Buy Less, Buy Well: Quality Products

When I was a young girl, I remember my unt visiting from Germany. For a little girl growing up in coastal Maine, she was an exotic creature: sophisticated, worldly and so intellectual. To this day I remember the ost beautiful cognac-toned, leather pants that were part of her travel wardrobe. Exhibiting exquisite tailoring and an impeccable fit, even my little eye recognized the quality and craftsmanship, and yes, the price tag. She wore them so often in clever ways to transition her look. I know those trousers lasted her for decades.

Often true of the European aesthetic, buying a few true-quality, non-disposable pieces trumps having a plethora of shoddy selections. Less is truly more. In fact, according to Money Crashers, investing in quality saves money in over the span of your lifetime.

That’s why it’s a great mantra, and a value by which I try to live my life. The pieces of clothing I have need to mean something to me. The same is true in our homes. There is only one bed at a time in which we sleep and only one sofa on which to snuggle with our family. That’s why we should seek quality investments. Offer our senses the best experience: compelling to touch, sweet to smell, beautiful to our eyes. Those experiences enrich life’s moments. Buy less but buy well. Be a curator of your life’s collections and let it reflect who you are. Enjoy the history of the pieces you have acquired with the help of a trained eye for style and quality.

Enjoying well-designed pieces and understanding the designer’s inspiration behind the creation adds another facet to quality. It’s interesting, as I often travel to Italy and France to the international design fairs and shows, it is the designer and their creative genius behind a piece that is celebrated. Design shows such as in Dubai, Shanghai, and the States, are often very product and sales driven. Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo further encourages us to buy less and invest in only those pieces that give us joy, according to her best-selling book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, saying “only fill your home with items that spark joy,” she says. I love this sentiment.