Dior RTW: Feelings on wearing older seasons
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I'm not sure how we can convince you aside from the that fact that if you truly fall in love with an article of clothing you will want to keep reaching for it season after season. I have items in my wardrobe that are 20 years old and I get as much excitement wearing them today as I did then. If you want to hedge your bets, reach for something with a classic style (bar jacket/coat) especially since these categories of items are not washed often. Therefore they will stay pristine longer than say a shirt or a pant. Also ignore trends and what might be popular and simply choose items that speak to you!
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Perhaps start out with buying more classic pieces and see how you feel. I do agree that some pieces can feel too trendy and "of the moment" to have staying power. That said, Their skirts are typically in classic shapes, and the 30 Montaigne collection has some gorgeous, classic pieces each season. Their T shirts are fun for casual wear. I find their windbreakers to be fun even if trendy. Best advice may be to test the waters slowly. Good luck and Happy shopping!
This can be said about RTW from any brand, whether from a luxury brand or a fast-fashion brand. Even "classic" pieces can look dated with changing fashion trends. A plain sweater may seem like a classic staple, but its fit, colour, and even the style of knitting can make it look dated in a few years. Just think of men's suiting, which is arguably classic. Pants went from high-waisted to mid/low-rise, and loose-fit to slim-fit in the past few decades. Jackets became shorter, and slimmer-fitting as well. And brown-tones were popular in the 70s, but not anymore.
I suggest getting what you like, with the tendency of not looking dated soon so that the price can be justified with enough usage. But if we're looking at longevity over 2 decades or more, I'm not sure if those pieces would look as good on us when our physique and general appearance age. That is, if we still like the item even a few years later. Our tastes change, too.
Great advice. I live in a tropical country so I can only dress in 1 layer. Since we can’t travel nowadays all my jackets are hibernating.
I’ll keep in mind that no matter what season I wear i won’t be judged by it (by the SAs)
I’ll keep in mind that no matter what season I wear i won’t be judged by it (by the SAs)
Very good insight on fashion.
Good thing nowadays anything goes.
I’m usually in Ts and loose pants & sandals. Very casual, but put together.
Quality is good but not $1000+ good. The cost of luxury is name and design. With a T-shirt which doesn't have much design aside from some print or decoration, it is mostly the name!
Brand and styling (There's no real hand finishing nor do they use luxurious cottons such as Giza 45 or Sea Island Cotton).
Only buy items you love. It helps if you are the kind of person who actually prefers to house clothing and wear pieces from,prior seasons. I sometimes think that prints from current season can be a bit too fashion, and it is more chic to wear them the following season When the hype has died down a bit. I am a late adapter to trends, so all this delay works to my advantage
I have RTW in my closet that I bought from boutiques since the 1990s, some of which I have kept and still wear. I simply added more designers as the years passed. It helps that I prefer RTW that is relatively classic in silhouette. I rotate clothing through the years; there was at least a decade, for example, when everyone thought the mini was completely dead.
Greatest hits from 1990s (Jil sander; rubinacci, luciano barbera, dolce, issey, gucci, YSL; etro; Catherine regher; 2001 onward (chanel, Carolina Herrera, some brunello; 2007 onward (Akris, Valentino, miu miu; proenza ); 2020 (khaite, Loewe, dior, more chanel and brunello). Alexander Mcqueen was in there at some point, as was dries Van noten, Sonia Rykiel, and some indie designers (Not sure if Rick owens is indie) And, there was a decade of Ann Fontaine shirts.
I also buy vintage dead stock mid century designers like Norman Norell, donald brooks, emilio pucci, and adel simpson. I have some items from my grandmother custom made from British colony of Hong Kong. And, I went through a phase of collecting vintage dead stock dresses from etsy sellers.
tailoring is your friend, (I’ve had shirts made by Turnbull, borelli, and a few other designers (mainly when DH was going through that phase), and it helps if your tailor knows how to cut a pattern and rework clothes.
re t shirts, it helps to have a stable of favorites, but yes, a lot is name, design and sometimes fit: DH liked issey miyake synthetic t shirts (no longer made); hanro (discontinued model); an Italian manufacturer Fideli; brunello (some are sea island, but most aren’t; I like LA designers like James Perse (not durable, but nice drape); American giant cotton scoop necks; dior linen cotton blends; and, recently vintage cotton band t shirts (in an effort to emulate a crazy expensive chanel rocker chic t shirt).
in a tropical country, there are still some temperate zones in the mountains; and lots of air conditioning and monsoons. Cloth8ng , and certainly bags, may need to be stored in some form of climate control
eta: of course, I cull my purchases frequently and typically my family and friends benefit from stuff that no longer works for me. Judicious culls keep things fresh.
