These two items made their way into my home tonight. I didn’t realize until later this evening, when I was jogging around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, how appropriate they are together. The first is a card that I picked up at an antique and gifts store. The quote is inspiring and encapsulates what I aspire to achieve with my appearance.
And if I wear this lovely vintage costume bow pin, from yet another antique store in my neighborhood, I think I will live up to the quote. As readers will come to know, I’m a sucker for bows. This piece is reminiscent of Chanel jewelry and I plan to wear it as part of a Chanel-esque ensemble: with a black boucle jacket and perhaps a strand of pearls or two.
I looked at the vintage bow pin twice tonight before it ended up at home with me. I caught a glimpse of it as I was making my way up our street, but the price tag was hidden. I returned later on in the day and asked to view it. At $22 and in perfect condition, it could have been a guiltless impulse purchase. Except today, it wasn’t. Despite the affordable price tag, as I tell myself, a purchase is still a purchase. And with my vacation starting this Friday, a vacation that will undoubtedly include a good measure of shopping, I hesitated. I have certainly spent more on impulse purchases, but I didn’t feel inclined to make this impulse purchase tonight. So I went home and I told my husband about the pin; I even showed him the blurry photo of it that I snapped on my iPhone. He didn’t urge me to buy it when I told him about it, so I decided to let it go for the time being. Part of me hoped that he would purchase it for me.
Not even a couple of hours later, my husband handed me something small wrapped in a white paper towel and scotch tape. I instantly knew that it was the bow pin. Even though I have received wonderful gifts from my husband that cost exceedingly more than this pin, I was incredibly moved by his thoughtfulness. He listened and he bought me something that I really love. Something that will bring me joy each time I wear it, for both my simple love of the design and the memory of his thoughtfulness.
This pin is a good reminder that the price tag (and I believe this to be true in either direction) is irrelevant when you find something that you really love, of course, as long as you can afford it. An item does not have to have a special brand or provenance; it simply needs to be like a piece of art, whose value is subjectively determined by the person who owns it. To put it simply, if you love something that you own, that’s all that matters.
I realize that my personal taste will not appeal to everyone as we all have our own unique style. What I hope to do with this blog, however, is to offer something beyond exploring my personal styleaspirations. I hope to engage my readers in discussions about what material items really mean to us in our lives, why we choose particular items to wear and to bring in to our homes. Thus, I hope to encourage you to surround yourselves with items you truly love and enjoy, your own pieces of art.
Enough about me. Have you ever received an unexpected gift that moved you? What was it?
Assuming that you can afford the item, do you believe that price tag is irrelevant when you find something that you really love?
What would you consider to be a piece of art that you can wear?
What a lovely pin – I can definitely picture this accoutrement fastened smartly onto a jacket. I’d say this pin is definitely a part of your trademark style. And I agree about costs – style can be achieved at any price. Your husband is a romantic – it must have been hard for him to tell you to pass on it when he secretly wanted to be the one to give it to you.
One of the most unexpected gifts I have received was from my mother as a graduation gift after receiving my masters. Some background: we had this old, iron banister railing when I was little…..and at the start of the staircase & railing, there was a decorative flourish that had a brass knob affixed at the top of the banister stand.
When I was four and we were having work done to our house, the brass knob fixed atop the banister stand had to be taken off (as the banister was being replaced). I told my mom that she had to “promise to save it forever”. Even then, I was attached to items and must have viewed this as a special, physical part of our house. Well, my mother kept it all these years and finally found a use for it. She had the brass knob affixed onto a paperweight stand. It is a perfect function, as I am a writer — and really, what else can you do with an object like that? I hadn’t thought about this object in a long time and I was very emotional thinking about my childhood home and how she took my childish request to save this historic marker. An object that waited at the bottom of the railing for generations of families who walked down that staircase.
Thank you for asking such thought-provoking question!
Thank you for sharing such a special story with us! Not only was this gift of a paperweight perfect for you as a writer, but the history and personal meaning behind it makes it even more special. How thoughtful of your mother to save this brass knob for you! And I love your sentence, “An object that waited at the bottom of the railing for generations of families who walked down that staircase.” As my post predicts and your comment proves, a love of a material item is often attached to a memory. This is a topic worth further thought in other posts, many times over! Thank you for your comments, Traveler!