Happy Halloween, how’s that bag of candy corn coming along?
I’m 2 bags in. Let’s talk boring luxury fashion.
Due to some recent successful consigning, I had store credit to spend on The Real Real. This kind of internal currency that can only be spent in this one marketplace makes me feel like I’m in an alternate reality. The 7 1/2 floor, if you will. My knee-jerk reaction is to spend with reckless abandon on some *super special one of a kind* item that ends up being put on a pedestal and never used because it was purchased with play money and doesn’t actually fit into my day-to-day world. But I stopped myself this time, opting instead to take a risk on some boring luxury basics. Yes, a risk.
I bought a viscose tank top and a pair of cotton pants, both black, both from The Row. For context, at full retail, the tank top would have been in the $250 ballpark and the pants would have been between $600-800. They were heavily discounted on TRR, making it possible for me to get them both for around $140, which was covered by my store credit. My assumption as to why they were so marked down is because, upon first glance, they don’t really have anything special about them (other than the name on the label), and therefore weren’t selling. I’m guessing the discount helps move stagnant merchandise in order to make room for new items and desaturate a niche [there are hundreds of black tank tops currently listed on TRR, ranging from Allsaints ($10) to Jean Paul Gaultier ($1600)]. Leaning hard into my newish Creative Pragmatism mindset, I chose to buy these to fill holes in and elevate the quality of my wardrobe. I was not prepared for the outcome…
They are amazing.
The suppleness of the fabric, the cuts, the drape, the seamwork, the finishing and the fit all justify the original, pre-consigned price point. I’ll readily admit I had never tried on anything from The Row before because it’s astronomically out of my price range and I’m not into self flagellation. But now that I know what it’s like in the wild, and how accessible it is via TRR, my perspective on the chore of updating my boring basics has shifted and henceforth I will be making said purchases in the luxury secondhand sector, and I will feel damn fancy while looking understated and chill.
Here’s a list of my boring luxury basic picks, organized by style:
Tanks
The Row (same one that I got, sz. S)
Tees (short sleeve)
Long sleeve
Pants
The random things that caught my eye from last Monday to today…
Next on my reading list
when the wait for an an available barbell is pushing my workout into overtime, this looks really appealing
I’ll keep watching this solely for the tech
As if I need another pair of sneakers
Another excuse to smell like expensive shrubbery
See you next week. -Kai
P.S. I’m not here to give this person a platform, but Scott Galloway’s essay was very insightful.