Today I am wearing some of my oldest pieces. This black textured EF jacket and pants are about 20 years old, predating a big weight loss and the Aquatilia black booties are at least 20 years old. The EF set and the booties have been on lots of trips and seen the coast of Western Ireland and cherry trees blooming in Japan, St Marks and the canals of Venice to hikes through the vineyards above Cinqua Terra and unreachable tiny towns with a church full of ships in glass bottles. The boots are waterproof which helped with deep puddles on cobblestone streets. The white tee is a nice heavy one from EF at least 10 years ago. The scarf was a gift about 8 years ago. I have replaced the EF black combo with a new one but still have kept the old one for more casual wear. It is lots of OBG because of all the memeories...warming myself by a peet fire in a Galway Pub, or eating fish and chips from a street vendor on newspapers in Chester after walking the city wall built by the Romans. Drinking wine in Rudisheim on the Rhine at night and apple wine in Frankfort. Climbing a mountain ( volcano?) to eat hard boiled eggs cooked in the hot mountain water in Japan. I had to roll the pants up to walk In hot springs. Yes, these pieces have seen a lot.
I welcome your thoughts.
I will add photos in a minute.
OBGs #3
16 Comments
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slim cat replied 3 years ago
"Oldie but goldie" as the saying goes - still looks nice and brings so many great memories! You travel so many places - wonderful and unique experiences!
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Helena replied 3 years ago
What wonderful memories come along with these pieces! Also a testament to the power of classic pieces, and black and white "colour" (neutral?) blocking.
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Joy replied 3 years ago
Thank you, slim cat and torantogirl. Yes, these pieces are so full of travel memories that I had to stop thinking of them. I encourage everyone to travel while they are still young. It often involves lots of walking and climbing ancient stairs that are often uneven. Do it while you still can.
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Jaime replied 3 years ago
Wonderful looks and even better memories associated. Although I am not a huge traveller I do so miss visiting other countries right now, and am glad we took the kids as many times as we did when they were younger.
Pants and boots look perfectly current to me and I like the faux suit vibe you have created. -
Joy replied 3 years ago
Yes, travel with the children is special. We started out with camping trips to National parks but really enjoyed exploring other countries when our sons were in high school and college and beyond. The trick is to time s trip with the right age. We took them to San Francisco when they were too young to appreciate the wonderful food. And to Spain when they were not old enough to be allowed in tapas bars, but they loved the art museums in Madrid. Italy, Germany and Austria were at the right age. London was a big hit when they were in high school.
I am happy that you think this outfit looks current. The faux suit could take me into nicer restaurants and looked acceptable in a large city. I think the rather refined boots helped too. -
Liesbeth replied 3 years ago
Oh I miss travel... though that has more to do with toddler appropriate destinations dominating now than with covid ;).
You are a boss for wearing such cute (heeled!) booties on all of your adventures. I cannot believe they still look so good (as does the rest of your outfit). -
Minaminu replied 3 years ago
Such a beautiful outfit and fab memories linked to them! I have noticed that several members have OBG items from EF, I am very impresssed with the quality.
If I may ask... You wrote that the pants and jackets are predating a big weight loss... Did you keep them in a holding zone until you wear them again or did you keep them in the wardrobe as a motivation? I am currently storing away the items that are too tight and love to learn how you managed this journey. Thanks!!!!
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Joy replied 3 years ago
Thank you, Liesbeth. Travel with a toddler is complicated by naps and potty training. Places like The Great Smokey Mountians and Mount Rushmore were good because the Smokey Mountians have easy trails and lots of wildlife like huge snails that little ones like. At Rushmore they liked staying in a small stream to pan for gold and seeing bison and experiencing a cave. I remember a three year old at Rocky Mountians loving to climb big rocks and to throw small rocks and sticks into a stream.
Ranger talks at night are often a good activity when camping. We had a Fischer Price kid tape player and I recorded my reading of several of their picture books and telling stories. That, with the books, kept them entertained in the car for long rides. -
Joy replied 3 years ago
Minaminu, when I went on a diabetic ( low carb) diet I shrunk out of almost all my clothes. I got rid of them and that was an incentive to not gain the weight back. The pants I am wearing have an elastic waist and the jacket is big on me but is boxy, so can be worn over bulky items like sweaters . The sleeves are too long but can easily be rolled up. I kept these items in the closet as I had very few clothes. That is when I really got into thrifting to get things to fit for a few weeks. Also, I lived in an area where it got very hot and humid in summer ( the major season) and very cold in winter so many clothes were packed away in off seasons.
I hope that helps. I had to build a new wardrobe from scratch and that was when I found this blog.
Now I am on insulin which tells the body to make fat. I try to eat very little and can’t snack between meals and am on a low carb diet. I am trying not to put on weight. Ask any questions you still have. -
Angie replied 3 years ago
You're rocking your older and very sentimental pieces, Ruth. They look so good! WOW. Such great, great stories too!
The bits of animal print are a lovely chic accent :)
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kellygirl replied 3 years ago
Great stories and my, how those pieces have served you well. Fab longevity and timeless. You look fab!!
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kkards replied 3 years ago
I love that these clothes are infused with so many memories.
YLF, but more importantly this outfit makes me happy because it seems to make you happy -
Minaminu replied 3 years ago
Joy, thank you very much for taking the time to explain. It makes sense to start from scratch, it must have been quite overwhelming! Hope your health is now ok, thought I appreciate it must be monitored.
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Joy replied 3 years ago
Thank you all. Angie, I think I have 2 leopard scarves to add more animal print, also leopard booties. Good idea.
Kellygirl, I have certainly got my money’s worth out of these pieces although everything was bought on a good sale. They have shown me that quality is worth the price, especially if it is fairly classic.
KKards, these clothes do make me happy.
Minaminu, diabetes is progressive and injections are no fun, 4-5 a day and I seem to build scar tissue quickly, which keeps things painful and more interesting. I am glad that it hasn’t affected other organs yet that I know of. -
Jane replied 3 years ago
I love the wonderful memories that you describe; they sound wonderful, carefully planned and beautiful family trips. The clothes are beautiful too, and you look really elegant and timeless.
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Joy replied 3 years ago
Than you, Jane. I hope to master elegant someday. I do try and for timeless too.