Well done Sterling, I am pleased it is working for you! I think with your organised personality this is going to really work for you moving forward. It shows how we can all (myself included) be constantly looking forward to the next thing, rather than enjoying the wonderful pieces we already have.

With your love of classic items, quality trousers, white tops, navy, lovely handbags and splashes of colour, I can really see you with a very elegant wardrobe. Lovely crisp button downs, well cut pants, gorgeous buttery loafers...and of course your great lounge and gear capsules. Slowing purchasing down might allow you the opportunity to slowly add some lovely pieces when you are ready to do so.

I ended up at the thrift store yesterday looking for a glass bowl and came home with a dress and two necklaces, one which may be gifted. I was not planning to add any more summer items and the dress is most definitely summery. For $30 (not cheap for thrifting, but cheap for a dress here in NZ) I am very pleased with the addition and am wearing it today.

Isn't it interesting how many parallels there are between consuming food, alcohol and clothing (footwear and accessories) too? The desire not always based on needs or our own long term goals, the saboteurs and social pressure, the need to have a firm commitment to succeed. I am sure there are more. Thank you for a fascinating discussion.

Thanks for the reply/feedback, Sterling. I'm very much like you in that i don't need nor crave much variety in terms of silhouette. I don't have much to choose from in that regard, so I wear what will work on my body as it is now. I wear the same very few pieces over and over again and do not mind at all. I like to think I am "maturing" in my attitude toward my wardrobe and the role clothing plays in my life. It's been problematic in the past, and I will not continue down that path for the rest of my life. Just won't. My main issue is major weight gain, which may limit what fits this summer. I'm constantly battling it, and not really making any gains, but I'm persevering. I'll figure it out I am really enjoying this thread and appreciate being part of it .

Hey, Sterling! To answer your question, I am doing fine with my shopping fast. Of course, I am only on - what? - Day 5?- so haven't faced any real tests yet.

One of my "fast" motivations was to force myself to really confront and adapt to the fact that my primary season is HOT, also that I probably spend 75% of my time in pursuits that are compatible with truly casual clothing. I don't think I am guilty of buying clothes for a "fantasy life". But I am very prone to over-purchasing for my occassional dress-up needs while under-purchasing for my every day needs. And seriously, why wouldn't i re-allocate so that I love what I am wearing 75% of the time?

I thought I was really planning ahead to be thinking about summer clothes in Feb, Of course, today was another 84 degree day, so actually I'm not early at all. In fact, I just read that this is the warmest winter on record (118 years!) in my locale. We have had 14 days over 80 degrees so far this winter.

My goals for the shopping fast are primarily related to being more mindful in my purchases. Saving some $ is a lovely and VERY welcome side benefit, but not my primary goal - at least not in the short term. In the medium-term, my husband is getting close to joining me in retirement and we are hoping to sell the house and travel A LOT while we are not-elderly and healthy. We will probably base out of a small rental property here and potentially add another small rental property somewhere in the NE corridor where our 2 adult daughters are - at least for the foreseeable future. Then again, we only have one living parent at this point, my husband's 86-year-old mother, and we have had some serious talks about moving to the Midwest to spend more time with her while we can. Whatever the next few years hold, a leaner and more versatile wardrobe would certainly be compatible with a more nomadic lifestyle.

And, definitely, I am personally confronting weight gain/body changes, Waving to lisap! Maintaining my weight has been something that required discipline and effort for me, but at the same time was totally do-able. That is until the last couple of years. The combo of menopause and retirement has thrown me for a loop - along with 10 very unwelcome pounds (which is a lot on a 5'2" small-boned frame). I haven't quite figured out how to deal with this. But I'm on the verge of setting some goals on this front, too - and y'all will be the first to know about them. Because I totally trust than no one here is going to be be pushing cake and wine on me!!

Whoa, I've written a book. Time for me to call it a night! Again, thanks for sharing your journey and progress. Your thoughts and those you inspire in others are truly inspiring.

Ryce – I’m laughing at myself because I hadn’t realized it was only five days for you. I thought for certain it was longer.

Your future retirement plans sound so lovely. Gearing your future toward a leaner and more versatile wardrobe is a really good idea. Your plans make me jealous, but I was never one to live nomadically. I need roots.
Deep, deep roots.

Kiwigal – congratulations on your new thrift purchases. I don’t think $30 for a dress is not at all expensive. Your summer is just starting to end, right? With the weather the way it has been, perhaps you’ll still get a lot of wear out of that dress before you have to put it away for the season.

I do love classics and my wardrobe should be stellar if you consider the amount of time I put into developing it. I think my next phase of my fashion journey will be focus on the fit of the garments in my wardrobe. I am convinced that I buy well, but that the fit is always just a little bit off (i.e., the length of the button down is just a couple of inches shorter than it should be; the pants are just slightly baggy looking and that translates to sloppy). I am aware of these flaws. My goal is to find a good tailor. I tried having items tailored in the past and 50 percent of the time the garments came back off and I became afraid to continue to try.

Here's a postscript to my earlier reply. I had to go to the dentist for a cleaning today. She moved her office a few months ago. Her former office was one freeway exit from one of my favorite malls, so after an appointment I would scoot up there for a few hours of reward shopping.

Now the office is several miles away, and it would be complicated to get to the freeway. I realized that in certain situations going to the mall is a habit. It is also a form of recreation for me--getting away from my usual life and indulging myself if I see something I like. The problem today is that after looking at my closet and thinking about all of this, I realized that I don't need anything at all right now, but if I shop, I will for sure find something. In many situations, shopping is a "reward."

