mycatssaymeow culling & buying retrospect

I have been playing around with my blog labels, hence reading over some of my old posts.

First of all it's a wonder that some of you have kept on reading (thank you) given that I write that I'll blog about it, but then I don't (sorry, but such is life - too much going on).

Secondly, I have been chuckling about my failed attempts to come up with my 'ideal wardrobe'... I thought it would be interesting to do a retrospect post, so that you too can have a chuckle at my failures and also to eventually show (in the distant future sometime) that it won't happen overnight, but it will happen when trying to build the perfect wardrobe. I think too many of us get caught up in having to have it all right now, instead of thoughtfully building it slowly.  You will see shortly that I have certainly fallen into this trap in some respects.

So without further ado, I hereby present the mycatssaymeow retrospect.

Country Road Spend'n'Save Purchases


On a whole I find that the majority of my Country Road purchases are usually successful.  This is due to me carefully selecting items to take best advantage of my Spend'n'Save vouchers by trying on the entire store. I don't usually buy an item unless I am certain that I will get the wear the out of it.

The beige pants were identical to the black pair, but I had to cull them as I inadvertently bought the wrong size and only realised this after quite a while. I went to wear them and realised that something was not right...

The jeans, although I'm not happy with the fit entirely, have been well worn... Given this point I will not hesitate to invest more money into a pair to replace these - I'm thinking a pair of blue Nudie High Kais to join the black pair I bought earlier in the year.  Nudie High Kais are flattering and comfortable on me.

On top of what is pictured above, there were a number of other purchases from Country Road, including dresses, tops and a pair of boots. All have been regularly worn.

Cue Purchases

I find Cue to be a little hit and miss for me.  I get quite excited by their mega 70% off the original price sales, but often buy things that are not quite right. The two slit sleeve blazers I bought and since culled have instilled in my mind not to get sucked into weird cuts and shapes that appear to be 'cool' because more probably than not these pieces are totally impractical for me.

I think the bow belts will get more of a work out in Summer - being a big wearer of black and grey in Winter, they highlighted the fact that I'm not so skinny anymore. I look forward to wearing them with printed dresses.

On top of what is pictured above, I also bought a couple of dresses, a few skirts and tops. My choice in tops has proven to be a little bit questionable, so these may in fact end up on the cull pile to be sold to raise funds for a more thoughtful purchase.

Online Purchases

I love shopping online.  Surprisingly the majority of the time I get it right. The items I have labelled best buys really are.  The much hyped Isabel Marant 'Dicker' boots are honestly one of my favourite things in my wardrobe, as is the dark grey jacket from her spin off 'Etoile" label. I would buy both of these pieces 100 times over.

The jacket marked "to be culled" has become superfluous due to the love the IM Etoile one gets, the striped top is not quite right and my Mum managed to wangle the red jeans from me after I returned from the US with burgundy J Brand skinnies.  So really, all in all I haven't done too badly in the online shopping department. I guess you could say that my saving grace is that I am yet to buying anything from ASOS (I've heard it's hit and miss).

Witchery Purchases

I think the proof is in the pudding: I should stay generally stay away from Witchery, especially from their sales on sale items.  I loved both the floral dress and the over-the-knee 'Ella' boots to death, alas each only lasted one season before they literally fell apart. I still have the dress for around the house as I adore the print, but I think next time I would rather invest my money elsewhere.

Miscellaneous Buys 



I'm glad I bought the Joseph trench coat, but it has not received the love that it deserves, problem being that as soon as I started wearing the coat pictured below - I forgot about all my other coats. I think next Winter I will make more of an effort to wear it.

The top I like, but it drives me insane. Within 15 minutes of putting it on the sleeves are stretched (as I like to scrunch them up my forearms). I'm vowing to myself not to buy anymore 100% linen tops.
And the dresses... they are cute - but I'm not anymore *sigh*.

The Winners

Every item pictured above except the animal print shoes has earned its keep.  I really like both animal print shoes but I have not worn either enough to determine whether they truly belong.

