Last week, Andrea of interior design blog The Glam Pad posed a question, inviting her followers to give their opinions on whether the usually infallible combo of blue & white has become too saturated. Upon asking the audience, the million dollar answer appeared to be ... drumroll ... NO, but don't overdo it. A blue and white pairing (done right) is classic, traditional, and crisp, but (and as the Glam Pad noted) when any trend succumbs to overuse and mass-market-hysteria, a type of why-did-I-buy-that-then-if-looking-at-it-now-makes-my-eyes-roll buyer's remorse can set in.
The same can be said of fashion trends - I am no stranger to that "what was I thinking?" feeling when thumbing through the nether-regions of my closet or flipping through photos of yesteryear's glory days. Which is why Andrea's candid counsel struck so close to home: "succumbing to trends is a very expensive cycle carefully calculated to drain your pocketbook." In other words, buyer beware. But her parting words also left me, in my self-appointed role of ensemble assembler, both focused and motivated. She wrote, "[b]e judicious with your purchases, and invest in the best you can afford with the intention of keeping your treasures for a lifetime."
I don't think my husband would necessarily characterize me as judicious with my shopping habit, but I do go through a mental exercise of sorts when I expand my wardrobe or put these collages together. Basically I ask myself the following: 1) would I still wear this as a grandma? (surprisingly, many times the answer is hellz yeah), 2) is this something my future daughters will fight over one day?, 3) will this get so much use that it will eventually fall apart? and 4) will looking back at a photo of me wearing this make me smile when I look like a prune? As long as 50% of the answers to the aforementioned are a yes, then whatever I'm debating buying is #worthit in my measly opinion.
And so, dear reader, I align myself with the same advice The Glam Pad gave: "most importantly, buy what you truly love, and you can never go wrong." I love blue and white, I love pairing blue and white with gold, and sometimes I lurve looking like a human chinoiserie - and if you do too, this collage is for you.
