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| Deep Storage - Photos by Salt Water New England |
Now, of course, we see a great product, even a great color, and we can bet on it not being around for much longer. During the 2000-2006 time period, this was exaggerated, as so many companies were liquidating their inventories of classically well built, Made-in-the-US products to replace them with Made-in-China substitutes. (Those were heady times.) Today, many companies have built into product cycles a variation of the Cuisinart strategy of "Grow through high quality; then grow profits through high margins."
As a result, there are times when certain favorite items are simply not available. (It's been well over 15 years since decent 100% cotton khakis for Women were available.)
So we practice gentle stockpiling. We buy back ups, and backups of backups, for some items, especially where our sizes and tastes have somewhat stabilized.
Given that, what items do you currently stockpile? And has it required creative storage solutions?
I absolutely hoard items from clothing to household goods that I treasure. Black turtlenecks, white jeans, certain Lilly Pulitzer items, Barbour vests/jackets and paper towels and cleaning products! I also use Boat bags for storage!
ReplyDeleteI don’t. I use stores that are long standing with products the same; also my clothes last a long time. I do have multiples in staples but I wear them all in rotation during a season.
ReplyDeleteHaven't had the need to stockpile anything. As long as there are thrift stores and eBay, finding what I am looking for (rarely is it "need") doesn't seem to be a problem.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I do this, too! I do it with denim, dresses, shoes, my kitchen dishes and flatware. I also save certain things I haven’t used in years because I know I really may use it again, and I won’t be able to replace it later. I WISH I had done it with my favorite socks. But I didn’t, so I will keep mending until I can mend no more.
ReplyDeleteI have not had or felt a need to stockpile anything other than keeping a couple of handles of Tanqueray and Evan Williams BIB and a case or two of good but not super good red wine on hand, along with a handful of superb bottles aging. Oh, and a few extra sets of percale sheets. I am 75 and doubt I'll wear out anything I have. If I run out of golf balls, I buy more unless they are discontinued, in which case I buy the successor. It was interesting to see the reference to Cuisinart touting growth for high quality. In my experience, Cuisinart, which started as a rebadged consumer version of the French Robot Coupe, is nowhere near the quality of the original. The current consumer version of Robot Coupe, the Magimix, is spectacular, solid as the original with great improvements in usability.
ReplyDeleteI don't, mostly because I live in Europe, where there are still many great classic UK and European brands (very often, too, they are of better quality), so we are spoilt for choice here. However, I find a need to lightly (just a few trusted colours) stockpile pima cotton turtlenecks from the US because these are harder to find, and even a great UK brand like Sunspel tends to make them a little too form-fitting for my taste.
ReplyDeleteBought a lot of Brooks Brothers OCBD's in 2019-21. Always at deep discount. Have over 20 now. Good timing since the price has skyrocketed recently, and they are never included in sales. Also bought several really nice navy polos from Tyrwhitt on closeout, before they made them stretchy and put a logo on them.
ReplyDeleteThere is a large box in my attic which has over a dozen unopened Hilditch and Key poplin shirts, with matching boxer shorts. They were made in H&K's factory in Fife, Scotland which closed several years ago. Production has now been outsourced to a factory in Bergamo, Italy. Prices have risen substantially and quality has dropped so I'm pleased to have stocked up.
ReplyDeleteI have also stockpiled Cordings and Sunspel polo shirts (now also stored in sealed boxes in the attic) when they were made in England. I should have stocked up on Cordings button-fly chinos which are no longer available. Over the years, to avoid for too much stockpiling, I have tended to buy classic "perennials". Anything that gets damaged, lost or stolen can then be replaced easily.
First off, I originally misread the headline as "Gentile Stockpiling" and was confused. :-) As to the subject matter, about 10 years ago I started hitting Ebay and Poshmark, etc., and buying up as many pairs of original Duck Heads as I could find - a few gently used, but most never worn/still labeled 'deadstock'. It was prob more about nostalgia for my youth than anything else, but I now have a dozen or so pairs in reserve at the back of the closet.
ReplyDeleteLiving in a converted beach cottage with a dirt floor basement and no attic, we can't stockpile, gentle or otherwise. If it doesn't get used, it doesn't live here. I'm curious though, how the math works on this - I would have to have started that stash at 30 for it not to outlive me.
