https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:50:11 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876784 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 09:09:29 +0000 anne 1876784@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>La Ped. I&nbsp; only let the kids have the gimmicky stuff once a year, on their birthdays. Though I don't stop them buying things with their own money. I make yoghurt at home (they don't take it to school, too hard to transport) so if I ever buy "shop yogurt" it's a real treat!.</p> <p>Also wanted to say that the beginning of the interview mentioned the time of the year, which I think is significant.&nbsp; I'm saying that because we having to do a major clean out of my kids' room, partly prompted by where to put the Christmas presents. (And that's&nbsp; even with me giving "experiences" and a Kris Kringle type arrangement with one side of the family.) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876732 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 03:01:09 +0000 nomadicliz 1876732@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I read this article when it came out and found it really inspiring.&nbsp;<div>I think I'm going to try to do something similar, since I have pretty much everything I need in terms of wardrobe basics. I'm giving myself permission to replace things that wear out (I wear through 2-3 pairs of jeans a year, for instance) and to buy gear because I'm not going to work out/go biking or skiing or swimming unless I have well fitting clothing that fits my needs for specific activities.&nbsp;<br />but for now, it feels good to stick with a commitmentto stick with my current work/formal/casual wear capsules, and then reassess next year... or sooner as needed.<br />excited to see if I have more money and time to spend on other priorities (or save for very high quality replacements of things I wear out)&nbsp;</div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876729 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 02:24:36 +0000 rachylou 1876729@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I just want to say my technique is to yell ‘penguin killer!’ re. children and excessive packaging desires. Lol - this is esp good since dd is 25... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876716 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 01:21:00 +0000 Anonymous 1876716@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I just think some people think of this shopping ban as a fun game—the self-denial is a fun challenge. </p> <p>I personally would never do this, because I feel like I’m constantly denying myself things all the time. I mean, that’s just life.</p> <p>I should soften that statement: I deny myself stuff but I also indulge too. There’s always a balance. </p> <p>It is interesting that people feel like they need to do the opposite when told to deny themselves something. I don’t feel this way at all. I guess I am not rebellious in this area of life. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876701 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 23:56:24 +0000 JAileen 1876701@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My mother is very frugal, too. She can afford to buy whatever she wants, but she doesn’t want anything. In her case, I think it’s because she was a child of the Depression. When I was young I remember looking in my parents’ closet, and there was hardly anything in it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876650 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 21:20:24 +0000 Sal 1876650@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I meant to add - wow Karie- that's a great effort re the sewing. What a cool<br /> And successful challenge!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876567 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 17:11:19 +0000 Christina F. 1876567@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love shopping a little too much. I'll never be a minimalist, and a self-imposed shopping&nbsp; ban won't work for me - though as an environmentalist, I applaud the effort! It's worth reading and thinking and talking about, even if it's not for all of us.</p> <p>I am going to try to channel my urge to shop into other creative endeavors. As a large hint, my husband got me a gc to go towards a jewelry making class. (He doesn't judge, but is aware that we have small space and thinks I'd be happier if I shopped just a bit less.) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876561 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 16:53:33 +0000 tulle 1876561@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I identify with Suz:&nbsp; any sort of grand plan involving self-denial just makes me want to act out, so schemes like this always backfire for me.&nbsp; The truth is, I haven't shopped much this year because I've seen so little that tempted me. But when I do see something I really need or want, I buy it happily, grateful that I can afford to do so.&nbsp; Last week, I found a pair of warm shearling gloves&nbsp; to replace the ones I'd worn out last year.&nbsp; They were half-price on sale, and so was a cashmere shawl that&nbsp; a friend of mine had been longing for, so I bought both, and was thrilled with the purchases.&nbsp; Now my hands will be warm, and my friend will have a little unexpected and well-deserved luxury.&nbsp; In sub-zero, post-flu January, that made me happy! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876494 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 11:41:57 +0000 LaPed 1876494@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Anne -- you sound so much like my DH and his mum; they both abhor the process of shopping. Luckily, they both found partners who are happy to do the groceries, research cars, keep an eye on sale flyers, etc. ;)</p> <p>Sal -- I struggle with food packaging too. Especially with kids lunches, it can be so hard to avoid the gimmicky single-serve stuff. My child comes home from school begging for yogurt in squeeze tubes, etc -- I'm trying to teach him that anything with its own wrapper is a special treat, not a daily staple (and is probably made entirely of sugar...sigh).