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Musing on Quality + Saturday Reading


     I consider myself to be part of the generation for whom fast fashion, for better or worse, has had a huge impact on my expectations and relationship with clothes and shopping, and I'm sure the impact will only be greater for those younger than myself. I sometimes hear, from older adults, that our generation doesn't know how to recognize quality and I wonder if that is correct. Do we rely almost exclusively on other things, like name brand, or advertisements, or even fabric content ("well it is 100% silk...")  as a barometer of quality?
    I was thinking about this recently because I dusted off the bag pictured above, to take to a wedding. This evening bag belonged to my grandmother, and was purchased in the 1930's. It is over 80 years old, and has held up like a champ - not a single bead has come loose or fallen off. The few contemporary beaded pieces that I have barely last a few years, much less a few decades. To be fair, it isn't like I use this bag everyday, I save it for special events, but even still, the quality of it impresses me. 
     What do I have, if anything, that will still be in mint condition 100 years from now? Is it unrealistic to expect anything I have still will be? I'd love to hear your thoughts and how you judge the quality of your pieces.

And now, in other news, some articles for your perusal for the long weekend:


1. I adore Stacy London, and I recommend her recent article on fashion, personal style, and aging. (Refinery 29)

2. The striking images above are from a great fall fashion photo shoot New York Magazine did last month. (The Cut)

3. The article titles Racked uses are sometime's so spot on: We Can't Figure Out Amazon's Weird Pricing System. I always check Amazon if there is a specific thing I am trying to find, because I've found that certain sizes are sometimes heavily discounted. However, just browsing that site for clothes/accessories, if you don't know what you want, is terrible. 

4. Last up, an article on the journey of Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, from Oscar de la Renta, to opening their own label, Monse, and now back to Oscar de la Renta to serve as the creative directors. Turnover at fashion houses has been high, but I'm excited to see what they do. (NYT)

2 comments

  1. Ooh juicy topic! It's quite complicated isn't it? For one, the breadth of fashion offering is so much wider than 20 years ago, and so are the spreads of quality and price, so the crappiest and cheapest of today are the crappiest and cheapest of all time. Also, women are having children later, so we have more time playing with clothes instead of buying sensible ones to clothe our families. And of course there's preservation bias, the survival of the fittest that doesn't necessarily represent the average. (Found your blog through Feather Factor btw)

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    1. Hi Tracy,

      Thank you for reading and commenting! I hadn't considered your point about survival of the (closet) fittest, but I like it =)

      - D

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