HEWIs, highly elusive wardrobe items, are items on our shopping list that take ages to find. Sometimes the specific thing we want simply doesn’t exist, and other times it isn’t available at an affordable price point. 

We keep HEWIs on our shopping list, and hope that with tenacity, patience and a bit of luck, we eventually find them. When we do find them, it’s brilliant and all is right in the world. We can finally put together the outfits we had in mind, evolve our style, and make the HEWI a wardrobe workhorse.

Or so we thought.

Things don’t necessarily work out that way. Sometimes, we outgrow the need for our HEWIs just as we find them. Annoying, but true. That’s because there are changes in the factors that affect our style. 

For example, your sartorial preferences shift over time. It’s only when you fit on and remix the HEWI into your wardrobe during an outfit creation session at home that you realize that you don’t fancy the vibe as much as you thought you would. Or the looks that you styled with the HEWI in your head don’t work in person. Quite the anticlimax. 

Your body type can also change, which might make the HEWI look less fab than you thought it would. Your lifestyle, climate and environment can change, which can make a HEWI inappropriate or useless once you find it. A HEWI can also be a trendy item that you are “over” once it pops up in stores. Or an item that feels dated-for-you when you finally track it down. 

All this to say that HEWIs have an expiry date, which can be difficult to gauge. If you catch that you no longer want or need a HEWI before you find it — so much the better. If not, be sure to evaluate your purchase carefully when you find something that has been on your shopping list for a long time. Before committing to it, make sure that it works as well for your wardrobe and style as you thought it would.