1. Clothes Are Not An Investment

Let’s start with a definition: an investment is something that is expected to grow in value over time, or generate profit over and above the initial outlay. 99% of clothing fails that test right out of the gate. Even clothing bought with the expectation of long-term wear is not an investment; it’s a consumable. I might be a collector at heart, but I am also a realist about clothes. They are much more similar to, say, food than they are to stocks; you need them to go about your day, but almost all of their value is their immediate function.

My experiences with the secondhand market have demonstrated, over and over, that the vast majority of clothes, no matter how expensive to begin with, have terrible resale value. Thrift stores would not be replete with like-new designer items if there was money to be made there. Some people argue that there are exceptions – brands that retain or even increase their value over time. While this may be true in some sense, realizing a profit requires a lot of specialized knowledge. You need to know not only the brands in question, but also the specific items, styles, models, etc. that will have the best resale value because not every product is made equal, even when you’re talking about labels like Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and the like. And even then, unless you’re a professional reseller with a global reach, making a profit can be hard. Most luxury consignment storefronts, which is an average person’s best bet for selling these kinds of items, will charge anywhere from 40-60% of the sale price as commission. You can do the math on how much an item has to increase in value over the purchase price before it’s realistic to expect a profitable sale.

2. Brand Names May Be A Signal, Never A Guarantee Of Quality

Sorry to break it to you: if you’re relying on brand names alone to find quality clothing, you’ll be led astray as often as not. Quality varies wildly across brands sold at similar price points, and even within a single brand. As consumers, we have precious little insight into the manufacturing process, so relying on labels as a signifier of quality is a gamble because you can rarely be sure that a higher retail price means higher manufacturing costs (i.e. better quality) – it could just mean that the brand is charging a higher margin purely for its name. In my experience, many mid-tier designer brands fall into this category; their actual quality is not appreciably better than stuff you would find at the mall, nor are the designs themselves more special.

3. You Can Become Your Own Quality Expert

The good news is that if you keep thrifting, you will quickly learn how to spot quality on your own. Good fabrics feel different; well-cut clothes sit differently on the body. You can literally see the difference in good versus mediocre finishing, if you pay close attention to everything you see. People who join me on my thrifting trips always comment on my speed; I rarely spend more than an hour in any thrift store, and I consider that a leisurely pace. Most of the time, I don’t look at every single item on a rack. I’ll scan the rack and reach out to touch certain fabrics that look promising; often, I will also scan labels, to the extent they’re visible. I will always stop and have a closer look when I see a designer label I like; just as materials that feel nice to the touch, it’s a signal that there may be a worthwhile item at hand. Sometimes, the material lies; I’ve come across some deceptively silk-like polyester in my time. Sometimes, the label doesn’t live up to its promise. Trust your instincts. If a piece of clothing doesn’t feel “quite right” the first time you try it on, leave it behind. Chances are that it won’t get better with time, and eventually (sooner rather than later) you’ll get tired of trying to “make it work”. I learned that the hard way.

4. Actually, Forget Brands; Wear What You Like

There is some irony to this; I spent years learning about and hunting for brands, only to eventually realize that what truly matters is how you feel in the clothes you wear. If you think that’s an intuitive lesson, then you probably didn’t grow up poor. I did. Growing up, shopping at the mall was a luxury far beyond my reach, but I could scrape together enough money for a monthly issue of Marie Claire or Vogue. I got the message loud and clear; I would be a more confident, attractive, happier person if I could wear designer labels. “Some day”, I thought. To be honest, that day might never have truly arrived if I had not discovered secondhand shopping. That opened up a new world of possibilities, and I certainly pursued them with a vengeance. But after finally getting regular exposure to designer pieces, I slowly came to see that a fancy label wasn’t like a magic lamp; it wouldn’t transform me into something else, for better or worse. Eventually, I started to follow my own instincts and find pieces that made me feel like the best version of myself. Some of them carry fancy labels; some of them don’t. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Thrifting is a good way to go about it, because it’s at arm’s length from the fashion industry so you’re not limited by current trends or (arbitrary) price points.

