‘I was in a shitty relationship and all I got was a great T-shirt.'

how we deal with sartorial spoils from relationships past

The vintage-devoted, SSENSE-sale-stalking, eBay bidding oracles know the value of a perfectly worn-in band tee — and they’re not about to let a bad breakup ruin a good outfit.

When a fashion-lovers’ quarrel ends in a dissolution of the relationship, what is one to do with a closet full of reminders?

For Haloscope Magazine, I investigated how the fashionably inclined deal with clothing their exes gave them or left behind. The resounding answer — keep the good stuff. If anything, single stitch tees and designer handbags are the consolation prize for dealing with a shitty ex.

---

Here’s what some of your favorite vintage-obsessed Substackers had to say about their own breakup spoils and closet philosophies…

• Kayla Roolaart
  of
  No Crumbs
  has a Prada bag that her ex gifted her sitting in her closet waiting to be sold. “It’s also my in-case-of-emergency fund.”

• She keeps a couple other ex-related pieces on rotation, though, and feels that the odd relationship with them is a necessary part of life. “I think we do a disservice if we only keep memories from things that were joyful and discard everything that was painful, because it's just a part of your life, and you can't only keep the things that don't hurt.”

(Lorelai Gilmore would agree… don’t we all have our own Boyfriend Box hidden somewhere?)

• ashley noelle
  of
  tart n' savory
  has a collection of perfectly worn-in tees that have become completely neutral objects. “I don't think about this person ever, sometimes not even when I wear the T-shirt.”

• Emily Stochl
  of
  Pre-Loved by Emily Stochl
  reminds us that emotional entanglement is unavoidable in our closets. (Ask your dad why he never washes his jersey during the season…) “We add so much more — which is something that I love about fashion — but we add so much more to the clothing than just what it is and what it looks like.”

Me? I often wear a grey Nike hoodie from a high school boyfriend that he made me promise not to keep. Whoops!

---

To read more (including insider info on what the Buffalo Exchange buyer is thinking when you try to consign your ex’s sneakers), check out the full piece on Haloscope.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear what in your closet survived a past relationship…