Make Sure You Appreciate What You Already Have
Hello my friends,
Short post this morning, but I wanted to touch on something that I think is pretty important in the world of menswear (or any other consumption-based hobby for that matter).
After reading this post discussing the polo coat from Eric Twardzik’s great new Substack newsletter, I found myself, yet again, thirsting for an authentic Polo Ralph Lauren polo coat.
I mean, how could you not? It’s a great, powerful coat with a rich history and, most importantly, is one of the staples of Ralph Lauren’s menswear microcosm. It’s like owning a piece of history that you get to imprint yourself upon.
The obvious downside is that the coat costs $2500 new, and you’d be hard-pressed to find one on the second-hand market for less than ~$800. You get what you pay for obviously, but man is that a hard price to justify (looking swaggy is priceless though).
It has finally started dipping into the 30’s f up here in Boston, so I broke out my Winter coats this week.
Lo and behold, I remembered that I have a vintage duffle coat from L. L. Bean in the same camel color as the polo coat.
Today’s fit:
🧢 Portolano
🧥 L.L. Bean MiUSA vintage duffel coat
👔 L.L. Bean flannel
👖 Proper Cloth cords
🥾 Wolverine Buffalo leather 1000 miles
This poses a problem — though they are visually quite different, the sameness of color means that they would be competing for wear in my closet, and knowing me, that means that both would get worn way less than they ought to.
As I was doing the requisite mental gymnastics to somehow justify purchasing something I so clearly didn’t need, I had a realization that I was being an idiot. This garment that I own is grail-worthy in its own right, but here I was focused on the Next Big Thing.
I took a step back, collected my thoughts, and reminded myself that it’s important to appreciate what you already have — fashion is more than just consuming the latest and greatest thing. It tells a story about who you are (whether you want it to or not, by the way… Inauthenticity is pretty easy to spot) and what your values are. It is probably in your best interest for your values to be something other than “guy who buys things“.
There will always be something nicer or something newer. We live in a world that heavily prioritizes novelty. Hell, even I have to spew out half-baked content on occasion, lest I get punished (even more than I already am) by Instagram’s increasingly restrictive algorithm.
I think it’s also important to not fall for the “quality“ trap, which I see as a gateway to mindless consumerism. The Sam Vimes boot theory is largely no longer applicable. You’re way more likely to get bored of wearing something than you are to actually destroy it (doesn’t apply to manual labor jobs obviously, though now I want to come across a dude filling potholes looking like a philosophy professor).
I see people “on the forums“ bug out over quality as this huge differentiator, which is important to a degree, but trying to find the perfect solution to fashion by maxing out build quality is silly and probably needs a full-length article on its own. Collecting “quality pieces“ and collecting “funko pops“ (derogatory) are a lot less different than many would like to admit.
Again, I’m not trying to say upgrading an item you really like is necessarily a bad thing, but the line between that being a sensible decision and you being a mindless paypig is pretty thin.
A covetous attitude, when left unchecked, can be a very destructive force. It can turn this from a fun hobby and a way to connect with others into something flat-out crippling. Brands want nothing more than for you to be a perfect consumer — make sure to check yourself every once in a while.
You’re already a reader of the highly esteemed Frayed Collar Newsletter (an indicator of exquisite taste and an exhortation in its own right to wear your clothes to death), so I imagine you have plenty of lovely items that would love nothing than to be worn to tatters.
I think this really crystalizes a feeling I've been mulling for a while. Really solid and convicting stuff.
Recently got my basically-destroyed Oak Street penny loafers and trail mocs recrafted after dragging my feet (and buying a very swaggy pair of Solovair tassel loafers in the interim). It was super rewarding to give new life to a couple pairs of shoes that I had beat to death.
Anyway, I was patting myself on the back for walking the walk on this, but all the while I have been shopping for a new pair of raw denim for literally no reason at all. I just have this built in pavlovian response where every 18 months or so I get the itch to get a new pair. Some of this is weight fluctuation from lifting cycles and denim just being kind of impossible to shop for online (so lots of near-misses on fit). I used to be better about wearing my denim into the ground but now I'm just constantly hankering for some esoteric Japanese weave.
Fantastic piece - so true! I can't tell you how many times I buy a sweater, trousers or a tie and realize I already have something that serves the exact same purpose. Now I literally imagine the piece I'll wear much less / not at all if I add the new one, and only if the price for the upgrade is still worth it will I "pull the trigger" so to speak.