into the blue.

novelty is not an important factor to me when i choose what to wear or verbalize my style. i have actively shopped for years, no doubt about it, but also remember when buying something new became so commonplace it wasn't remarkable anymore. that is, i still recall a time when getting new clothes was an event, and have tried to steer myself towards the sort of consumption that reflects those feelings of before.

related to the consumer frenzy apparent in fashion blogs, sari challenged bloggers to post the oldest piece of clothing they still wear, and i felt up to the challenge. although my age is on my side compared to many other bloggers – it was two decades ago when i started junior high (or yläkoulu, as they nowadays call it in finland) – i still believe i've done a pretty great job with holding on to oldies but goodies.

it took me a while to locate the piece i had in mind. i attempted to drag my winter gear to the attic almost two weeks ago, but managed to fix a slot into my schedule only at the beginning of this week. it meant carrying down a dozen large storage boxes filled with clothes, shoes and purses. i have more than anyone needs, but am not keen on giving up on most of them.

the habit of going through all of my clothes in storage biannually is probably quite healthy, because sometimes i realize that storing certain rags is really not worth the effort. nowadays i always hope to accumulate the fleamarket pile, but my scrutiny leads to rare discarded items. either i am down to my super special gems or this hamster likes to store stuff. prolly the latter...

nonetheless, my spring shopping spree inside my own closet is full of refreshing surprises. although i am quite well aware of what i own, there are always some pieces that have slipped my mind. like my glorious lauren moffatt jacket.

a strange carpety texture that's slightly too warm for the length of the sleeves and the gold buttons have made sure that i haven't worn the beauty too often since i bought it in nyc in 2005. but that's not nearly old enough to make the grade motivating this post.

thus, to the oldie. earlier this year i remember thinking whether my favorite shirt of olden days was still somewhere. i bought it in 1994 from a vintage store on iso-roba, the one that was to become a part of union 5. they imported vintage americana and the store was styled in the mode of an old saloon. if i am not completely off, it was called something like "the old railroad store".

i called this particular item my "trophy shirt", because people always asked me where i got it from and i enjoyed making up stories about poor little boys and an evil vixen – i guess i was abusing cougar humor before my time and had exactly as dirty a mind as an 18-year-old would have...

and here it is, the oldest piece of clothing i still wear: a vintage "boy scouts of america" shirt as part of a bluesy ensemble.

shirt vintage, cardigan by comme des garçons, bracelet by h&m men, jeans by crocker, boots by dr martens, beanie by cos, jacket by lauren moffatt.


i have not (and still don't) always gone monochromatic stylewise and as far as humorous clothing goes, this is as far as i'll entertain with text. the shirt still makes me giggle and i really like the fit although the sleeves require rolling up because they're too short.

despite this particular item being the oldest of my still-in-circulation clothes, there are plenty of others from the not so distant years to follow. holding on is sometimes an excellent thing.

anyone else up for the challenge?