&nbsp;</p> <p>Clothing is such an odd category, because it falls in between consumable goods (like food) and durable goods (like furniture). Especially as people lose the ability to repair their own clothes, and so many clothes are too cheaply made to repair anyway, it's hard to figure out what a healthy level of consumption actually looks like.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876484 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 10:07:39 +0000 Sal 1876484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for sharing this. I think on practical terms I could get through a year without new clothes, accessories or footwear. One or two exceptions - gym shoes, a raincoat and a swimsuit (I have of each and I would be in trouble if the items were lost or wore out). But with five pairs of jeans they won't all wear out, neither will three wool coats or six sports tees. </p> <p>Emotionally would be a lot harder. I have been trying to change some aspects of my own behaviour and it is not easy - especially when it is voluntary. Of course if you cannot afford to shop that is harder - I know what that is like.</p> <p>I don't plan to go this shopping fast but am strategising how to create less waste in other aspects of my life- food packaging in particular. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping/page/2#post-1876416 Mon, 08 Jan 2018 02:09:06 +0000 anne 1876416@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I read this a few days ago, and like LisaP, am fascinated by this subject. I went on a real tangent from it reading the Ceit Flanders blog and some of the stuff she linked to as well. Some of which I loved (including some links to people on the limits of mininalism)&nbsp;</p> <p>I read the NYT articles and listened to some of the interview, although didn't have the patience to go through to the end.</p> <p>I like the aspect of not spending time on shopping. Apart from my time here on YLF, I don't spend much time shopping either, as I find it tiring.</p> <p>I always wonder how well placed someone is to do this challenge in the first place. Could I go without clothes for a year easily? - well yes, but I'd be looking shabby. Since I restrict myself anyway with a small budget and a limited number (12-20 items a year) much longer than that and I'd have completely worn out some items like shoes).</p> <p>Another thought - in my household we run out of shampoo and conditioner probably every fortnight!! (we have 3 daughters with long hair)</p> <p>Gosh, I'm sounding so banal and not able to&nbsp; communicate all the thoughts that came to me on this topic since you started the thread. I should just go and get on with the organizy tasks I've set myself for the last week of hols.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1875411 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 13:48:47 +0000 Laura 1875411@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I found Ann's article to be remarkably non-preachy and not at all holier than thou, which is nearly impossible to do when writing about this subject. She managed to sound completely normal, and for that I applaud her!&nbsp;</p> <p>I actually think Ann's plan is freeing, not restrictive. It's removing shopping from your life and opening space for other things to come in. At a certain point in life, and maybe it's got to do with your age, removing things can be freeing. Shopping/buying/returning can be time-consuming, and could easily be eliminated as an activity, especially when you already own what anyone in the world would consider plenty of everything in terms of clothes, shoes, hand lotion and the like.&nbsp;</p> <p>Also, I have huge issues with callers and readers attacking Ann for first-world problems. Way back in the day I had a book proposal about working and motherhood and managed to get it to Cindy Crawford to ask if she would write a foreword. She said she could never be connected with a book on the subject because she'd be attacked by people saying she had so much money to have a nanny and a trainer and a chef that whatever Cindy said about motherhood was completely irrelevant. That made me sad. People can be so nasty. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1875154 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 01:37:14 +0000 viva 1875154@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha! I just removed my comment - too argumentative - and then saw yours! Let’s do whatever you want to do. And if you take a long break from shopping, you can count on me to cheer you on. Xx </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1875143 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 01:25:57 +0000 Anonymous 1875143@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Vivian , I love you too. BUT.....(haha) let's reframe the concept and remove the word "no", and make it a positive statement . Like "a year of alternative solutions to buying" or "a year of finding new ways to ...whatever". &nbsp;Anyways, I like it &nbsp;Will I do it? Maybe. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1875142 Fri, 05 Jan 2018 01:21:22 +0000 viva 1875142@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874908 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:13:54 +0000 K.M. 1874908@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Angie</b>, yes, grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do when I travel to a different country or even just a different city!!! I bring back as many food and pharmacy souvenirs as my bags and the customs rules will allow. Then it's like having a taste of that trip back home...</p> <p><b>viva</b>, your comment made me tear up a little. Yes, that's one of the reasons I love YLF, and I love these kinds of more philosophical posts mixed in with the others.