If you haven’t bought a luxury item before, where to start?

It would be easy to think of a first luxury purchase as a consolation prize, as if it’s all that one could buy. I don’t think that’s the right framing. Think of a first luxury purchase as something that’s going to have meaning to you and that carries the values of its maker. Hermès values craft and restraint. Louis Vuitton values surface and spectacle. Versace values sensuality and power. Find what you think your favorite maison values and then find something that expresses that and will be personal and special to you. That’s a recipe for long-term happiness.

A first luxury purchase is a test of judgment: not “How much can I afford?” (as much as your salesperson might want you to think that way) but “What is the item that’s going to still have meaning to me years from now?”

How should you go about selecting a first item? Where should you start? A few principles to keep in mind:

If you can answer yes to all those questions, you’re on the right track.

Some obvious things to avoid:

Depending on your personal habits, you may or may not use a coin purse or business card case—many people don’t these days. But virtually everyone needs something to hold their identification and at least a few credit cards. If you’re using something every day, that makes for a great introduction to luxury in general, and to the luxury maison of your choice.

There are some great choices out there for wallets. Here I’ll go with Goyard, the famously secretive French brand with comparatively few stores and extremely limited online sales. They’re most famous for their Goyardine coated canvas in their iconic house pattern, trimmed with leather. Their most compact choice here is the Saint-Sulpice card wallet, rumored (with limited exceptions, Goyard doesn’t publish prices online) to cost 350 € ($411). It’s made in France from Goyardine canvas and calfskin and lined with goat leather. It’s available in 11 colors, but if you’re looking for an idea, green is most closely associated with Goyard, so that might be a starting point.

Fragrances are accessible, and from the right house, and at their best, offer wearable artistry from a bottle. Steer clear of fragrances that are clearly a brand extension (at best) or an afterthought (at worst). You want your fragrance from a luxury firm that specializes in it, or from a luxury maison that has a long history of fragrances (or, ideally, both).

Acqua di Parma is an Italian luxury fragrance house founded in 1916 that makes some of the freshest, most timeless fragrances you’re likely to find. A great unisex choice is nearly anything from their Blu Mediterraneo line, all meant to “evoke the charm of the Italian Mediterranean”, which they do. Try their Arancia di Capri (Capri Orange) to start: it’s fresh, invigorating, and citric, a sunny coastal day in Italy rendered as a scent. 118 € ($138) for 50 ml (1.7 oz), with 100 and 180 ml sizes available.

Silk is a great introduction to luxury. In the right hands, and in the right quality, it’s up there with fur as an iconic luxury material that’s always a pleasure to wear—though without the expense and ethical questions of animal pelts.

Hermès is the obvious and almost certainly correct choice here. They’ve been making silk scarves since 1937. For most men, the classic choice is a necktie, at least for men who still wear them on a regular basis. For most women, the classic to end all classics in silk is their 90 cm (35.4”) carré (square). Most models cost 580 € (US price: $660), with some fetching more because of double-faced printing, special needlework, or other details.¹ Designs change from season to season, and are highly individual—it’s all about what appeals to you. That said, if you’re looking for something bold and playful, their Carré 90 Hermès Parade looks like fun:

If silk is elegance as fabric, cashmere is elegance as warmth. With high-quality source material and woven properly, it can make going out on a cold winter day something to look forward to.

Ferragamo’s Cashmere scarf (US price: $470; EU price: 350 €) has everything going for it: it’s made from 95% cashmere, woven in Italy, and at 230 cm (90.5”), it’s extremely long by cashmere scarf standards, giving you plenty of material to tie whatever type of knot you like. It’s also understated luxury, coming as it does in earth tones and with a discreet version of its logo embroidered using a color-on-color effect.

Not everyone writes on paper these days. If you do, and regularly, a leather notebook could be a great first-time luxury purchase as something you’ll handle often.

There are many good choices for notebooks—two firms mentioned above, Hermès and Goyard, come immediately to mind. I wanted to choose Montblanc, but most of their notebooks are leather-covered, meant for one-time use and not refillable—not a particularly sustainable solution. So I’m recommending an approachable luxury brand, Aspinal of London. Their A5 Refillable Luxury Journal is available in 24 different combinations of leathers and colors, all with soft suede linings, all at a price of $185 (EU price: 135 €). A5 paper is 148 × 210 mm (5.8” × 8.3”); you can find A5 notebook refills virtually anywhere in the world. And Aspinal uses responsibly-sourced full-grain leather in accordance with Leather Working Group guidelines. One could do worse than Aspinal’s signature color of navy blue.

If you think of your first luxury purchase not as a gateway to some sort of desired status, but rather as a test of your ability to make a good decision, I’d bet you’re ahead of the vast majority of luxury shoppers. Recognize craft, even when it’s embodied in something small and affordable. Value usefulness over showmanship. Above all, choose things that improve the texture of your everyday life, not to show that you’ve arrived. There’s always someone wealthier and more stylish than you, and trust me, they arrived long before you did.

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