Interesting link, thanks! I really like her point about asking her design team to style their shoots the same way they dressed themselves. It shows how hard it can be to recognize and trust what works about one's own style.
Sterling, I often grumble about the 'investment' term -- though I think her answer is only misusing it mildly compared to most! She gets the real point. I think we can use a broader definition of investment than simply appreciation of the item itself. A suit bought for a law firm interview, for instance, is a true investment. It's money put forward in hope of recouping it later as salary from a successful career. But I do think the concept has been muddied by using the word investment too loosely. Really what we more often mean is, 'worth it.' A Burberry coat may well bring hundreds of positive experiences over many years; a flash-in-the-pan trend may not. Maybe we can think of that as investment in our own future happiness, but the research shows that happiness doesn't always work that way! At any rate, I think the word's misuse is only a problem when people genuinely think the expensive thing is a rational financial choice just because it is higher quality or longer lasting. It might be, but it isn't always.
I suppose also, 'not losing money' is different than 'hoping to make money'. If I can buy one good pair of shoes this year, and keep them many years, I might save money over buying a disposable pair each year. But is that an investment, by the usual financial definition? I suppose not. But making that choice requires having financial resources at hand, up front, much like the rest of capitalism, and not everyone can do that!
Also I just learned that the word 'investment' has the same etymology as vestments aka clothing! I guess that's obvious in retrospect.