5. Fast Fashion Is Not Sustainable 

Thrift stores are overflowing with clothes. All day, every day. Most of those clothes are the products of “fast fashion” – mass market retailers, high and low. The clothes that end up on the racks of thrift stores are a fraction of what gets donated, which itself is only a fraction of what is produced. I’m sure you’ve heard that the clothing industry is the second most polluting industry in the world; visiting thrift stores regularly, you get a real sense of the scale of consumption going on. I don’t know what the answers are; cheap clothing is a problem, but wealth inequality is no less real. (Threads like this one provide insight into both sides of that debate.) I do think it’s an important conversation to keep having, because I think that’s one way that we may, incrementally, move towards finding a solution.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, so hit me up in the comments!

After trips to Mexico, Palm Springs, Houston and, now, Scottsdale in the span of just over a year, I like to think that I’m an expert at packing for a hot vacation. Needs obviously will vary a bit from destination to destination, but not much in my case; I am basically a sloth anytime, anyplace I’m on vacation. What matters more than location is whether the kids are going to be there or not; for kid-free trips like this one, I do tend to over-dress a little. YOLO, right!? Even so, were it not for the fact that I have an extensive skin care regimen (which is not precisely compatible with carry on restrictions) and plans to bring back quantities of US-exclusive candy, I probably could have done this trip without checked luggage. That is a Peak Minimalism moment for me, you guys.

Here’s a list of what I took with me (including the clothes I wore on the plane):

– 3 dresses – only because I like to “dress up” for dinner, even though I am not a “fancy dining” kind of person. I’m complicated, ok?
– 3 tops
– 1 pair of pants
– 1 pair of shorts
– 2 sweaters/cardigans
– 1 cover-up
– 1 bikini
– 4 pairs of shoes
– Pyjamas and unmentionables

I feel like I need to explain the shoes. I always wear closed-toe shoes on the plane because my feet get cold otherwise. On this trip, I knew I wanted to do a little bit of hiking – definitely not my norm and, as it turns out, not something my husband was feeling either – so I decided to bring along some runners. But the runners didn’t go with my plane outfit so … 1 pair of shoes became two. Similarly, I usually only bring one pair of sandals (and one would have sufficed here as well), but I had just thrifted some Rebecca Minkoff thong sandals, and they barely took up any extra space, so … 1 pair of sandals became two. Two plus two … well, you can do the math.

Anyway, here is what I actually wore.

This was my plane outfit, and what I wore (minus the vest) until we checked into the hotel. It was the most comfortable. I wore the same thing on the way back except that I subbed in the black floral top I wore on Day 2.

I wore this for dinner on our first night. This is one of my fave dresses and it was nice to be able to wear it without a sweater for once.

Day 2, and a trip to the botanical garden. I always wear this hat in the summer when I’m outside, so it pays for itself in no time. It’s under $40 at Aritzia, and I believe they sell it every year. My first one got smushed in a suitcase once, but the hat is good quality and wears well otherwise; this is the second summer for this hat and it still looks great.

Evening outfit for Day 2. I recently got the necklace at J. Crew Factory. It was a perfect accessory for another one of my favourite muumuus.

Outfit for Day 3. I switched to the shorts in the afternoon for a quick shopping trip, post-poolside lounging.

Last but not least, I had to bring out this recently thrifted Corey Lynn Calter dress. I hunted this dress on eBay, in and off, for years without ever finding the right deal; a few weeks ago, I found it at my local Goodwill for $8.50. Paired with my Aritzia belt, it was a lovely outfit for a lovely last dinner in old town Scottsdale.

