Do you have any collections?

From childhood to adolescence to adulthood, I’ve had my share of collections. In the Chinese school, I had a friend, Lawrence, who collected NBA cards. He got the ball rolling by giving me a few new ones. I proceeded to fill almost two albums with Upper Deck’s and Fleer Ultras. The album features some of the game’s biggest stars. Michael Jordan. Karl Malone. Reggie Miller. Charles Barkley. Antwan Jamison. Paul Pierce. Chauncey Billups. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Mark Price. So it goes. This was the nineties, the golden age of pro hoops.

For my primary school graduation, my parents bought me a few blocks of cards. I was delighted at the gift. In high school, I forgot about top upping my collection. I was still into hoops, but I mostly bought magazines. I still brought my albums to Oz.

The Book Lover

Upon my return to Sydney, I started collecting books. This wasn’t new: I bought reads even overseas. I got cracking on John Grisham. I continued my amor for Michael Crichton and Mitch Albom. I’ve detailed my bibliography many times on this site. See also: my ‘Books’ shortcut.

At the moment, my bookshelf is almost full. The most impressive is a thick memoir by the former Aussie statesman. I’ve perused biographies by Larry Bird, Andre Igoudala, Anh Do, and Stephen King. There are unread life stories on Elon Musk, Nick Frost, Bear Grylls, Steve Jobs, and J.M. Coetzee. I doubt I’ll read the Musk bio as I already got my hands on a more recent tome. Ditto Steve Jobs, as I saw the film version. Thus, these holdovers are on my reading list. Lately, I haven’t been as earnest in buying books. Indeed, I’ve offloaded many. I’ve shifted my gaze towards other items.

The Capped Player

I’ve mentioned my shoe collection. Aside from this, I collect baseball caps. I have seven of them at my disposal. Three are by Rodd and Gunn. The upmarket Kiwi brand has good quality. I’ve bought nubuck shoes from them as well as a printed polo shirt. I had to return this LS tee as it was not my size.

The Mallard cap was the first R & G cap that I purchased. It was on sale for thirty percent off at Myer. I overlooked it and got it at The Iconic instead. The cap is in a sage colour and features a trio of flying ducks, native to NZ. Having your ducks in a row is rare, even in other branded caps. It gives off a distinct Kiwi feeling. The colour is a little lighter than my liking, but I’ll take it.

Meanwhile, the stone coloured One Fly cap is perfect for those searing summer days. It’s easy on the eyes and minimalist. The logo at the front adds a dash of style. Like most R & G caps, it’s adjustable at the back.

Finally, the grey Kiwi Golf Open cap has an attractive design. The signature canine logo is featured at the front. It goes with any outfit, whether light, neutral, or dark. It also matches well with my grey Patagonia pack. The inside brim is in a contrast green colour. Noice. All three adjustable headwear have Rodd and Gunn branding at the back.

Last year, I also grabbed this Mitchell and Ness cap at half price. It was from The Iconic. It commemorates the LA Lakers, the last NBA team to win three straight titles. The only issue with this hat is that it tends to be a magnet for lint.

My Superdry baseball cap is of a faded grey colour. It has the words ‘Real Superdry’ at the front with Japanese characters. I bought this way back, in 2019. The branding adds a measure of elegance.

I also bought this blue Polo Sport cap off TK Maxx. It was one of my cheaper finds. I already own a blue one. My US-based cuz gifted it to me. I’ve had it for ages. It sports the phrase, ‘You don’t mess with a Texan’. The cap was Korean-made.

The Cashmere Rack

Many years ago, I bought my first cashmere sweater. It was Superdry branded, in a cool green with black stripes. It was only five percent cashmere. It goes well with my hooded black vest from Jeanswest. To be honest, aside from the attractive design and colour, it feels no different than my regular cotton tops. This was probably due to the low cashmere content.

I followed this up with a brown Reserve jumper from Myer. Sporting a v-neck, it was of the same material. I have yet to use said sweater. It has an attractive brown hue, perfect for rainy and overcast days. This time, I got a medium. It’s a nice fit.

Early last month, I bought another cotton cashmere crew neck, this time from H & M. The latter content is higher at fifteen percent. It retailed for eighty bucks. Recently, I hand-washed the sweat. I followed the care guide and air dried it. The jumper washed well. Being cotton-dominant, it didn’t pill. Saved me the $$$ at the drycleaners.

Finally, three weeks ago, I pounced on this pure cashmere crew neck. The latter was quite fine and soft as compared to other garments in my possession. It even had a tag for the Good Cashmere Standard. This proves that the sweater was responsibly sourced. They care about the well-being of the goats. It was on sale, down from the RRP of two hundred big ones. Frankly, this is about the price you’ll pay for a similar sweater at Uniqlo. The timing is the only difference. The latter will clear out their stock at the close of winter. Upon washing, it stretched a little. No matter how careful you are, cashmere ‘is a fickle friend.’

With four cashmere jumpers, I’m all set for the cooler months. No need to buy any more. Of the four, three were purchased online. Only the Superdry was in-store. That also remains the quartet’s only branded. Why cashmere, you might ask. Everyone with half a cerebrum knows that it’s a premium material. The goat hair is sourced only from one place. As such, prices for this textile are sky high Cashmere is thrice as warm as wool. It also breathes beautifully, making it more than just a winter warmer.

Four-peat

That’s four significant collections. These days, I don’t intend to add more items to most of these collections. I have more than enough baseball caps. Ditto with my cashmere finds and my NBA cards. With me increasingly opting for ebooks, I’d diminish my bookshelf, not increase. My rule is thus: offsetting material. If I subtract one copy, then I’ll add.

I’m not yet in the ex-First Lady’s territory. My shoes do not number in the thousands. I don’t halt trading at a mall to get my shopping done. As it stands having many paperbacks, caps, and sweaters add variety. Like any endeavour, drawing a line in the sand is crucial.