Whenever I eye something beyond my usual spending while shopping, I tell myself the same thing, “Consider this an investment, now go pay for it.”
It shouldn’t be an unfamiliar scenario to most, as the study of economics goes, humans have unlimited desires, and in this world of scarcity, it depends upon the choices we make in fulfilling our desires. As college students, that becomes an even harder choice because we simply have too many places to spend our money on. In that case, making sure we’re choosing wisely is key. Here are some ideas that may come in handy when you are in dilemma at Nordstrom.
The bag:
You cannot miss out on the bag when it comes down to investment pieces. A girl just needs a nice bag no matter what, period. Count the times you have seen a picture of a celebrity in a casual tracksuit and UGGs carrying a $2000+ bag. It’s like a good looking bag is the heart of your outfit and it gives life to everything else you have on.
Visualize this, a girl in a chic outfit with a random canvas tote in hand. “Is she not in her right mind?” will definitely be the first thought that comes up, at least to me. If you’ve paid enough effort to put together something cute, you may as well go a tiny bit further to find yourself a decent bag.
On the contrary, if you see someone carrying say, a Balenciaga Motorcycle bag, wearing gym clothes, I suppose you will still retain some respect for her. This is how the logic goes, a Motorcycle bag implies a certain level of knowledge in fashion, and as far as that goes, you can almost be sure without really seeing it that she has the ability to style a good look.
The golden example of an investment bag has got to be the Hermès Birkin ($9000-$150,000). You ought to know it’s worth everything when it has its own wikipedia page (yes, that bag has one and you don’t, face it) and when each requires 48 hours to make by individual expert artisans.
A Birkin is proved to be depreciating a lot less quickly than most luxury items, not to mention its basic yet classic style keeps it in vogue for decades.
The white shirt:
Whether it’s a T-shirt or a boyfriend shirt, a white shirt is a keeper in your wardrobe. If a little black dress is the King, a white shirt has to be the Queen. Nothing looks more chic than an ensemble of a white shirt and jeans/pants. Rarely can anyone go wrong with this effortless combo.
The only tricky thing when searching for a good white shirt is the material of the shirt. It can’t be too sheer because you don’t want your black bra underneath to show; and since black and white are the two colors that show textures the most easily, the ideal white shirt must be made out of good fabric.
However over-priced a good white shirt may seem, trust me, it is going to worth every buck you spent, unlike your Abercrombie sweater.
Shoes:
Most people have to choose between investing in a nice bag or a a pair of nice shoes because not everyone’s Lady Gaga, but really, the two should be going side by side.
That being said, I am not going to lie, I have always been more of a shoe girl than a bag girl. The reason behind is that not only can shoes brighten up your look, it can tell people who you are and they usually make more of a fashion statement than a bag (though apparently where the current trend is heading is one of the main reasons, too).
It may be harder to distinguish between an investment shoe and a cheap shoe than it is for bags, yet the comfort more pricey shoes give you is incomparable with the cheap ones. It’s not like high heels do not hurt, even expensive ones do, but go try on a pair of Christian Louboutin, you’ll understand.
Everyone should have fashion pieces they consider an investment and they may not necessarily be the ones I’ve mentioned above. What’s always true is you want to get as much use you can out of them, so, in short, TIMELESSNESS is the way to go.