Old School, New School

You know those items in your closet that you just can't bear to throw away, despite not having worn them for seasons at a time?

Truth: I am a clotheshorse. I keep crucial items for years at a time in the hopes that they, one day, will come back into style. Don't get me wrong - I do follow the rule of donating less-expensive items every season if they haven't gotten worn in at least a year. This keeps my drawers and closets ready for that next big color or popular style trend, plus it gets me a swank write-off each year on my taxes! The Buckhead Goodwill guys almost knew me by name last year, I was there so often with perfectly-wearable, if not too large or too small, donations.

Despite the room they might take up, there are other special items on which I keep a close hold, though. A prime example is a dark denim jean jacket that I bought on deep discount (because they were phasing them out, can you imagine!) from Express back in 2005. A year or two then went by where jean jackets weren't that common. And then, BAM! There they were, back in vogue, and I was all set to go. While black pencil skirts, dark bootcut jeans and turtleneck sweaters all fall into the category of seasonally fabulous, an item like that jacket needs your trust to not discard too quickly.

Today I am wearing the mother of all wardrobe saves. 

 
This croched-top, I kid you not, is an item from The Limited circa 1995. True to the times, I originally wore it with a long broomstick-style black and white skirt and bright red clogs (Clogs and Converse sneakers were all the rage - I had one in red, and the other in bright pink!).

Then years (and years) went by, and this summery top was put at the bottom of my wardrobe bins, rarely taken out each season as I swapped out clothes. But, deep inside, I knew that it would again be cute and trendy, and it was high-enough quality that I knew it could stand the test of time. So I made sure to keep it around.

Sure enough, here we are again, and the top has new life. I love pairing it with a longer white tank underneath (since I have grown a few inches taller since the 5th grade!) and plain colored bottoms. Today, I added pops of color with bright pink flats, a pink flower-print watch and a hot pink purse from Mexico. Beachy and summery, yet still professional in black and white.

What do you think? Has this top been worth the save? What's the oldest wardrobe piece in your closet?