five items that have made it to five years
the feeling of knowing the items i own have been valued for a long time (part 1)
I am undoubtedly guilty of reselling items within one year of purchase, for less than half of what I paid for. In retrospect, I learned through a hands-on approach about product quality, brand loyalty, and ownership satisfaction — that no matter how much Reddit and YouTube research I invest my time into, I am not guaranteed to own that item for life for reasons beyond breakage. With that being said, I’d like to focus my energy towards items I actually have owned for over five years, with the hope of convincing myself that my items don’t have that low of a retention rate.
Item: Free People Downtown Cardi
Price: $29.95
Purchase Date: March 22, 2017
I had a Free People obsession from 2014-2018, hence the purchase of this cardigan on sale. I must’ve purchased it on the Nordstrom website (?) with a few other FP items (that I actually ended up reselling). This cardigan made the wardrobe cut declutter after declutter, and I’m not surprised. This is a very loose, oversized cardigan that I always bring out in spring/summer/fall seasons. It is one of the most versatile outerwear pieces in my wardrobe.
Item: Beet x Beet Save Water Eat Plants Tee
Price: $15.00
Purchase Date: April 30, 2017
I purchased this oversized shirt at Vegfest in Los Angeles (my first big vegan food festival actually). I remember going with a friend and wanting to buy something just for the sake of it, because when else would I get a chance to go to a vegan food festival? One of the stalls, Beet x Beet, was selling a bunch of t-shirts with quirkly vegan-esque phrases on the front so I ended up buying a black colored tee that said “Save Water Eat Plants”. I only wear this as a pajama top though, which limits frequent usage (I own a lot of pajama tops!).
Item: Yves Saint Laurent Cassandre Matelasse Card Case in Grain de Poudre Leather
Price: $275.00 (before tax)
Purchase Date: June 2018
My first designer small leather good (SLG)! I used the heck out of this when I first purchased it (late 2017 or early 2018) at the mall. I’m not sure if I bought this myself or if my parents got it for me. I actually got this card case replaced when I visited Italy in June 2018, since the card slots were wearing out quickly. This card case now holds cash, insurance cards, social security card, debit card, and other miscellaneous cards I deem important in just-in-case situations but aren’t for everyday use. This stays in my purse at all times, and is “used” in the sense that I bring it with me everywhere but I’m not actively handling it when I’m out and about.
Item: Louis Vuitton 6-Key Holder
Price: $273.76
Purchase Date: March 29, 2019
I purchased this SLG one year after graduating undergrad, and specifically one month into my underpaying AmeriCorps role. While this wasn’t anywhere close to a smart financial decision, the cost per use has definitely ruled itself out. This is my everyday wallet carry — it is able to store all my keys (my car key flops outside of the actual holder but still connected with one of the hooks) and my essential cards (can fit three in total). It isn’t the easiest to use when unlocking doors, as I have to extricate the small key from inside the pouch while the gravity of the actual key holder weighs the base of the key down. However, this SLG singlehandedly prevents me from ever displacing my keys and cards, since they’re all part of the same unit. My key holder is in relatively good condition, with ample scratching on the hardware (I couldn’t care less) and small cracks in the corner glazing (I expected this to happen). Unless both are harmful to my health, I will keep using this until the holder actually falls apart and is completely useless.
Item: Lululemon Run Off Route High Rise Short 4”
Price: $58.00
Purchase Date: June 21, 2020
Lululemon is one of those brands I initially developed this intense brand loyalty towards, and overtime developed into fabric loyalty. Their sweat-wicking fabric is usually durable. These shorts have the swift fabric, which I’m not too familiar with, but after five years of ownership, they are still in good (not great) condition. While I haven’t been as up to date with Lululemon’s new fabric technology, I know I’ll never purchase anything with their Align fabric again. I owned two pairs of Align leggings that have ended up pilling so terribly within the first three years, they had to be donated. Despite washing on the delicate cycle and hang-drying, the Align fabric is incredibly finicky, and it should ideally require dry cleaning because there’s no way this fabric would hold up by any sort of induced friction. (The fabric I personally find the most durable is their Everlux fabric — it’s thick and quite compressive, so best for high intensity exercises instead of lounging around).
This is by no means a conclusive list (I have so many more that I’ll be posting about in this series, and of course with time, the length of time owned will increase!). I’m working towards an intentional life, curated with belongings I use and love, people who I trust with my all my heart, and a job I find fulfillment from — this post is the start of many to come.