Bah, being a grown up is no fun, is it? I took a look at my closet today, and there's just way too much stuff in there - a lot of it accumulated over the last two or three years (aka post YLF). With all the style experimentation that occurs when you want to explore and find your own new style, I suppose it is understandable.

I find a lot of my purges are the "oh, but this is only $30!" type - and I get bitten with the sales bug a lot; so hopefully this budget (thank you, Mo for your inspiration) will help rein me in a little bit. I didn't think I could afford a nicer parka, but after getting frostbite this year x2 (very minor), the boy was like, I don't care, you need a better one! GRRRR. $700 later....

I think the other thing that helps is I don't feel like I have to "keep up" anymore at work - I have enough street cred built in right now that I'm not just one of the "faceless junior residents" - and I think I can afford to cruise and hone my personal style a little bit now, knowing that it is mostly work appropriate.

My style budget (#2) - I broke it down into different seasons. A lot of the things I need are replacements and repairs. My nude pumps were beyond repair x2 pairs; and now I really really am desperate for a replacement, but I am also pretty picky (you'll notice I want the Naturalizer Lennox ones) - and I also want a pair of pretty date night shoes. $2600 a year is definitely doable for me for enduring pieces - I probably spent about double this this year ... *ugh* I don't know how that happened.

I also want to have more "signature" pieces - the ones that when people see on other people, it becomes, "Oh, Lyn has that." - and I'm willing to invest in those things, as well as my versatile neutral (navy) which also happens to be boy's favourite colour.

New needs - a date night capsule. So far I just usually make do with things I wear to work, but I think I may want to expand on this. I don't think it will be fancy things (we usually go for burgers and pub fare, and we prefer to do that then really fancy things anyway), so it might mean t-shirts and jeans! But definitely a new part of my wardrobe, regardless!

Also - GOOD NEWS. MY KATE SPADE HAS ARRIVED. #3/4. I guess that call to customer service between crying/begging/yelling that my poor bag had been oversold ended up in a bag in the similar style but a different colour - I had initially ordered oxblood red, but they only had brown left (they would substitute, and is that okay?) - I guess it's okay (secretly overjoyed, I think this one will be more versatile!)