Tip No. 2: Investment Pieces Should Be Transformable
If you're going to spend, make sure you can wear a garment in more than one way. Investment pieces should be impeccably tailored, made of quality fabric, lined (many fast-fashion retailers do not do this, so their items don’t last as long), and should not have the ability to go in and out of style.
For fall, I'm sporting designer Charles Harbison's Trompe l'Oeil ensemble, a sheath and jacket with removable sleeves. The look, which takes me from day to night, is what Harbison calls a legacy piece — at $1,800. "Because of the quality tropical wool, this piece is something you can pass down to your kids," he explains. "I have pieces from my mom and dad from the 1980s that have endured.” So, while this ensemble is not inexpensive, it's multifunctional as a suit, coat, and dress.