</p> <p><b>lisa p</b>, I'm OK with people doing whatever they want, but I am bothered when they proselytize and go about not only trying to convince others to join them, but chiding and chastising those who don't, both verbally and with actions. I say this from experience... Free choice is great; self-righteousness, not so much. I also know someone who's lived with anorexia for two decades (amazing how she survived) and now I'd say she also has orthorexia; not just what she eats but even her job. And it breaks my heart to see what this has done to her body even though it was all about her own choices. I don't disagree with your points, but sometimes it's a slippery slope...</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874867 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 16:01:16 +0000 Anonymous 1874867@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Coming back to provide a different point of view to the "restrictive and absolute" view of a non-shopping period. &nbsp;I don't see it as that way at all. No one is restricting you if this is your choice. &nbsp;And I think if one chooses to experiment with no shopping, those are guidelines that explain the choices you are making, not some set of legal statements that will get you in trouble if not followed. &nbsp;I read these "challenges" as not challenges at all, but rather a choice to change a lifestyle. &nbsp;You are ultimately in charge of your own actions, same as with following a Whole 30 or Paleo diet. &nbsp;There are no passes nor fails, just new habits hopefully, and a learning experience. And as we've been discussing here recently, the process is the important part, not the end result. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874849 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 15:27:41 +0000 Angie 1874849@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>High Five, <b>La Ped </b>and<b> KM</b>. I LOVE looking in grocery stores around the world.&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm nodding along with <b>Diana</b>, <b>Suz</b> and<b> Lisa p, </b>despite the varying&nbsp;opinions.&nbsp;</p> <p>I'm also with,&nbsp;<b>Jaime (Shevia)&nbsp;</b><b></b>because<b></b><b></b>&nbsp;it <b></b>took me a while to understand that&nbsp;there are "all or nothing" people, and moderators.&nbsp;<b></b> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874823 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 14:50:12 +0000 viva 1874823@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, ladies. I just popped in today - haven't been in much of the fashion/YLF state of mind lately .... but anyway, this thread makes me want to come back!!! I loved reading all of the comments, hearing your lovely voices, watching the discussion unfold with the many points of view but no snark .... it was like sitting at a huge dinner table after the plates had been cleared and talking deeply. Heavy sigh. Wish I had more of this in my life.</p> <p>I heard just the very tail end of this interview yesterday, and I was both intrigued by the idea and also a little Suz-like with the gnashing of teeth. I'm not sure where I stand ultimately although I do know for me it wouldn't be possible to undertake a restrictive endeavor like this. (I too can be a kid in a candy store.) Right now, I am just trying to get physical exercise every day for the month of January and I feel like it's taking so much effort to hit that mark alone. Daily habits (or daily limitations) are just tough.</p> <p>Thanks for a great moment this morning. It was really wonderful. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874753 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 09:43:14 +0000 Jenni NZ 1874753@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Kind of with you La P and KM. I remember it being said by a columnist we liked that she felt she was rich when she could go to the grocery store and essentially buy anything she wanted. We have felt that as a couple too. The time that we were poorer, when our third child was a baby ( he is 21 now) there was a question over affording the groceries and I feel very blessed to not be back there since. It is wonderful to just go and buy food without worrying if you can afford it, even if you are hosting an event and want something fancier than usual. Otherwise I am pretty careful with most stuff like trying to use up cosmetics, soap etc without buying more and more. But shopping LESS rather than NOT AT ALL has suited me better. Otherwise I can become rather Puritanical about it all, and for me that's not a good thing ( too rigid and strict an upbringing). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874724 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 05:29:01 +0000 K.M. 1874724@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>La Pedestrienne,</b> I'm nodding in agreement and smiling at what you wrote: <i>"I mean, I even love going to the grocery store, just to look at</i><br /><i>everything and feel surrounded by possibilities. I'm well aware that</i><br /><i>this is a ridiculous way to feel -- I'm just a kid in a candy store</i><br /><i>wherever I am."</i> THAT'S ME, TOO!!! And drugstores, street stalls, airport newsstands, museum shops... </p> <p>I'm fascinated by this topic (and I know that some people do have an addiction to shopping that can ruin lives), more as part of our current culture. Personally I'm in the moderate camp. Totally forbidding shopping reminds me of people on strict paleo diets or grueling exercise regimens. I'm not bothered by their personal choices, but they can get self-righteous and evangelist about their preferences (at least those close to me are this way). </p> <p>I'm in favor of being mindful about purchases and possessions (and gifts and donations...), but not of total abstinence. </p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874719 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 05:07:20 +0000 Emily K 1874719@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Shevia, Ha! Not aspersion, but fact! &nbsp;;-)</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874708 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 04:18:51 +0000 Jaime 1874708@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I also read the NYTimes article when it came out. I like&nbsp;<b>SarahD8's&nbsp; </b>suggestion<b>&nbsp;</b>to understand her from her background and/or personality type - there are some people that are all or nothing and some that are moderators as is often pointed out here. What I am actually trying to remember is the name of the children's book that I read over and over again to my kids about the rabbit with only one teacup and only one...that eventually bought two so he could have a friend over. (No aspersions meant toward your mother Emily!). