Whether it be an intergenerational watch, or a piece of jewellery that has become a family heirloom. When you cast your mind to your wardrobe, which items do you envisage with a particular fondness? More importantly, why are they so dear to you?
These items are not necessarily the most tattered and dusty items of clothing in your wardrobe, but they are often the longest serving. Perhaps it’s simply the piece you’ve reached for, over and over again to top off your outfit. Whether that is down to the styling or to the emotional attachment you have with it. All in all, they are timeless items.
For me, that item is my ‘By Parra’ hat that I have had in my possession for over seven years. Purchased on my last trip to the UK. It has travelled the world with me. The once navy material is now a light grey, due to it’s continued exposure to the sun’s rays.
It is my hat, THE hat, the first on my head for sunny days and for rainy days. Yes, I own other hats, but I’m yet to find one that fits my head as perfectly as that one. It was a flat brim peak that i curved myself to match the frame of my face. If anyone else were to put it on their head, it just wouldn’t fit quite right.
What I’m trying to say is, this hat is mine and mine only. No one else owns this hat. The hat that has been swimming in Ha-Long bay, travelled through the Slovenian country side, or kept the sweltering WA heat off of my brow at many a music festival. It has gone from a hat that anyone could walk out of a shop with, to the keeper of my priceless memories.
These are the items of clothing and accessories, that distinguish us from the people around us. They are glistening baubles on our festive tree of uniqueness. And this is important. Not only does it make you easier to spot in a large crowd if you’re wearing Great Uncle Harold’s top hat, but it’s also a conversation starter. Interesting clothes inspire interesting conversations. No one at the pub will ask you about today’s weather if you’ve got a bejewelled bolo tie round your neck that your mother bought from a rodeo in the 1970’s. They just won’t.
As much as we often want to keep up with the latest trends and fashionable fads. There is always a case to be made for items in your wardrobe to be more than just what’s considered to be on trend. Your clothes represent you. They are your suit of armour with which you go out and seize the day. Like markings on your body such as scars and tattoos, our clothes represent us and tell our story. Especially those that have been with you on life’s journey for some time now. If you take care of your clothes, they will last. With age, comes the patina of life’s adventures upon the cotton or the canvas. That, is certainly something worth hanging onto.
