I live in the NY Metro Area, and for me Luxury is pretty much over. The combination of the past two years of semi-isolation due to Covid concerns and the serious rise in crime have caused me to reevaluate so many things. I no longer feel comfortable or safe wearing designer clothing or jewels. My Akris and Chanel RTW garments are languishing in our storage facility, waiting until I have the heart to send them to a reseller. Most likely, only one item will be a keeper -- a Chanel multi-colored coat that I bought as a birthday gift to myself pre-pandemic. My closet is now filled with Frank & Eileen Jackets, Shirts, Capelets and Pants, supplemented with Eileen Fisher Tops, Underpinnings, Pants and Leggings. When I want something a bit more stylish, I reach for pieces from "The Slow Wardrobe," a UK-based company (theslowwardrobe.co.uk) with a wide variety of handmade heavyweight and lightweight linen clothing in luscious colors (and black, of course) that work for and fit just about everyone. My days of dressing to impress are over, with rare exceptions. Rather than feeling sad about this change, I find it quite liberating.
During the past couple of years I've also downsized my handbag collection considerably, realizing that for me less is truly more. I've whittled it down to just a handful of designer bags, and I'm not sure whether or not I've been brutal enough yet. What remains is four Hermes bags (30 Chartreuse Birkin, 32 Black Kelly, 31 Rouge Grenat Bolide and Black Clutch) as well as two SO Black Chanels (Rectangular Mini and Jumbo). Carrying the Chartreuse Birkin is out of the question these days, and probably the same for the Black Kelly. Both are too recognizable. Carrying a Clutch, so easy to snatch, seems absurd. The Bolide is a great color and under the radar, so to speak. Same goes for the the SO Black Chanels. Nothing screaming "come take me" about those three bags. I've just purchased another Chanel Rectangular Mini in Metallic Silver, and I'm already wondering what I was thinking even before it's arrived. I suspect I'll be returning that one, but will decide when I see it IRL.
Having done so much purging of handbags, I've promised myself to do a proper closet purge and adopt a semi-minimalist approach to dressing. The expert advice on this is to literally empty the closet and make three piles -- to keep, send to reseller, and give away. It's the "empty the entire closet" part that's kept me from tackling this project. I think I'll attempt to do this in clothing categories to make the purge more manageable. I'm not sure how to do this without having someone there with me to pry things out of my hands, so I may enlist a friend to keep me company and encourage me to let things go.
Next up is the jewelry box purge. During the pandemic I sold a couple of pairs of Elizabeth Locke earclips that I hadn't worn in ages, and resisted the urge to use the funds to buy something with that Jeweler. Back to the "less is more" thinking, I realize that I need to do a major clean out. I find that, like favorite items of clothing, I tend to wear just a small fraction of what I've amassed over many years. Time to let go!
My concept of Luxury certainly has evolved. It's gone from having a large assortment of designer handbags, clothing and jewels to having a carefully curated small collection, mostly consisting of items that I can wear without worry. Attracting attention is not a good idea these days.
I would love to hear from others here who have come to regard Luxury differently than they did pre-pandemic.
MillStream
During the past couple of years I've also downsized my handbag collection considerably, realizing that for me less is truly more. I've whittled it down to just a handful of designer bags, and I'm not sure whether or not I've been brutal enough yet. What remains is four Hermes bags (30 Chartreuse Birkin, 32 Black Kelly, 31 Rouge Grenat Bolide and Black Clutch) as well as two SO Black Chanels (Rectangular Mini and Jumbo). Carrying the Chartreuse Birkin is out of the question these days, and probably the same for the Black Kelly. Both are too recognizable. Carrying a Clutch, so easy to snatch, seems absurd. The Bolide is a great color and under the radar, so to speak. Same goes for the the SO Black Chanels. Nothing screaming "come take me" about those three bags. I've just purchased another Chanel Rectangular Mini in Metallic Silver, and I'm already wondering what I was thinking even before it's arrived. I suspect I'll be returning that one, but will decide when I see it IRL.
Having done so much purging of handbags, I've promised myself to do a proper closet purge and adopt a semi-minimalist approach to dressing. The expert advice on this is to literally empty the closet and make three piles -- to keep, send to reseller, and give away. It's the "empty the entire closet" part that's kept me from tackling this project. I think I'll attempt to do this in clothing categories to make the purge more manageable. I'm not sure how to do this without having someone there with me to pry things out of my hands, so I may enlist a friend to keep me company and encourage me to let things go.
Next up is the jewelry box purge. During the pandemic I sold a couple of pairs of Elizabeth Locke earclips that I hadn't worn in ages, and resisted the urge to use the funds to buy something with that Jeweler. Back to the "less is more" thinking, I realize that I need to do a major clean out. I find that, like favorite items of clothing, I tend to wear just a small fraction of what I've amassed over many years. Time to let go!
My concept of Luxury certainly has evolved. It's gone from having a large assortment of designer handbags, clothing and jewels to having a carefully curated small collection, mostly consisting of items that I can wear without worry. Attracting attention is not a good idea these days.
I would love to hear from others here who have come to regard Luxury differently than they did pre-pandemic.
MillStream