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874698 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 03:36:20 +0000 Suz 1874698@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p><b>Unfrumped,</b> I really like that way of looking at it and it makes it seem like a (potentially) good idea and helps me understand the motivation much better. Thank you.&nbsp;</p> <p>And <b>LaBD</b>, you make a great point -- it can occur across a wide variety of income brackets and people who sniff at her motivations may not be aware of that.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874693 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 03:25:06 +0000 Mary Beth (formerly LBD) 1874693@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oooh, I cannot wait to sit and have a listen - but I won't be able to before probably Friday.&nbsp; &nbsp;I've bookmarked the page.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>My opinion on this topic closely matches Lisa P's.&nbsp; &nbsp;Since I haven't listened or read any of this yet, I can't really weigh in on people calling in and being salty, but I will note this:</p> <p>I've had money, and I've been almost broke, and I inevitably overshopped, regardless of my financial status.&nbsp; &nbsp;I know people from all walks of life who overshop, from flat broke to more-money-than-they-know-what-to-do-with.&nbsp; &nbsp; I don't know that it's really about 'first world problems'.</p> <p>Caitlin Flanders has <a rel="nofollow">an amazing website</a>, chronicling how she got herself out of deep debt, got a handle on substance dependency, and has done a couple of no-shop years.&nbsp; &nbsp;She writes a lot about personal finance, and I never feel that she's preachy.&nbsp; &nbsp;I think she's brutally hard on herself. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874686 Thu, 04 Jan 2018 03:08:01 +0000 unfrumped 1874686@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, I’ve read her report on this.<br /> I know it’s specifically aimed at shopping/ consumerism, but I also liken it to other endeavors like taking a year to live in a different culture or training for a marathon, or a long sailing voyage or even going vegetarian if one’s been s big meat- lover. Today I’d include doing without a smartphone or internet, even if only on the weekend! Maybe those examples sound dumb, but I think of challenge, discipline and learning things about oneself. If one reports On it to others, it seems best done as , here’s what I did, here how it went, what I learned. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874617 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 23:27:13 +0000 Suz 1874617@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I read the article when it came out. I'm in the <b>Diana </b>camp -- for me, personally, as a natural "moderator" (in most things) I find extreme or absolute plans like this unworkable. They make me rebellious. I feel like gnashing my teeth. I behave badly. ;)&nbsp;</p> <p>But I also agree with <b>LisaP</b> -- <b></b>people<b></b>&nbsp;choose these experiments for many reasons and may get something quite deep out of it, something unexpected, even. Who can say? I think, if it appeals, there may be a good reason...might be worth investigating or adapting to one's personal situation. I can imagine doing some modified version, one tied specifically to my own values.&nbsp;</p> <p>I can also see what it would irritate those who have been seriously poor for a long time. I have certainly had many years where I didn't shop because I could not afford to shop, or didn't buy more than underwear and maybe a necessary coat or shoes. I figure I've earned my moment of consumerist fun. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874612 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 23:16:23 +0000 LaPed 1874612@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lisa, her approach to body care products was interesting. She committed to only buying stuff if she absolutely ran out, but if she had a bunch of rejected bottles of, say, hair product stashed under the counter, she had to use those. She also said body care products, like hand creams and such, we're the things she'd most miss buying. </p> <p>I'm the opposite -- I buy the same things over and over, as needed, and rarely experiment because my skin is so sensitive. If anything, I should get better about buying extra Band-Aids, toothpaste, etc. Because I've been known to run out on occasion. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874602 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 22:59:55 +0000 Style Fan 1874602@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Emily all I can say is Wow.&nbsp; My sister in law's father was like that in his later years but I think it was out of financial necessity.&nbsp; I am amazed at people who do this out of choice.&nbsp; I don't buy as much stuff as I did when I was working (way less) but I don't do well with imposed rules.&nbsp; Any rules.&nbsp; It has to be organic.<br />Thanks for sharing the link La Ped.&nbsp; I will check it out. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/ann-patchetts-year-of-no-shopping#post-1874596 Wed, 03 Jan 2018 22:47:05 +0000 Anonymous 1874596@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow, <b>Emily</b>. &nbsp; </p>