The Best Fashion Investments They Ever Made

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The story below is from our March/April 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Local boutique owners share their best-loved buys.

In an era of fast fashion, there’s something special about the pieces we turn to again and again. In that spirit, we asked local boutique owners about the purchases that have gone the distance in their wardrobes ... and the strategies they recommend for investing in long-game, high-quality, hard-wearing pieces you’ll love for the long haul. Here’s what they said...

Darcy Funk

Vivendi 

The Classic Black Dress

In Darcy Funk’s wardrobe, nothing works harder than a simple, black knit dress. 

“I’ve worn it to lunch, dinner, a funeral, even to a shower,” she says. Funk has styled the sleeveless dress with statement heels in the summer, with a metallic leather jacket in the fall and with sneakers and a boxy graphic sweater for early spring (pictured).

“It’s just so comfortable that I tend to reach for it all the time,” she says. “And in our new world, I think we’d rather wear the same piece three times a week than buy something we don’t really love for a one-time use.”

Alyce Carlin

New’d

The Elevated Handbag

As the owner of New’d — a Salem boutique specializing in casual clothing consignment — Alyce Carlin probably wouldn’t have been inclined to buy a brand-new luxury handbag. Which is why, when her husband surprised her with a small black Gucci crossbody for Christmas one year, the gift struck her as particularly meaningful.

“It’s my special bag,” she says. “I feel special when I pull it out.”

The accessory has travelled to work trips, weddings and date nights. And since it came in a branded box with Gucci bows, Carlin — always the upcycler — found a way to reuse the packaging, too: “I used the ribbons for ties around my flats at the ankle.”

For Roanokers weighing whether a fashion splurge is a good investment, Carlin has a simple recommendation: “Break it down to cost per wear,” she says. “I know, for instance, that if I’m going to buy a pair of jeans, I’ll wear them once a week, if not twice. And all of a sudden, when you take the cost of those jeans and divide it by the wears, you’re probably talking cents per wear ... It makes it easier to know when to invest in certain pieces.”

Lanita Porterfield

Virtuous Closet

The Go-To Gown

Lanita Porterfield’s online boutique specializes in elegant dresses for charity benefits and sorority balls ... so she knows a thing or two about what makes a great gown. And the instant she spotted her favorite lipstick-red, off-the-shoulder number from a manufacturer in the UK, she knew she’d wear it again and again ... and feel incredible every time.

“I said, ‘Yes! This is the one!’ I want to wear it to parties and photo shoots and for the holidays,” she says. “It’s a dress to catch people’s eye.”

While some might consider occasional dresses as a wear-once purchase, celebrities and style setters are increasingly giving their gowns a second act, with Catherine, Princess of Wales, for example, proudly recirculating her favorites again and again. And contrary to the old wisdom, Porterfield says, your signature formal piece doesn’t have to be black — it just has to make you feel unstoppable.

“When you’re investing, just be sure it’s something you feel confident in,” she says. “Because when you feel beautiful, it can change the trajectory of your life.”

Roxy Broom

The Bird Cage Boutique

The Liquid-Leather Layer

When Broom thinks about the pieces in her closet that have gotten the most wear, she doesn’t have to look far. Her black “liquid leather” jacket by Clara Sunwoo is her go-to, she says: “I wear it all the time.”

Sunwoo’s breathable, vegan-friendly leathers are stocked at Bird Cage in a rainbow of hues, and they made an appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s “Favorite Things” list in 2021. And at just under $200, says Broom, her black jacket was, in fact, a great investment.

“It travels well; it stretches, so no matter what you’re doing throughout the day, it moves with you,” she says. “I can wear it with a dress or with tailored pants and it looks amazing, but with jeans it’s relaxed and edgy... It changes the vibe of whatever you’re wearing.”

Timothy Head

Tim & Zach Thrifty Finds

The Memory-Making Accessory

Tim Head loves two things: Disney and a great Coach bag. So when he saw that one of his favorite designers was rolling out a Mickey-embellished collection, he couldn’t resist.

“I looked at it and I said, ‘This represents me in every way,’” he remembers. 

Head says he’s taken his condensed crossbody not just to Disney World, but also to trips abroad with his partner — imbuing the bag with memories across the miles. “Zach and I are big travelers — we like to see the world — so whenever I put on that bag, I know I’m going somewhere fun,” he explains. “London, Florida, Nashville ... when I look at that bag, all the good times come back, even if it’s just sitting in my closet.”

Head recommends that shoppers select leather, denim and other long-wearing investment pieces with an eye toward both durability and sustainability ... and sometimes, that might mean turning to vintage. “Get in the mindset of looking at quality, looking at fabric ... Your pure, 100% cotton jeans from back in the day? Those will last for 30, 40 or 50 years of everyday use,” he says. “Jeans are one of the worst polluters when they’re being made, so the more we can extend the life of our jeans, the better.”

J Bohn Bishop

JBohnBishop Mercantile

The Ultimate (Pink!) Cowgirl Boots

J Bohn Bishop didn’t plan her favorite fashion investment; in fact, it was pure kismet.

“I got them in a boot store in Dallas, Texas,” she remembers. “I walked in with no intentions — we had dinner reservations right across the road — and in a sea of brown and black boots, there was this one pink pair... And they were my size.”

Pink is Bishop’s signature color, so she knew the instant she saw them that they’d get major play in her wardrobe. “They’re beat-up,” she admits. “I just got back from Dollywood, and I wore them on all the rollercoasters.”

When it comes to making investment buys, Bishop says you’ll make a way to wear what you really love. “It’s about that gut instinct,” she says. “If you’re questioning yourself, you don’t need it.”

Crystal McBroom

La De Da

The Tough-Girl Moto Jacket

Anyone who knows Crystal McBroom knows she loves a bold, statement-making, rule-breaking garment. But one of her favorite pieces, in fact, is surprisingly classic: a leather moto jacket.

“I have so many beautiful coats, but this one leather jacket goes everywhere with me,” she says. 

The lambskin leather, by global maker Mauritius, “gets better with age,” McBroom says, and the zip-out sweatshirt hood allows her to up the coziness factor on a cold day.

Best of all, perhaps, is the way the jacket can change McBroom’s perspective: “It makes me feel powerful, like no one can mess with me,” she explains. “I can’t live without it.”

The story above is from our March/April 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!