FASHION
Save classics for next generation
NEW YORK — Start the year with a clean slate — or at least a clean closet.
Surely there are items from 2008, or perhaps even years earlier, that you’ll never wear again. Some of them should go straight to a local charity or Goodwill, but some might be worth boxing up with care and putting into storage for the next generation to enjoy.
Often, your best bets for heirlooms are the classics, the items that would be hard to date simply by looking at them, says Melanie Charlton Fascitelli, author of “Shop Your Closet” (HarperCollins).
“Think of things that repeat themselves over time — your favorite Lilly Pulitzer dress. I kept one that my mom wore when she was pregnant with me. It was yellow with a cape; I’ve worn it to a Halloween party and a cocktail party.”
Pucci also holds up its value because people collect the prints, she says.
Other designer items can be trickier, though. A high price tag doesn’t mean an item is an heirloom, explains Fascitelli, who also has a closet organizing business called Closette. It’s worth keeping if it’s a piece that helped define either the design house or the look of an era: For example, a Tom Ford Gucci piece is likely more valuable, both monetarily and as a keepsake, than a garment by his short-lived successor Alessandra Facchinetti.
Things that other people are clamoring for might be the ones you hold on to.
Constance White, style director for eBay, says that old European brands such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton never lose their cache, and right now Balenciaga and Lanvin are equally hot.
Versace garments — again, especially prints — as well as Jean Paul Gaultier are other labels that could be prized possessions, White says, and she makes the case for plaid pieces.
“Anything plaid always comes back around,” she observes, “especially a jacket in a classic tartan.”
Eveningwear also doesn’t date as easily as trendier everyday clothes.
“Vintage — done well — always comes back in style in eveningwear,” White declares.
There are some key menswear pieces worth storing — properly! — including suits from Ford or Giorgio Armani.
“If you can afford one of these now, keep it for your son,” says White. “Or, in this era of the boyfriend jacket, keep it for your daughter. It’s worth spending a little on the tailoring.”
Fascitelli, however, thinks the next generation will be more interested in a leather jacket, which she describes as “a style that keeps up forever and doesn’t have to fit perfectly.”
Also on her list of what to-day’s teens will want from their parents are Loro Piano and Barber jackets, luxury watches, a college sweatshirt, Judith Leiber and Hermes bags and good jewelry, especially a Cartier Love bracelet or silver pieces from Tiffany’s.
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