R29 Staffers On The One Item They Never Bought But Still Think About

When you find that one amazing piece, fashion has the ability to make your heart leap like you just saw your crush roll up to the school disco. Though it might seem silly, finding that perfectly lived-in denim jacket after months of sifting through vintage shops can be likened to love at first sight. The reason? Because just like falling in love, finding an amazing item doesn’t happen every day. 

Still, like all great love stories, shopping comes with its fair share of heartbreak too, mostly in the form of missed opportunities. Whether it's due to lack of funds, a sold-out collection or bad timing, some showstopping items never get to make the journey home from the store and into your wardrobe. Like the summer romance that never was, these items live on as memories, the type that fill you with regret every time you think about what might have been.

As the years go by, similar items pop up now and then but none as magical as that one particular piece. None as mood-boosting as that yellow dress you would have worn to every wedding in the last five years, or as perennially chic as the black rollneck jumper that would have kept you warm every winter for the rest of your life.

Whatever it may be, every fashion lover seems to have that one item that they wish they had bought but didn't. Ahead, R29 staff share their ultimate love stories – of the one item that got away.