ReplyDeleteI try to avoid stockpiling, as I choose to live in a 1000 sf house with limited storage space. I stick to a basic wardrobe of about 20 items or less for each season. I put out of season items away, and replace items that are too shabby or that I'm bored with. I find American Giant women's khakis and All American Clothing Co. dress shirts are ok. The shirts are cotton poly blend, which I try to avoid, but affordable and wash, wear and travel well. I like O'Connell's OCBD white shirts too but these can become a mess during extended travel. I used to collect sweaters in my younger years. Now I just stick to 3 in the winter, including a classic wool fair isle worn with a white cotton turtleneck shirt. For me, it is so much easier having a few items of clothing that I know I'll wear rather than having too much. I travel frequently and lightly... with just a carry-on bag.
ReplyDeleteYears ago when we learned that Trader Joe's was discontinuing their Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, we went to three different stores and bought the entire stock from each. Filled one cupboard and we enjoyed it for a long time (even well it's best date), gave many as gifts, & doled out the final few for special occasions.
ReplyDeleteI stockpile everything I might need at the store. They very kindly store it for me until I need it, at which point I pay for it and transfer it to my house. I will probably never buy most of the things they're stockpiling for me, but they stockpile it anyway in case I need it. It keeps my house nicely uncluttered.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see this post, because stockpiling has become a way of life for my wife and me. A few examples: I stockpile saddle oxfords (newly made ones are nearly impossible to find), washable wool flannel slacks (no spandex, please), chinos that really are the size I actually wear ("32x32" is now a fantasy term and not an arithmetical fact), and hats that really, truly are the size the tag says.
ReplyDeleteI stash away multiples of certain items for future use and I'm glad to see support for this here. I thought very few people do this. Too many times I've assumed something could be easily replaced only to learn that I'd end up suffering through a third-rate version while eternally searching for the original in vain. Following the example of an uncle, I became convinced that it was cheaper, faster, and easier to stockpile now than to waste time, money, and effort trying to reproduce something I'd already found. I also began to realize that I was much more at ease using my favorite quality goods the way they were meant to be used (i.e. conditions subject to damage or loss) when I knew that there was an instant replacement waiting for me in the basement. Regrettably, I'm convinced that certain classes of products are condemned to decline in quality while simultaneously leaping in price. Included in this category are: certain clothing (including shirts, trousers, jeans, and shoes), pure wool products, leather goods, and some camping gear. SWNE raised this just a few days ago with sweaters (through an article in The Atlantic).
ReplyDeleteI've also stashed away some good quality items for nieces and nephews that are still too young to safely use or appreciate such gifts. When I was in the Army I settled on the best knife to carry for deployments; it was high quality and Made In The USA but easily obtained and very affordable. Since then it has skyrocketed in price, the source is obscured, and online comments indicate that the quality of materials and workmanship is now dubious. I'm glad I squirreled away enough new originals for the next generation once they are of age for camping or military service or whatever. While this can't be done for certain types of items like electronics, I have also stashed away future gifts like Filson bags (bought on sale), camping gear, jewelry for the girls, and wine from their birth year. They were very grateful last year when I gifted them new-in-box, solid-quality camping compasses that I'd bought ten years earlier on the assumption that they'd grow up to be the kind of people that would appreciate them.
I wish I had stockpiled Brooks Brothers oxford cloth shirts from the eighties. I only have one white oxford left
ReplyDeleteSimilar to AndrewK247, during the BB "purge", I stockpiled a couple dozen of their Made In Garland oxford shirts - especially the pinks. I have found no one else, even BB today, that can replicate that bluish shade of pink. Also several pairs of their Peal loafers and oxfords. Finally, I have a small stockpile of Tretorn nylites, Adidas Rod Lavers and Made in England Clarks Desert Boots.
ReplyDeleteI’m not stockpiler person, more of a semi- minimalist. To keep myself in check I made a rule several years ago. Unless a clothing or shoe item is replacing a well worn item or a new item is of better quality, two clothing items need to leave the house. Doing this keeps me from impulse buying and I have a closet full of clothes that I actually wear.
ReplyDeleteMy late mother always advised that if you really, really like, and often wear, an item of clothing, or a pair of shes, buy two and put the second away for when the first is no longer in good enough shape to wear outside of the backyard on a hot day.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
Heinz-Ulrich
Made in Garland, NC, Brooks Brothers button-downs, RLP Yarmouth style button-downs, Brooks Brothers full-fit boxers (which are certain to go away eventually), and I have 4 pair of Bass Weejuns which I wear on a rotation basis rather than store away. Wish I’d gotten Lands’ End flannel boxers before they went to the skinny man version they now have, with that ridiculous center back seam. -JDV
ReplyDeleteWe mostly stockpile consumables, as clothing is pretty well covered: we're retired, and have no need of new clothing that edges toward formal wear.
