Every second Thursday my friend would receive $20.00 pocket money and on that same day after school she would drag me to the shopping mall for 'late night shopping' to help her buy yet another bad quality long sleeve top. I asked her on one occasion why she didn't save her money to instead buy something of better quality or even something a little more expensive, like a jacket or something? She just shrugged and said she wanted to enjoy buying something NOW.
Judging from this memory, it seems that I was a smart lass back in the day to even suggest such a thing and although I have never spent my entire fortnightly paycheck on cheap thrills, something clearly went astray as 6 months ago I was faced with a wardrobe full of clothes but nothing to wear.
Surely but slowly I am now culling my way through all my superfluous 'stuff' and figuring out what works and what doesn't. I am finding though that a lot doesn't work anymore, but this being partly due to the fact that I am at a different point of my life now. Saturday nights now involve snuggling up to my boyfriend and cats to watch a movie or one of our favourite macabre TV shows, or dinner and wine with friends. Neither occasion calls for a thigh length tuxedo dress.
This year in building my ideal wardrobe, I have decided to take a leaf out of my 16 year old self's book, and withstand purchasing filler items and instead apply my money towards staples and beautiful pieces, or at least things I need or KNOW will work for me.
 |
| What's in the box? |
My shopping philosophy will be to:
- predominantly shop from a defined wish list of things I need and want (something I've never done);
- think through the long term value of each item before opening my wallet to purchase;
- if possible place an item on hold for a night or two to have a think about said item or to only shop in stores which allow (unworn) merchandise to be returned (and when I say returned, I mean refunded - non of this credit note nonsense);
- consider an item's cohesiveness with respect to the rest of my wardrobe before buying it - if it doesn't go - don't buy it; and
- do my best not to fall into the but-it's-only-x-amount-of-dollars trap - in the course of a month or two but-it's-only-x-amount-of-dollars adds up to hundreds of dollars.
That's so true. It's so simple when you think about it, but so many of us (myself included) fall for the quick fix every time x
ReplyDeleteAelie, I am finding that my mind set is changing (slowly). I was in Priceline the other day and put back on the selves 4 items that I didn't really need. It felt really good.
Deletewoohoo! good for you on the style/consumption overhaul :D looking forward to your shopping reveal!
ReplyDeleteThere may be a lot of shopping done in the first half of this year as I reach "wardrobe equilibrium" but then things will change... I will write about my ideas in a future post :)
DeleteYes, you guessed right!
ReplyDeleteGreat shopping philosophy! This year i'm following a similar one to yours to curb my spending and save throughout this year :D. I went into market city supre the other day and put away three items, only because i knew that i have done shopping overseas and don't need anymore things :). Cheap things add up in the end and its not worth it imo. x
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for a sale. I sometimes buy stuff because it's such a great bargain even though I don't really need it. Before I know it I have spent $100s of dollars and I still don't have what I need or really want. This is what i am trying to stop this year.
Delete