At the beginning of the year, I made a promise to my husband, and mostly to myself, that for the next 365 days I will not purchase another piece of clothing (shoes included.) I know what you are thinking, why the hell would one do that? On paper it does seem a little drastic. Well, embracing my "less in more" motto, I finally decided to put my money where my mouth is. I'm always preaching to friends, and justifying purchases, with the whole "only buy timeless / high quality/ investment pieces" and someday you will get to a point where you will have a complete wardrobe that will only need minimal updates. The truth is, that I have reached that point. Someday was January 1, 2013.
I began to notice, at the end of last year, that I was purchasing duplicates of things because they were "timeless and perfect" but in reality how many timeless and perfect things does one need? If there are only 7 days in the week, and you aren't a celebrity (which I only am in my head ;)) then there are only so many things that one can wear in a month. A few weeks back, I did a complete closet clean out, and with my shopping free year in mind, I actually GOT RID of quite a bit of clothing. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but for me, I find, that I really wear the same few things and I will always chose something that I "love" over something that I just liked. I realized that i'd rather someone else get use out of some of my things, than for them to sit there, unworn, looking kind of sad. Yes, sometimes I treat my clothes like they have feelings ;). This is easier for me, because I have a sister in graduate school, who lives around the corner, so I actually get to see some of my things that I am still emotionally attached to, out in the world, rather than in the back of my closet.
Now, I know what you are thinking, does this mean a year without fashion posts? Absolutely NOT! In fact, I think this means there will just be more! Because I am not buying, I find myself looking at things more than ever, and right now my favorite thing to do when I find something I love is to put it in my online cart, think about what I have that is close to it, taking hints from the styling, and then DELETING the whole cart. I swear, every time I get just as excited as if I had bought said item, and I feel like I'm actually making money back. (Yeah, my husband thinks I'm nuts too but you should try it!)
That being said, I have to tell you all how much I am loving the Liberty prints at J. Crew right now! If I didn't have self control, I swear I would be snatching up a few of these in a second! So so perfect for spring, I would pair them with harder pieces, like distressed skinny or boyfriend jeans, or a great army green fatigue (again, a must have for spring) and with a motorcycle or clog type boot. Feminine yet cool at the same time!
Here are a few of my favorites! I'm relying on you all to hold me to my pledge, so please do all the shopping for me ;)
365 days? I can TOTALLY do this!
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1 comment :
Hi - wow I am in awe of your commitment to do this (that sounds like a ragingly 'third world' statement as really should it be a commitment?!) I follow you on Pinterest and see that you look for outfits as much as I do so the idea of not purchasing anything for a whole year - wow!
To be fair, last year we had a sudden change in financial circumstances and so I did not shop for six months. It was liberating and I really did 'wear' my clothes in more inventive ways. I also realised that I own too many of the same thing; how many pale grey cardigans/brown boots/breton stripe tops does one need?! So I will follow your efforts with interest. Oh and those Jcrew liberty jeans - ohhhh I want! They do ship to the UK now so it is within my reach - but I now I feel I should exercise more will power!! I did read that if you want something, wait 30 days and see if you still do...I think that might work. Lou x
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