The 3 Wildly Expensive Things I Bought This Year That I Absolutely Do Not Regret Because They’re Spectacular
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by Audie Metcalf
I am old and tired enough to have finally learned not to waste money on clothes just because they’re cheap or on sale. Unless something literally haunts me, I don’t buy it. Even if I love it in store, I don’t get it. I go home, I go about my life, I make dinner, I watch Game Of Thrones, I write my little articles for all of you, and if the sweater or skirt or bag or sneaker lingers in my mind, then I pay attention.
You’re judging me right now.
You’re like, this feels like a lot of drama just to buy a dumb little t-shirt.
Except consider this.
Think about the sea of clothes in your closet. You bought all of those clothes. And now think about how many of those clothes you actually love and get excited about wearing. 10%? 15% if you’re lucky?
I just couldn’t square how I myself purchase my own clothes and yet I hate all of them all the time. I wrote an opus about this very thing HERE. And one of the ways I’ve forced myself to only purchase winners that I will love and actually wear is to use this method. I use it whether something is $18 or $408. Because it just doesn’t matter if something was cheap if you don’t actually wear it. In fact, it makes it expensive. Because we just threw that money out the window.
And so, when something is very expensive, I really make sure I use this “does it haunt me” method. Because buying an $18 dollar t-shirt and never wearing it is one thing. Buying some ludicrously priced investment piece I’m convinced I’ll wear til the day I die and then literally never picking it up is quite another.
So I thought I’d show you 4 such investment pieces where I used this tactic, felt deeply haunted, ruminated even more, potentially had dreams about them, and finally succumbed. I warn you, the prices are extreme. But when I use my other tactic which is breaking things down into cost-per-wear to make sense of the price, they’re all cheap. Free, even.
1. Possibly the best fitting pants I’ve ever owned in my life
WHAT: Gwyn Jackie Pant*
I’m quite sure this is the most money I’ve ever spent on a pair of pants, but I tried these on in the Goop store last fall, used my method, and then by the time I decided I couldn’t live without them because they were absolutely the best fitting pants I had ever heaved over my backside, they were sold out. I took it as a sign. I also took it as a sign when I saw them come back in stock a while back, and pounced. They are the most well-made, brilliantly designed pants possibly of all time. The front and back V shaped yoke does miraculous things to the body, and the slightly higher waist in the back creates such a gorgeous silhouette
I can scarcely believe it’s me inside them. Here’s a side shot because I do think they win for best profile of all time:
See?
Price: $425
2. The most flattering jean jacket I own and I own … an absurd number of jean jackets
WHAT: Frame The Off Duty Denim Trucker Jacket*
I am the jean jacket queen. I wrote an entire article dedicated to the SEVEN I own and love over here. But I wrote that before I discovered … this one. Oh, this one. The CUT of this jacket is so, so, so supremely flattering, because it hits smack dab at the small of the waist, making anyone/everyone a gorgeous hourglass shape. Most technically cropped jackets and shirts are actually just short and boxy and sit below our waists, thereby covering up the smallest part! And believe me, since I’ve been trudging through the treacherous jungles of perimenopause, my waist is no longer what it once was. But this jacket really brings it out. AND you can buy your normal size or even a size down (I’m in a small) because the arms are very forgiving. I half thought about including those lounge pants* on the list because they’re maybe my most complimented piece of clothing, but I’ve had them a while. They’re pricey but given that I wear them 5-7 times a week, cost per wear is down to pennies. Ditto this hat* which actively I DID buy this year, and is my hack for looking put together while never needing to “do” my hair, or for when I haven’t showered in days and my hair is a matted greaseball, as it is in the photo above. Stars! They’re just like us!
Price: $328
3. The everyday bag I have in two colors and use all the time because it’s perfect
WHAT: Clare V. Moyen Messenger*
Truth be told, though the price feels like a lot for “just” a bag, I actually think it’s very well-priced. Clare V. has designer-level, lust-worthy pieces, at a semi-reasonable affordability considering the materials. God knows we could be in a very different world of cost when talking about designer bags. And, I admit, I have a couple of those. But I use this bag so much more. We even wrote a whole dedicated article about this exact bag HERE because my managing editor Carolyn and I realized we both owned this bag and both wore it constantly and wanted to figure out the exact magic about it. Which is this—it’s a superb size, it’s so comfortable to wear, its capacity is oddly like a clown car so I can fit all my crap and then some, (though I use THIS method so I don’t get too piggish), and, well, it’s just so pretty. I loooove this cream color for spring and summer, though now they have this bisque* color which I’m just sick about. Though I also have it in this delicious flat caramel* leather:
Ugh, the French blue* for spring is also whispering urgently to me.
Price: $435 - $485
Audie Metcalf is the Editor-in-chief of The Candidly, and lives in LA with her family. You can find more of her articles here.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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