It was a long challenge. My original challenge goals were uninspired. I wanted to transition my winter wardrobe into my working wardrobe and make a point of wearing those pieces that have short seasonal windows.
The weather didn’t cooperate as much as I hoped and I wore of mix of deep summer/fall clothing into November. BUT, I did pack away all of my sloppy fallback options (tee shirts/oversized and sloppy shirts). I thought if they were unavailable to me, I would just naturally reach for a nicer alternative. It worked. Tops that were on probation are now slated for the Goodwill. I also know that I don’t feel good about myself if I am wearing sloppy fallback options. Probably obvious to everyone else. I had to learn it by experimentation.
The next leg of my journey was more inspired. I started developing a template of ensembles for work/casual/athletic/travel. I spent some quality time evaluating those pieces that don't fit into a single ensemble. I debated whether to shop for new coordinating pieces to make those orphans work or to accept the fact that they were orphans and move on. I wanted to avoid impulse buys. It was at this point that I came to understand I suffer from sales goggles.
Because I am a sales shopper, I literally shop throughout the year. It is a type of shopping prowl. Then as I transition my wardrobe across the seasons, those pieces that have been stored away for half a year suddenly seem stale to me. I have since bought things that are in the same clothing category to refresh my wardrobe and those things seem so much more appropriate.
My wardrobe is actually in constant flex. I add to it every single month. I will never be completely satisfied or completely finished. I am one of those women that turns over her entire wardrobe every few years.
I spent a week thinking about wardrobe churn and my churn in particular. I came up with a list a reasons for my personal churn, including weigh fluctuations, sales, peer pressure, marketing pressure, rewards, boredom, and special event. Thankfully, forum members reached out and helped me realize that churn is normal and my degree of churn wasn't that unusual. That made me feel a lot better.
Still my sales shopping was a problem. I decided to implement a “purchasing fast” for myself until January 2, 2017. The “purchasing fast” was meant to help me address my "sales shopping addiction." I needed to stop shopping sales for a while and reground myself.
Because I was not shopping, I had renewed interest in my existing wardrobe. Without even thinking about it, I was trying new wardrobe combinations that I really liked; I was wearing items that had previously been pushed to the side of the closet; and I saved enough money to plan a trip over the Holidays.
Most importantly, I put the brakes on sales shopping. I am literally forcing myself to not shop sales (AT THIS TIME OF YEAR). I can literally fell the neurons in my brain being rewired. I feel like I have been through intense therapy.
Some challenge members expressed interest in a SYC challenge beginning in February 2017. I have already started thinking about how much I will benefit from a SYC challenge in the new year.
Special thank you for El Cee for all her hard work. A shout out to Approprio, I loved her Style Labs. Thank you to everyone else that made this challenge so interesting, fun, and informative.