Like many other Canadians, my husband and I love to get away from our (cool) climate as often as possible. After checking out one destination popular with “snow birds” last year – Palm Springs – we decided to visit a different one this year: Scottsdale. Both of us loved California, and were curious to see how Arizona would measure up; of course, we can’t really compare two entire states based on brief visits to one small area, but in this limited engagement, we both agreed that Scottsdale emerged as the winner for us. I can’t entirely put my finger on the reason why, but we simply felt comfortable in Scottsdale as soon as we arrived, and from there on out, everything just felt into place like a charm. We didn’t end up following any of our plans, and still had an amazing time. I am already planning our return visit – next time, likely with our kids.

Here are my general impressions of Scottsdale and the Phoenix area.

Our Resort

We stayed at the Royal Palms Resort & Spa on the recommendation of a friend (and frequent visitor), and it was fantastic. The hotel is a former private estate; the grounds are stunning, and the Spanish-style architecture is charming. We ended up upgrading our room to a casita for a reasonable $30USD/night, which proved to be a great idea. The room was spacious, and had its own little patio area; we were also located right next to the pool area, which was convenient. Although considered a luxury resort, the Royal Palms is not the height of modern-style indulgence; it has a lot of charm and character as well as great service, which made us enjoy it but YMMV. Here is a contrast with other places we have stayed: the toiletries (shampoo, shower gel, etc.) were non (famous) branded, but the turn-down service chocolates provided every night were Ferrero Rocher. That was a-OK with me.

The landscape

I always thought that cacti were cute, but I became obsessed with them on this trip. On the recommendation of the hotel staff, we checked out the Desert Botanical Garden. It was the highlight of our trip! I have been to plenty of other botanical gardens in my travels, but this one was hands-down my favourite. The thing about cacti is that they are interesting to look at whether in bloom or not; we caught the tail end of blooming season, so we were extra lucky. The garden is beautifully landscaped, with several trails to explore. We saw lizards, hummingbirds, hares, and butterflies, and got a small peek at the beauty of the Sonoran desert. We went back in the evening to watch the sunset and see the garden lit up after dark. There was a music concert, so we also got to listen in; it made it a truly magical night.

I apologize in advance for the avalanche of photos to come:

We did not end up doing any hikes, as planned, because my husband wasn’t feeling it – or, specifically, was feeling the pool more. Next time, I will find a way to drag him up Camelback mountain (located right behind our resort) and maybe even on a day trip to Sedona. Can’t wait!

The sightseeing

We were pretty set on spending a good chunk of time pool-side, so we didn’t end up doing very much touristy stuff. We did go to check out the street art on Roosevelt Row in Phoenix proper, which was fun.

We stopped in for a donut and ice cream at Short Leash Hotdogs and Rollover Donuts, and ended up staying for a bit to play a hotly contested Uno tournament. It was one of those serendipitous moments that are truly the stuff vacation memories are made of. Since my kids’ favourite things include hotdogs, donuts and Uno, we will definitely be back.

We also explored Old Town Scottsdale a couple of evenings. Oddly, it reminded me a lot of the Byward market area in Ottawa. We loved checking out the little boutiques and sampling some of the food on offer – it did not disappoint.

Speaking of which, my husband and I both love food but we are not fancy restaurant people. The places we ate while in Scottsdale — Hula’s, Malee’s Thai Bistro, Sakana, Sugar Bowl, Cafe Zuppa — were definitely not fancy, but the food was great and reasonably priced. There were a ton of options to explore within easily drivable distance of our resort, which was awesome.

The Shopping

I was originally not planning to do any thrifting in Scottsdale, and was only going to stop at the Nordstrom Last Chance (the only one in N. America). We did that (twice) but I also ended up checking out a couple of Goodwills. Ok, it was more like 4 or 5. In my defence, unlike Houston, the thrift stores in the Phoenix area are close together. And they were really good! I’ll write about what I bought in another post, so stay tuned.

All in all, this was one of our favourite trips. Everyone we met was incredibly friendly, perhaps even more so than in California (which we like to joke is our American spiritual home). I cannot wait to go back and see (and do) much more.