I have RTW in my closet that I bought from boutiques since the 1990s, some of which I have kept and still wear. I simply added more designers as the years passed. It helps that I prefer RTW that is relatively classic in silhouette. I rotate clothing through the years; there was at least a decade, for example, when everyone thought the mini was completely dead.
Greatest hits from 1990s (Jil sander; rubinacci, luciano barbera, dolce, issey, gucci, YSL; etro; Catherine regher; 2001 onward (chanel, Carolina Herrera, some brunello; 2007 onward (Akris, Valentino, miu miu; proenza ); 2020 (khaite, Loewe, dior, more chanel and brunello). Alexander Mcqueen was in there at some point, as was dries Van noten, Sonia Rykiel, and some indie designers (Not sure if Rick owens is indie) And, there was a decade of Ann Fontaine shirts.
I also buy vintage dead stock mid century designers like Norman Norell, donald brooks, emilio pucci, and adel simpson. I have some items from my grandmother custom made from British colony of Hong Kong. And, I went through a phase of collecting vintage dead stock dresses from etsy sellers.
tailoring is your friend, (I’ve had shirts made by Turnbull, borelli, and a few other designers (mainly when DH was going through that phase), and it helps if your tailor knows how to cut a pattern and rework clothes.
re t shirts, it helps to have a stable of favorites, but yes, a lot is name, design and sometimes fit: DH liked issey miyake synthetic t shirts (no longer made); hanro (discontinued model); an Italian manufacturer Fideli; brunello (some are sea island, but most aren’t; I like LA designers like James Perse (not durable, but nice drape); American giant cotton scoop necks; dior linen cotton blends; and, recently vintage cotton band t shirts (in an effort to emulate a crazy expensive chanel rocker chic t shirt).
in a tropical country, there are still some temperate zones in the mountains; and lots of air conditioning and monsoons. Cloth8ng , and certainly bags, may need to be stored in some form of climate control
eta: of course, I cull my purchases frequently and typically my family and friends benefit from stuff that no longer works for me. Judicious culls keep things fresh.
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Thank you for the great insight.
Excited to try RTW this time. Kinda regret I didn’t venture into RTW then. Maybe because I’m scared the maid will only ruin it. Now we don’t have a maid anymore since covid started and I’m quite happy.
I do have zara & other fast fashion pieces that are more than 5 years old and i still wear them.
Maybe I’m just feeling sad / bad because my designer outerwear is just sitting there in the closet nowadays.
Good thing we middle aged women can wear what 30s women are wearing. No skin baring stuff though haha.
One of my favorite tops is from Zara from perhaps 15 years ago. I only wear it on special occasions when I am rail thin so as to preserve it. It’s more flattering than comparably cut prada tops. I remember your earlier posts, and it’s my recollection, that my family is from your geographic area. My mom decided to fly there and spend most of lockdown with my aunt. If so, the maid will definitely ruin designer clothing. During visits, I have very bad memories of the laundry woman mistakenly washing my Donna Karan (dry clean only) pantsuit (bought from Barney’s NY in 1998 for the then outrageous price of I think 1200 or 1800 USD) and absolutely ruining my favorite vintage silver gray raw silk crinoline skirted wrap dress (a 40 dollar find that made every women in my family look amazing) that I loaned my cousin for her wedding after party. After that, the house staff had strict instructions not to wash anything in my room ever. My mom swears that dry cleaning businesses there have greatly improved, but IDK. She does borrow a lot of my stuff and my only condition is she return such items to the US, so I can have them cleaned myself.
as a travel gift, I have an uncle bring me laundry soap made from local coconuts. I use it for cleaning my paint brushes, but I wouldnt use it on clothes lol
I agree with buying items you love! Because you will be paying a higher price tag for the brand name, I've started choosing pieces that I know I wear with care. For example, I have a beautiful gold jacquard Bar style jacket, a cashmere jumper and I've recently purchased a thin striped jumper top. I've never followed 'trends' because I know what I like and I know my style. Personally, the SAs I've met so far in London have been fantastic and they don't judge you at all for what you wear. Certainly it would be amazing for them if you did buy something but my SA is great and knows me well to only suggest and gift me things he knows I like and is quick to reassure me that there's no pressure if i don't buy anything either.
Look for things that grab your attention and try them on! The same striped top I'm waiting on arriving, I tried it on in the store last year and didn't like the fit and design printed but having seen another design recently that came out (it's not available in my SA's store or the rest of London so I bought it online instead) and knowing how it fits, I went for a smaller size and I know I'm going to be wearing this one regularly
Look for things that grab your attention and try them on! The same striped top I'm waiting on arriving, I tried it on in the store last year and didn't like the fit and design printed but having seen another design recently that came out (it's not available in my SA's store or the rest of London so I bought it online instead) and knowing how it fits, I went for a smaller size and I know I'm going to be wearing this one regularly