The Ultimate eBay Purchase

I am obsessed with wool. Much like everything else in my world, this squarely falls on the shoulders of my mother, a lovely woman who dragged her family to the Woolrich store in Woolrich, PA every Black Friday. Buffalo check, plaids and wool everything as far as the eye could see. But then I got a little older and even though my love for Woolrich remains strong, I discovered the gorgeous patterns, colors and craftsmanship of Pendleton, and, in particular, The Portland Collection.

Like any good crush, I fell for Pendleton's Portland Collection hard. I admired it from afar, Google searching images, blogs and pinning items from their collections to my "Stuff I Want" board on Pinterest. They taunted me with their collaborations. Ariat? I love cowboy boots! Nike? I have sky high wedge dunks! Opening Ceremony? I...nope. Too expensive. But come on! Opening Ceremony is amazing! 

My favorite piece has always been the reversible masterpiece, the Penobscot poncho. 

A piece from the first Portland collection, the poncho is the design work of Rachel Turk and Nathaniel Crissman (of church + state). The thing is in a museum, it is so perfect: 

I would stalk the poncho on eBay, but alas, I would find it at outrageous prices, like $500 for a starting auction: 

I once saw it sell for more than $1,700 on eBay. So sad. So reversible. So expensive. Still, like any lovesick fool, I would torture myself with the continued admiration of the poncho. Then, last week, I found it on eBay...$139 OR BEST OFFER. And, new with tags. How is this possible? Something had to be wrong with it. Right? "No," Nikki the Seller wrote in an eBay message, "I just never wore it." What insanity just fell into my lap? So, three years after my crush began, my best offer was accepted (the most I have spent on any one item in as many years), and today, it arrived: 

It's beautiful and everything I crushed hard over for three years. Nikki, I don't know you, but you have made me very, very happy!