Buy and hold: Closet equity

A peek in my closet will show a range of items anywhere from twenty-five years to two weeks old, with most hovering in the one-to-ten-year zone. I am a buy-and-hold woman except for mistakes or things that no longer fit.

Am example: a thirteen-year-old Part Two leather-sleeved, boiled wool black jacket, light enough to wear indoors, or as outerwear.

This approach is anathema to some women (and not just young ones), who scroll their feeds to see influencers in their OOTD, never repeated.

Today introduces an occasional series, "Buy and Hold", which draws from Warren Buffet's investment strategy, because what we are after is closet equity, not  Insta likes.

If this analogy were completely accurate, an item would increase in value. Occasionally, that happens. I bought the jacket at 70% off, around $130 in 2007. Now, the cost to replace it would be at least twice that. (We have to take good care of our clothes, because a moth-eaten jacket is worth about $2!)

Even if our wardrobe doesn't appreciate (when your trousers split, unlike a stock, it is not good news) at least we can avoid rapid depreciation by buying what will serve and hold up for years.

Buffet also buys undervalued stocks. Translated to clothing buys, if you are a Label Girl, you are going to pay a huge brand tax (credit to Naomi Klein for this term—and are those two not strange bedfellows?), so you'd better get fantastic mileage from a full-retail Burberry raincoat.

Like Buffet, I hope to find quality buys that are not overpriced. That is a daunting task, faced with declining quality at every price point, but I will try, and invite you to contribute, too. Think of us as an investment club for clothes.

Part Two, a Danish brand, consistently turn out tailored, non-generic pieces that hold their own against pricier labels. Their outerwear is especially strong. Sizing goes up to US 14, but some items have a more relaxed fit.

1. Blazer in"light ink" or black; viscose/poly blend; price €170.  There's an especially refined picked-stitch detail on the lapel, and three piped pockets.

2. From the spring line, the "Brigitte" pullover, a blend of alpaca, wool, nylon and a bit of elastane; hand-washable. In the Passage, we want to look alluring, and this does delivers, with that flirt of pointelle in a tart lemon (and the other colours are just as pleasing). Price, €120.

3. This slightly fitted, mixed-quilted vest, is on sale now (and may be s/o by the time you read). Sale price, €35.

If you're looking for plus sizes, check out Nör's women's line, Nör+ for similar Danish-cool clothes; international shipping.

A last word on foreign investments: import taxes and duties are, as investors say, "the price of poker". Shipping is a sunk cost; only a few vendors offer free returns. If the clothes are well-made, to me it is worth it. When you buy any imports in your local store, you are still paying import duties and overhead (buried in the price) and applicable local taxes.

As well, any vendors are now charging a restocking fee, to stem the ordering-and-returning that some customers (but certainly not us!) thought was free entertainment.