More Animal Print and Stripes


Some of the above items have helped me understand that things are not always what they seem... 
  • Both striped items seemingly simple and classic but had features which annoyed me.
  • The animal print items were badly cut, I returned the blouse for this reason but kept the dress due to my lack of work appropriate dresses at the time. The dress ended up tearing the entire length of the back seam within the year!
  • The Country Road grey dress is a size large (!) and still quite fitted. I now often find myself with three different sizes of the same item in fitting rooms to get the right fit.
  • The ACNE Pistols seemed like the perfect ankle boots, yet I have found that on me they only look good worn with skirts and dresses... thankfully, I wear skirts and dresses a lot of the time, so they have been consistently worn throughout Winter.
In retrospect

This post has helped me see that it's worth spending a little extra to buy the things that one really wants (my handbags [not itemised in this post], all the ankle boots, the IM Etoile and IRO jackets fit into this category for me).  I realise now that if something seems a little unaffordable it's worth foregoing the cheaper bits and pieces (that will end up on the cull pile in any event) to eventually save for the pricier items.

Also, I have to say that I am shocked about the volume of new things that I have added to my wardrobe throughout the time since starting this blog!  What's scarier is that I have not blogged about all of my purchases... For example pictured above are only two items that I bought in the US - but upon my return to Australia they almost didn't let me on the plane (which tells me that there are many more recent purchases)!

I really think that I need to get a wish list together for the following year to keep better focused on this 'ideal wardrobe' plan of mine.

16 comments:

  1. this is really interesting! I always find it fascinating to look through my wardrobe or eBay pile and remember when I just HAD to have that item, only to get bored of it or change my mind about it a few weeks later.

    the quest to build the perfect wardrobe isn't always a seamless one, sometimes you need to reflect like this to learn what works and what doesn't :) x

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    1. I find I need to wear an item in my everyday life before I know if it will work for me. It's one thing to walk around and make funny movements in a fitting room for 2 mins and to actually live in something for 15 hours straight...

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  2. Oh I love this post - like you I try to only buy and own things I genuinely love. You have inspired me to do a cull tomorrow!

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    1. I found doing my cull in sections really made it more managable. Eg shoes on one day, underwear on another etc.

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  3. Great post! I am embarking on a new wardrobe cull and plan to build a perfect wardrobe. I love your blog for inspiration :)

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  4. I think I'm getting better at not buying things I don't need. No - who am I kidding? Okay - I think a bit more before getting to the sales desk and I take an awful lot back that I buy. I remember the other half trying to keep tabs on the statements and gave up trying to balance mine because things were in and out like I don't know. I daren't do a reality check like yours on my clothes ... I already know that I have been very bad with a lot of things which haven't been worn nearly enough to justify them being bought. I do that classic of wearing 20% of the wardrobe, 80% of the time. I've even had a mad thought today of getting rid of all my existing skinny jeans and replacing with 2 pairs (blue and black) of Topshop ones which I've just found to the perfect fit. But that means buying new jeans. Oh ... I'm just going round in circles ... again.

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    1. I find that since starting this blog I'm much better at walking away from bargains I do not need, partly because i have invested a few dollars into more exxy versions. For example since owning my IM Dickers and ACNE Pistols I have thought twice about buying bargain ankle boots, but in the end haved walked away acknowledging that I should be wearing and enjoying the IM Dickers and ACNE Pistols as much as possible. Arguably I could say that I have saved money by splashing out on these expensive shoes :D

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  5. Really interesting to see you look back on your past spending, and where you are now. I've found that a lot of the things I've culled have been when I've tried to branch out into new colours, or when I buy things on eBay/online since I haven't been able to try them on first.

    I've made a list of things that are missing from my wardrobe, mostly winter items, in the hopes of finding some pieces during the NH sales. I realised that for me it's mostly about simple block colours, and I need to stop buying things just because they are pretty. Unfortunately it's resulted in a few new purchases but I've sold so much on eBay/Trade Me lately that I don't feel too guilty! Haha until next week ;)

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    1. Truthfully I kind of feel like I'm back at the beginning again, but a little wiser as to what works for me.

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  6. I think my acne pistols were definitely best purchase of mine in winter. Loved this post.

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    1. Mine have definitely been worn a lot, but if I had to choose one pair of boots as my faves it would be the anthracite IM Dickers... <3

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  7. I loved this post. I have that Witchery khaki parka and it's one of the best things I've bought in my life, ever.

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  8. This is such a fantastic idea. Totally great way to plan smart future purchases! I really should do this but would be plagued by the guilt of the money wasted on 'hardly worn' or worse, 'never worn' items that sit at the back of my closet.

    Although its great to see that your Acne boots have been worth their price! I still plan on purchasing these come autumn so you've given me a positive push to go ahead with buying them!

    Enjoying your blog btw

    V x

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    1. You will not regret buying the Pistols. A real workhorse in my wardrobe... ever since I got old I have not been able to prance around in heels, but these boots are just sooo comfy :)

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