightly over the course of many washes. I have a pair of jeans from the 00s that, over the course of many washes, produced a perfectly faded look.

2. Everything I Snagged From the Archival Sale of a Made-to-Measure Label

Aaah, a fashion lovers dream come true! Over the course of the past years, a made to measure label from my area had a huge blowout sale of their archives.

I fit the 80s and 90s aesthetic of narrow pants and crips shoulders well, so this was a dream come true. The pieces are incredibly well-made from fabric quality you can’t find, anymore. A once-every-blue-moon occasion.

Now, the only thing I need to do is find the right ratio between babying the pieces and remembering that clothes are made for wearing.

3. High-Quality Vintage Fabrics to Rework

In the same vein as the above, I like to snag vintage garments and fabrics to be reworked into contemporary pieces. Fabrics used to be more durable in the past, more dense, and just better quality.

When I found something at a vintage store or flea market that fit the bill, I made sure to get it and devise a genius plan for turning it into a custom piece of clothing with my wonderful tailor. Quality never fades. It’s a lovely feeling to reimagine a piece for a new chapter in its story!

Three Bad Purchases

Were they dumb? A little. Let’s explore.

1. Buying on Sale, Because Sale

The lure of spending to save used to be strong when I was younger. Girl math was real! Sales still exude a draw on me. Now it’s a whisper, though.

I appreciate that with intentional planning, sales make goods attainable that are out of your regular price range. That can be a good thing, see point 2 of great purchases.

It can also lead to shiny object syndrome, of which I had plenty when I was younger. Sigh!

2. Buying a Brand Label Bag

A couple of years ago, I bought a bag from a mid-range labe (no Dior or the like) for my birthday.

At first, I didn’t wear it, because it felt precious. Then, I did and it broke way, way too quickly. Now, it’s sitting in a corner of my accessories shelf, collecting dust. I don’t know what to do with it – sell it or just wear it out. I wouldn’t do that again. At the end of the day, this purchase lacked long-term value, even though the bag has a nice design.

3. Quantity Over Quality

Now, this one is tricky. I’ll never be a minimalist. I love to express myself with clothing. It’s so delightful to have options in your wardrobe, so you can match your feelings for the day through clothing.

In the past, this led me down the treacherous avenues of overbuying vintage and fast fashion. Not smart. None of these items lasted. I ended up hating the quality of their fabrics against my skin. And, once I found my style, I realized that I had dressed for the current fashion more than as a genuine expression of my point of view on style.

I’ve donated most of these pieces now and hope they have a good second life with somebody who enjoys them. I’m now a very discerning buyer of vintage and very, very rarely get anything from fast fashion brands (maybe t-shirts for hiking).

The Value of These Lessons - Discernment

While I don’t love that I blew money on some very, very unnecessary things, my frustration over this has also lead me towards a more considered path in style.

These lessons of the past have helped me figure out what was worth it to me, when it comes to fashion and what wasn’t.

How about you? What was worth it to you? What wasn’t?