I haven't purchased anything this year, even though I should. I do have some holes to fill. But at this point I may wait to fill those holes next fall/winter.

I expect to make some purchases after I sort through S/S.

I did a longer fast a few years ago and it was shocking to see how much I shopped for the fun of the hunt, to fill time, etc.

I'm really liking realizing what places work for me to shop and which do not. It's wonderful to lighten my inbox and to not stop and look in places that don't work for me.

Do I get points for finally letting go and returning things?

Keep doing what works for you.

More congratulations!

I think it is very interesting also. You have not said you're not ever going to buy any more clothes. You were trying to see if you could " abstain" from clothes shopping for a period of time and see what you might learn from that. This presumes one has enough clothing for normal wear. The wise exceptions I could see would be if one got a new job opportunity and needed, say, an interview outfit and did not have appropriate items m-- since that has long- term opportunity implications. Finding a good sale or even HEWI might be another person's exemption but is not quite the same thing.
I like your noodling on it because it does relate to other habits we might have, and wondering, am I doing this for what reason- and what would happen if I did not do it?

You could always go for 40 days of Lent!
I like thinking of a not- looking fast instead of a not- buying , though that may seem odd. The more looking I do, the more possibilities and wantsies I get. I can tell this from years of busy work cycles, when I have been too busy to do hardly anything besides work- eat- sleep.

Hi Unfrumped. I was lucky enough to start this purchasing fast with the knowledge that my current wardrobe does meet my every need (work, casual, dressy casual, athletic, and lounging). I did a refresh in December and I knew I was covered. But I have to agree, unexpected life events, can lead to unexpected wardrobe holes. Although I am not anticipating any job interviews in the near future, I have been invited to go hiking in the Grand Canyon. Immediately after accepting the invitation, I felt that my existing wardrobe was insufficient for the trip and I was consumed with the idea of shopping for a trip wardrobe. That urge settled down and I am now reviewing my existing wardrobe to see what I have to meet my trip wardrobe needs. If I assume that I will be able to do laundry, I might actually have everything I need. If laundry is not an option, I will definitely have buy new additions.

I gave up sugar for Lent. Giving up sugar is a huge sacrifice for me. I might die. Yesterday I was literally counting the hours into Lent. Hours, not days. I'm eating lots of fruit and hoping that abstinence from sugar will get easier with time just like abstinence from shopping did.

Barbara Diane -- how nice to see you again!!! You get LOTS of points for letting go and returning things!!!! I have so many friends in real life that buy things that don't suit them but are too embarrassed to return them so they end up keeping their mistakes. Either they try to make those mistakes work or they push them to the back of the closet.

I found that I shopped for the thrill of the hunt, to occupy time when bored, and to reward myself when I completed an onerous task. I shudder at the amount of time I spent just mindlessly perusing retail websites. As I mentioned in another thread, I thought it was relaxing and therapeutic. This purchasing fast has actually put the brakes on that type of shopping. I now reward myself with food (not good).

Have you seen or heard from El Cee? She has been absent these past few weeks and I miss her.

Ms Maven -- I always got a reward for having completed some onerous task. I don't know that I am completely past that mind set. I was just at the doctor this morning and I was thinking about where can I buy me a reward on the way home from the doctor. I didn't stop anywhere, but that was only because I have conference calls/meetings to prepare for.

As usual I love your insights. I've kind of had similar philosophical thoughts about shopping "bans" that carve out certain items. Cait from the blog formerly known as Blonde on a Budget also had a list of exceptions to her "shopping ban." My feeling is that if you have a shopping list, that's not a ban, it's a plan! And shopping with a deliberate plan instead of just buying whatever whenever is great. It's really what I ultimately aspire to but have never quite gotten there. But doesn't calling such a thing a "ban" kind of normalize overshopping? Because what it's implying is that even the most extreme shopping fast is just--shopping moderately.

I don't know if you've seen the Frugalwoods blog, but she did an open-ended shopping ban that as far as I can tell was a true ban. She didn't put an end date on it and went three years before she had to buy a pair of muck boots. Even when she got pregnant, she borrowed maternity clothes instead of buying anything. I thought it was really inspiring in terms of what's possible.

Thank you, Catty. I will check out Frugalwoods blog. I love being introduced to new bloggers.

I complete agree with you. IF I had a list that I shopped from, that would be great. I don't. I am a very emotional and impulsive shopper. If I see something on sale and it is pretty, I buy it. I always tell myself it fits into some loosely defined wardrobe plan, but that is rarely the case.

I was intrigued by your statement: calling such a thing a "ban" kind of normalize overshooting. Could you please try to explain what you meant by it.

Hmm, it's hard for me to articulate what I mean. I guess that it moves the needle on what's considered "normal" (for lack of a better term) and what's considered extreme. If you think of zero shopping being the absolute extreme on the spectrum of shopping frequency, then moderate shopping is normal and once-a-week shopping would be on the high side. But if you think of moderate shopping as being the absolute extreme, then once-a-week shopping looks normal.

I get it. I think my goal is not to be an extreme anything. I just want my purchases to make sense in my overall wardrobe scheme. In the past, I gave into very impulsive purchases that I did love but that did not fit into my wardrobe very well. I started to find that those impulsive purchases were the first to be purged. I thought taking a break from shopping would reset my thinking and lead to a more mindful shopping strategy.

One day I would like to be a moderate shopper, but I am not sure what moderate means to me. I thought perhaps I would like to do two big purchases a year at the beginning of each season. If I adapted this strategy, I would be back to not purchasing for most of the remainder of the season, but I would have a really well thought out wardrobe to carry me through that season.