Is it sometimes worth it to sacrifice a bit of personal style for a great quality, well-priced item?
For example, you’ve been looking for a thick, dark-colored 100% cashmere cowl-neck sweater but can’t seem to find one. You come across a grey version of the sweater you’re looking for: it’s the highest quality for a great price, it fits well but you’ve always said grey isn’t really your color. Do you get it knowing that because it’s (almost) everything you hoped for, it’ll become a staple in your closet this winter? Or… do you hold out for the right item knowing it may never come along? Or, do you settle for something in the right color and style but maybe a lesser quality cashmere for the same price and pretend you don’t care?
My friend Tania posed this question to me a few weeks ago after I complimented her on a cashmere sweater dress she was wearing. It was a bit baggier of a look than I was used to seeing her in, but I liked it and it looked SOOO comfy. That’s when she told me that she had been looking for something exactly like it and when she found it for a fantastic price, even though she knew it was going to fit a bit bigger than she would have liked, she was going to make it a winter staple anyway. She’s done the same for high quality/usually really expensive tights that she’s gotten at great prices; purchased patterns she may normally not have chosen because she knew they would last several seasons and the price she was getting them at couldn’t be beat.
I’m only starting to understand quality vs. quantity when it comes to having a great wardrobe. I’m not sure I’d choose the grey better quality cashmere over the black of a lower quality because I know grey just ISN’T my color (and to be honest, I’m not even sure I could tell run-of-the-mill cashmere over really high quality cashmere although when I did a search, this article was very helpful). I think what this all comes down to is being able to distinguish the high quality stuff from the low quality stuff, which can be very hard to do, and requires research and experience.
We all tend to judge clothes by their labels; Chanel is high quality, Forever 21 is low quality, Theory is somewhere in between, but we often forget that just because something has a label attached to it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to last forever. And so we have to research… and research continuously to know what we’re spending our money on.
If you’re looking for a the highest quality cashmere sweater, research who sells them and then see if you can find one on EBay or Filene’s Basement or TJMaxx discounted. If you’re looking for a pair of wellies to last the next 5 years, ask around to see what manufacturers have a warranties or what stores have refund policies if they start leaking.
It all comes down to being an educated consumer. Tania knows she’s getting a great deal on the cashmere dress or the wool tights because she’s done the research and so she’s willing to sacrifice a bit of color or style for the higher quality in the hopes that it will keep her warmer or last longer, etc. I haven’t yet done the research but… 2010 is just around the corner, and there’s no better time than now to start.
