Fits as process
Blackbird Spyplane once coined the term state of shopping to refer to someone who is more obsessed with browsing & buying than actually living in the things that they buy. Wearing only new stuff is a tell; “roasting” the thing is a sign of a life well-lived.
The camera, again
I was out with my friend the other night, and he, a photographer, dissed Leica, possibly forgetting that I own one. Mercifully, he dissed it in the way that Leica deserves to be dissed: as a brand that rich people buy and never use. I encounter these people in my consulting circles all the time, holding Q or M models that all look like they came straight from the store.
My Q2, on the other hand, is mildly destroyed. I don’t keep it in a case except for when I’m transiting between cities. All of its surfaces are polished from years of daily use; the whole bottom is chopped up from sitting on brick walls; brassing exists all over the thing from rough wear in my bag. Someone once referred to my camera as “old.” It was released in 2019. I bought it in 2021. It still takes good pictures.
Japan, again
You probably figured out that I recently went to Japan, a place where the exchange rate was favorable and sales tax broadly doesn’t exist for foreigners. Japan, and Tokyo in particular, also happens to be the single best place for retail on earth. In response to all of this, I did something that I almost never do, and I bought a lot of stuff. I bought stuff I strictly do not need, and may seldom use. I bought stuff I will frequently use, but act as upgrades on things that I already own, because why not. Then I flew home and promptly bought a casual suit, because of course I skipped everything in Japan, land of suits, that screamed “casual suit” without thinking much about it. That would have been the easy route, right?
And so now I need to step back and actually use everything, including the stuff that I think I will “seldom” use. I need to flog everything into the ground. I need to wear the shirt I’m currently wearing so it gains the same sort of patina that my Leica has. I need to declare an armistice on buying things, and instead turn inward, know I have everything I need, and actually live, instead.
A stoner thought
It’s wild how, after you get enough buy-it-for-life objects, you stop needing to buy objects.
My “to buy” list is currently one single highly optional thing.
Fits as process
Once you’ve assembled the library, what then? You figure out a process for actually wearing everything.
In older text, I set forth the rules that I follow whenever buying new clothes. (Nothing has changed, for the record.) What about wearing, though? That’s where I’ve historically turned my brain off and gone off vibes. But I think that works against me when so many pieces in my wardrobe are new – and it probably works against me in general, since I’ll historically zoom in on a few limited options and ignore the rest.
I’ve slowly come around to advocating for feeling a little uncomfortable when getting dressed in the morning. You’re communicating something new to the world, and if you care as much about clothes as I do, that should scare you. Also, why did you buy the thing if you aren’t allowing yourself the chance to ease into it?
I thought about this when rocking a brand-new blazer that I got in Tokyo, and wondered why it made a few of my other pieces look weird when paired with it. In earlier times, I would have viewed this as a sign that it didn’t work with what I was trying to do, and I would wear it less. Now I’m on a mission to work with it and ask deeper questions. If I invested in the thing in the first place and brought it into my home, why wouldn’t I?
The rules, again
So I think I need to throw together some rules about wearing – because, after all, I’m going to do an awful lot more wearing than shopping in my life. Here are a few starting points:
Minimum number of wears before I give up on a thing.
Attempting to pair something with at least 3 other pieces.
Wearing “fancier” pieces on days when I’m inclined to wear something more “normal.” (Think: playing with context.)
Handling midday changes. (Think: workouts.)
Yes, all of this is hilariously basic, but so is having rules about buying stuff. In this moment, I’m curious what’s shown up for you, in case you think about this stuff similarly?