ReplyDeleteWhen we see "remainder" racks, shelves or stacks of favorite foods, underclothing, socks, "garage rags", etc., i.e., the kinds of things you consume, wear out, get oily, dirty or stained and need to replace annually we'll stock up and set them aside into a room we had built off the kitchen called "The Box Room". My grandmother had her "Box Room" in a wing of her house where luggage and trunks were stored and kept dry. Ours has been much handier than we anticipated, especially during the recent pandemic.
ReplyDeleteMy m-i-l had about six pairs of white 'Keds' sneakers that she rotated for years. She had names for each pair. She was so cute about it and my wife has carried on the habit of rotating things like sets of plate, bowls, glasses, etc.
ReplyDeleteLol love this "She had names for each pair".
DeleteMost of us have so much more clothes than our grandfathers had. We rarely wear out clothes anymore because we don't wear the same things over and over again, even our favorite ones. Style also changes. OCBD shirts that I like today will be out of style in a few years because the collars will be either too long or short. It doesn't make sense to stockpile.
ReplyDeleteOCBD shirts are not about “style.”
DeleteBernie, I agree with your first 3 sentences. However, the OCBD's I wear today are almost identical to the ones I wore in college 30+ years ago. They were popular then, and I see them on college campuses today. Collars do change on many shirts, but not too much on OCBD's.
DeleteI've always wondered if anyone seriously pays attention to small clothing details which determines if something is "in style"...like collars. If the clothing fits well and fabric is good quality, do the little details matter?
DeleteIt’s often the little details that distinguish a timeless classic.
DeleteLL Bean fisherman's shirts. I'm glad I did because they're no longer available.
ReplyDeleteI have always put away for future use, those items that have been trusted items for many years, that I feared might no longer be produced. Just in case!
ReplyDeleteLL Bean women’s OCBD’s which are sadly no longer available.
ReplyDeleteWomen’s wide wale corduroys and khakis (if I could find some worth buying).
ReplyDeleteStockpile for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt..
ReplyDeleteI guess the fearful stockpiling is a little out of hand here...just a little. Nevertheless, I wish I had stockpiled Brooks Brothers' blouses for women with French cuffs. I have lost weight as I have gotten older (most doctors have everyone hitting the gym and watching their intake these days) and now all my handsome Brooks Brothers' blouses are too big. Can't bear to part with them, but it's time for them to go to Goodwill only I can't find anything to replace them with. Same could be said of stunning silk blouses that Orvis used to sell.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. This is a frequent topic of discussion with my husband, this strange world we live in has made us think about these things. You just simply can't find many items, even extremely basic things anymore. The things we tend to stockpile are mostly food items. We enjoy good cooking from scratch (yes, people still do this! I'm sure we're not the only ones here who don't eat from a box or bag for 3 meals a day). The item I find myself stockpiling is sunflower oil. It has doubled in price since the war in Ukraine and is difficult to find in our area.
ReplyDeleteI don’t stockpile, but do maintain. Re-sole, grease/polish leather goods, re-proof waxed cotton jackets, darn sweaters, and so on. I’m doing a DIY re-sole of an old pair of Birkenstocks soon.
ReplyDeleteI call it putting into inventory.
ReplyDeleteThis was something I never did in the past as I liked to have variety in my wardrobe. However, last year I went looking for a particular type of sweater as my prior one no longer fit me well due to losing weight. Do you think I could find it??? After months of looking, I finally did find it, in two colors and was so pleased with them, I reordered two more to set aside for later down the road. Wouldn't you know, this year I'm seeing them everywhere. Oh well. I did recently buy an extra bathrobe from Vermont Country Store after buying one and being so pleased with it. But it's not my usual habit.
ReplyDeleteWe don't stockpile clothing, but I personally have learnt hard lessons over the years that I shouldn't get rid of certain things. A small horde of classic shetland sweaters and a few other things comes to mind. Nowadays, we're in the practice of keeping and maintaining our well-made classics, and buying only exactly what we need in high quality. Given this, my husband and I both have enough clothing to last us well into our next lifetimes! --Holly
ReplyDelete