How to Know If a Piece of Clothing Is Worth Keeping

There is one question worth asking before anything enters your wardrobe.

Will I wear this in five years?

Not — is this on trend. Not — does this work for the occasion I am buying it for. Not — is this a good deal.

Will I wear this in five years.

If the answer requires hesitation, the answer is no.

A piece worth keeping has nothing provisional about it. The cut does not depend on what is fashionable this season. The material does not start to feel wrong after twelve months. The detail does not date itself.

This is the standard this house works to. Not pieces for a moment. Pieces for a man who has decided what he wants and does not intend to revisit the decision every six months.

That kind of clothing exists. It simply requires a house that takes the standard seriously.