10 Buys You'll Still Be Wearing In 10 Years

Shopping for keeps reaps rewards, says fashion expert Anna Murphy. She selects the 10 items you’ll still be wearing in a decade

Many fashion women have a kind of ‘uniform’. They buy the very best versions of the items they like – and that like them. Items that will ideally last them a decade, if not more. They buy for keeps, in other words.

Take Elizabeth Saltzman, who styles celebrities like Uma Thurman and Gwyneth Paltrow. She may pick out all sorts of wondrous red carpet-appropriate flights of fancy for her clients, but for herself she has what she describes, without a hint of embarrassment, as her uniform. (This woman wears the best navy trousers and cream silk tops I have ever laid eyes on.) What’s more, “None of it is new,” she tells me. “I don’t understand the phenomenon of buying to throw it away.” Nor does she purchase endless multiples of items she likes. “I edit. That’s what I do. My wardrobe at home is one rail.”

It makes sense for us to learn from Saltzman. To buy less that is better, therefore maximising value for money and the space we have in our wardrobes, while at the same time minimising our fashion footprint.

That means investing in quality. One beautiful ever-after cashmere sweater, for example, not four more run-of-the-mill woollies. For me, it also means searching out pieces that combine functionality with a certain kind of specialness. A coat that looks killer. A pair of boots that will make every outfit in your closet seem contemporary. And some jewellery that signifies you’re worth it. Because you are. Here are my 10 picks that will last you for at least 10 years...

1 The modernising ankle boots