With borders closed and international shipping halted, I wasn’t able to do a lot of my usual shopping.
I’ve often lamented the lack of availability of decent new RTW clothing in Adelaide. As a result, my shopping habits have largely tended towards thrifting or importing garments I want from overseas to avoid paying the Australia tax (increased price due to location).
With thrift stores closed and buying international a risky option for a number of weeks, not only has my bank account been happier but I’ve been forced to take a break.
This break has given me pause, providing time to properly sit down and map out what needs to be in my wardrobe (and what doesn’t).
Take A Good, Hard Look
My buying habits were admittedly haphazard. I used to just pick up what I could when I found a bargain. As a result, my wardrobe is skewed in the direction of some things while clearly lacking others.
For example, I have two woollen overcoats, but I might as well have one.
Both are identical; navy blue, double breasted, peak lapel and full length. I don’t wear suits a lot, and the configurations of these coats are too dressy for a lot of my day to day wear. I really have no use for two of them, and I’ve been desperately needing something else. One is a vintage Dior, which I’ll keep, and the other one is a wool/cashmere blend with smaller lapels, which I’ll sell.
The one I’ll be selling (once it’s had a good brushing).
This isn’t the only issue my wardrobe faces. With the wet weather we’ve had in Adelaide thus far heralding much more of the same for winter, I need something rainproof to wear. I’m leaning towards a Barbour waxed jacket of some kind, which will set me back a decent amount as they simply don’t appear in charity stores around here, but with a curbing of useless buying I’ll be able to save up and acquire one.
I also noted an overwhelming presence of striped and patterned shirts in my wardrobe, most of which are too boldly patterned to accompany a tie. As a result, I’ve culled the herd and sold off some of the ones that didn’t fit so well, had undesirable characteristics – such as collar being too small – or were less versatile.
And I acquired some versatile oxford shirts for the winter in their stead.
I got my hands on some corduroy pants as well.
I finally made peace with the fact that my leather jackets aren’t going to fit again. They take up a lot of space in the wardrobe, so it’s pretty important for me to get rid of them and replace them with something that actually fits when I get the chance.
One of them has already made its way to a good friend of mine, who will get plenty of use out of it. I think it looks better on him than it ever did on myself.
It was something I wore when I was considerably underweight, and holding onto it at the thought of fitting it again was nothing more than a pipe dream.
I’ve always wanted a Schott Perfecto. Maybe now I’ll free up the kind of funds that might let me acquire the real deal (likely a vintage one).
One of my jackets is a similar style, a double rider. It’s a good looking jacket. But the chest is always going to be too tight, and it’s time to let it go.
I can only wear it open.
I also realised, upon acquiring a pair of old R.M. Williams jeans with a high rise, that my ideal fit for jeans was likely to be near impossible to find in RTW. I couldn’t find another pair of the RMs online, so I decided to bite the bullet and get them replicated in made to measure selvedge.
I’ll post about those when I receive them.
But it’s safe to say I’m a little bit excited.
Concluding Thoughts: The Shape Of Things To Come?
Virus restrictions are easing now, at least in my state. Whether we’ll see a similar happening is a subject rife with debate, and not the kind of thing I’m going to dive into on here. It’s been a rough experience for most people, some more than others.
But there’s a silver lining, at least for me.
I’ve got a roadmap to my ideal wardrobe now.
