Buy and Hold: The BIFL movement

A distant cousin to the lauded FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, Buy It for Life (BIFL) promotes high-performing goods made to last for decades, even into the next century.  

BIF rejects buying short-life goods or "latest models" whether  a phone or jacket, but it is not the same as frugality. Frugality begins with a discernment between want and need, BIFL assumes consumption advises "buy less, buy better.". The BIFLer will buy a $5o0 Arcteryx parka in a favourite colour (after all, they're wearing it for decades); the frugal shopper will look for secondhand or more affordable brands.

BIFL affirms durability, but it's one thing to buy a Lodge cast iron skillet, another to invest in a high-quality winter coat. Why is that? I have several hypotheses:

1. We may get dressed alone, but we live in society

Even 30,000 years ago—when humans figured out how to sew with bone needles—adornment  had   purposes beyond survival: status, ritual, beauty. Archaeologists have found necklaces and pendants made by not only homo sapiens, but also Neanderthals and Denisovans. (I have long imagined a Neanderthal woman pouting, "No, I want one like the all the other humanoid girls are wearing.")

Needles begat tailoring; tailoring begat what we call "fashion". The more precise the garment cut, the more time-stamped the item; consider '80s blazers compared to today's. If I had to wear some of the clothes I thought were fab in the '70s today, when I am now in my 70s, I'd laugh till my blue mascara ran.

2. The garment won't change, but you will.

Lifestyle or body changes can cancel what was intended to last for many years. I sprang for some leather tote and brief-bags, and by the time they had developed a beautiful patina, I could't haul the weight. They now hold socks and winter scarves.

A more poignant example is from a Susanfriend who was widowed and found she could not bear the vibrant prints that had been her signature. She did not adopt the black of mourning, but found that gentle colours like soft blue or gentle lilac comforted her, and eight years on has no intention of going back to bright.

3.  BIFL takes commitment

Commitment to the item, as in, "This will be it for a very long time", but also steely rejection of really good sales or the magnetic pull of a sweater that is a better colour than the one you bought three years ago. 

Uniform dressers, whether by vocation or preference, have a leg up; the rest of us flirt and flit. It's not always about a short attention span, it's also a desire for pleasure and beauty, for the thrill of the find.

The title of a documentary about Diana Vreeland, "The Eye Has to Travel", captures this yearning. Vreeland wanted attire to stimulate, even enchant, and was open to a dash of "bad taste". She was in fact a BIFLer, wearing black cashmere separates for many years, but made sure her jewellery and shoes were of the minute.  

Wishes versus reality

I see BIFL as a reaction to the flood of shoddy goods from every sector of manufacturing, but anyone who has watched home-makeover videos where a woman shows a wall of little cubbies built for dozens of handbags notices that you can overbuy high-quality items.

And, I note bleakly, want to know what material is truly for life? Polyester, the number one textile used worldwide in apparel. (Source.)  My poly crepe top from 2000 that looks good as the day I bought it, dammit, and if trashed would sit in a landfill, taking between 20 and 200 years to decompose. Meanwhile my silk blouses held up as long as a movie.

Three good questions 

BIFL's buy less, buy better strategy is familiar to women in the Passage. Even so, I have made more than my share of mistakes. These questions are helping me now.

"What is one thing I believe is a for-life investment? Why?" 

 I want to identify the logical (durability, versatility, quality of materials) and emotional factors (joy, appreciation, comfort) that create the choice.  

This handmade silver chain —versatile, solid, and quietly fine—was made entirely by hand by the superb jeweller Don Collins of Artworks by Collins and Chandler, Toronto. (Forget plated chains if you plan to be around for awhile.) It has a supple drape and at 38  inches doubles nicely. 

Don doesn't make these often, they are finicky and time-consuming. (If you want to see one method, jeweller Laurie Lynn Berezin of Beryllina shows the steps here.)

I also nominate a Tahitian pearl pendant with a stunning play of colour. This 10mm pink/green semi-baroque on a 14k white gold ball bail would delight all your years. From Kamoka Pearl, the French Polynesian sustainable pearl farmers; price, $US 357.

Photo: Kamoka Pearl

"What clothing has already lasted a very long time?"

List these and to see what's worth spending energy to hunt down.

For me, pure wool sweaters once I learned how to keep the moths away. Here's a robin's egg blue cardie I just took out for its 24th spring. Éric Bompard still make the same style.

"What did I think I was buying for life, but turned out to disappoint?"

A question that reveals misguided choices and post-buying issues.

A Sonia Rykiel iridescent vinyl-coated raincoat disintegrated in two years, probably because stored in a overheated closet where it dried out. The one below made it into the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, but mine moulted to shreds. If you plan to keep clothes for decades, learn about conservation.

Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives

Another boon of BIFL is its insistence on maintenance; like relationships, "for life" takes constant attention. I'm heartened to see so many younger people learning how to mend and repair clothes.  

My adult children, who are BIFLing as best they can whether choosing a kitchen range or a hoodie, point out that BIFL assumes privilege; one often-named BIFL brand, Patagonia, is also called "Cash-a-gone-ia".  

Please comment about your thoughts about BIFL, and the things that are "for life" for you!