Shop Your Closet/Budget Week 8 Check In

Hi,

I think Mo is packing/moving so I thought I would start off for week 8. Week 7 can be found here.

I set myself up for failure this week. I knew I was going to spend the entire day yesterday with a dear friend, who I don't see often and when I do our usual is to eat and shop all day, starting at Nordstrom's of course. I stressed all week leading up to our day together, wondering how I was going to survive a marathon day at the mall when I am doing SYC. Especially after she mentioned she recently got the Nordie's catalog and was planning to do some serious shopping. Oh my!

Relying on willpower was just not going to happen so my strategy was to create a list and only purchase items on the list. Well I came close; I purchased 4 items and 2 of them filled wardrobe holes and were on the list: a bright blazer in green, a looser fit t-shirt (I purchased two, a white and a navy, although I only had white on my list, I figured since they fit the way I wanted I should get two in colors I know I will use), and a dot print shell that was not on my list (but went with the blazer, sorry I do not see the item online to link too).

It was really hard not to pounce on a lot of impulse items, especially when I had on this blazer (which is really pretty in person) and had both my friend and the sales person egging me on to buy it because "it looked so good." The same issue with this dress.

And when my friend purchased not one but two of these trousers which drape really nice and came in fun colors (poppy and a kelly green that I don't see online) I really had to stop myself because I loved how they looked on her so much and I wanted them to look that good on me too. And I did not purchase any items in any other stores besides Nordstrom (and we were in the mall from 11:30am to 6pm, yes a long day!)

Ah well, I should make it through the rest of February ok.

How are you doing?

14 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Well done, Lisa!

AND I'll remind you how sensational you looked in the floral printed blazer at Zara - and the others at the gathering will back me up

Have to say - that emerald green dress is too divine for words. And the crochet blazer is just beautiful, especially now that we all know how well you wear cream.

qfbrenda

Veteran

Good job!!!

I'm doing well. I had a large budget for January which was spent filling holes and beefing up my dress collection. Now I'm on a shopping hold until I visit my mom at the end of March. She lives near a Loft, Van Heusen outlet, etc. and we love to shop together. She also bought an artsy turquoise watch for me which will be part of my March shopping budget (paying her back).

My exceptions have been to buy some tights and an inexpensive scarf I found at TJ Maxx. I've been over using (is that possible??) my black and white polka dot scarf and wanted another black and white graphic scarf to mix things up. For $13 I'm appreciating a bit of variety.

Vicki

Lisa, first off, I have to say how strong you are to stay so focused when all those wonderful temptations were around you. I think making the list, as you did, was really helpful (great tip!) and you satisfied a couple of wants with a few great purchases.

Not having met you, I just wanted to add that I do love the emerald dress, cream blazer and poppy pants, so I'll leave that up to yours and Angie's eyes and, who knows, they may be on sale when you're ready to shop again. You have killer willpower!!!

chewyspaghetti

I was excited to find something that I need in my price range this week- a black woven summer dress at Target. I'm trying to bypass the spring items that will get no use in my climate.

kellygirl

OMG, I love the blazers! That crochet blazer is sooo pretty and unique. Love the shirtdress too. I'm positively drooling over your links. I can't wait to see your purchases in action. I'm totally off the wagon. I realized that not shopping makes me want to shop more. Do share the fit details on the Ambition blazer, pretty please : )

Lisa

Angie-I am willing to break SYC for the flower blazer, but now it is being elusive! I've checked a few Zara stores and online and they do not have the Medium, so I am still hunting for it. I passed on the green dress, since I just picked up the green blazer. But now I am wondering about the crochet blazer. Oh my I may have to go back this weekend to get it.

qfbrenda-A hold until March is perfect, you will have time to assess and list your wardrobe holes for focused shopping with mom.

Vicki-The dress was easy to pass, since it was the same color as the blazer and I knew I'd get more use out of a blazer. I am starting to obsess over the crochet blazer though. I did like it, a little different because it's crochet.

Chewyspaghetti-Smart move to stay focused until your dominant season comes into stores. I find I don't wear many light pastel shades or flower prints so I usually find spring clothes the easiest to resist.

Kellygirl-The Ambition blazer fit me well in my broad shoulders, my hard to fit spot. I took a size Small. It comes in 4 really fab colors.

ironkurtin

Good for you for staying strong long enough to know when something is a real desire and not a passing fancy!

I have been good this week. See my halo?

Quick pop in from the road - Iowa tonight. I am happily wearing my black riding boots, red fluffy scarf, and faux shearling jacket in the cold windy weather the last 2 days. So I am finally wearing those winter items I'd tucked away. Hopefully this will help me stay the course over the coming weeks!
I will say, images of blue day dresses leave me shivering right about now, so I am very glad I kept that on the back burner Must keep new dominant season in mind now. Rinse, repeat.
Thanks for keeping the check in going Lisa! And I know about the temptations once you are in the mall face to face with the clothing!

Queen Mum

All is well here. I'm committed and not planning to cheat at all.
My niece ended up here for the weekend and so we went to browse the mall yesterday. It was interesting to later assess the experience. I think this was the first outing of focus-less shopping I've done in a long time. I saw cute stuff in every store we went in, and saw several things that might have come home with me were I not standing firm to my 1 thing per month commitment. I enjoyed taking in the eye candy and touching things. I didn't try anything on though because I had pinned the cuff of my blouse to my jacket to keep it from slipping down, and so it would have been an ordeal to try anything on... I think that really helped. Once you put that puppy on your bod, it is much harder to say no!
But then I noticed after we got home, I spent the evening revisiting some of the stuff in my mind. A yummy coral open weave sweater in Express, a gorgeous blue tweed jacket in H&M, earrings and a cardigan at the Rack.... I could taste it! I was thinking how nice it would be to bring home a load of new stuff to play with. Obviously I'm not ready to be released from rehab Looking back though, I realize that I probably need to just enjoy window shopping more often, without any plan of buying anything... just to look and touch! It was nice.

And March is right around the corner

anne

I don't think I have posted on these threads before, but I am doing SYB. I recently decided to up my clothing budget, as discussed in this recent thread
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ost-546322
To be more specific, I decided that $10 a week was not really enough! given that I had some updating to do after 3 years at YLF.

So in that sense I have fallen off the wagon, but I am OK about that.

Whoops, double post

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