https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:00:53 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358797 Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:12:37 +0000 Deborah 1358797@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm in the middle of a September shopping fast and I am so pleased with how it's going. It has definitely slowed me down and as my unspent $ are collecting I am not feeling inclined to part with my hard saved cash too quickly. I am really hoping this will lead to better thought out purchases </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358760 Fri, 19 Sep 2014 06:00:29 +0000 rabbit 1358760@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm really nodding at what <b>unfrumped</b>&nbsp;said. &nbsp;The more I slow down and focus on wearing my clothes and&nbsp;outfit creation, the more reluctant I am to buy anything that would take away wears from another item. &nbsp; Tracking makes me painfully aware of what I should be wearing, and also when I introduce one new piece at a time, it allows me to really focus on getting good wear and experimenting with a variety of stylings with it. &nbsp;It also helps my wardrobe get&nbsp;more stylistically cohesive in terms of color and shape.</p> <p>As a result, my wish list is pretty small, and I'm continually tabling wishes, like <b>Suja </b>says. &nbsp; Finding those few items takes a bit longer, but they end up plugging into my wardrobe neatly and very quickly becoming key players.</p> <p>Also the idea of 'wear', 'purge', or 'return' is a good one that I'm going to use, I'm reluctant to do&nbsp;holding zones in my house.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358656 Fri, 19 Sep 2014 01:37:29 +0000 Peri 1358656@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I didn't officially take part, but it didn't buy anything either. I haven't bought anything since mid July. It is mainly the weather. I don't want to buy anything else for the heat, but I can't think straight about what I might wear in the Fall because it is still in the mid-80s here on a cool day. I'm uninspired in the extreme.</p> <p>I've also noticed that shopping early doesn't work that well for me. It tends to lead to more mistakes to buy too far ahead of the weather. I did this in the spring...I was so pushed to get some new spring and summer things, and I wasn't seeing much I liked, so I bought the first things I thought I really liked even though they were pricey. As the season went on it turned out that I jumped too soon...I found other things I liked just as well and ended up not liking what I had been so sure about earlier. </p> <p>All this to say, Fall shopping for me starts toward the end of October. Until then, I guess I am austere! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358525 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 22:33:57 +0000 Carla 1358525@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It has felt like hemorrhaging money during the house buying/selling process. Also, there is still more to do such as painting, and some furnishings that uses creative energy and eats up budget. This month DH and I got back on track with the budget keeping process of documenting all expenditures. There has been no time for recreational shopping.</p> <p>However, I have added to the pointy toe flat shoes collection with an Elie Tahari score, and picked up black ponte trousers, and a jacket (that I think is sporty luxe) for work.</p> <p>I'll pounce for the white winter weight skirt and colourful full length winter coat, though! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358432 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:53:43 +0000 DonnaF 1358432@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think Austerity August go me to slow down.&nbsp; I've ordered two skirts (well, actually six (6) due to various sizes and paranoia) and will keep at most one if it proves to be a ten and can be worn with tights.&nbsp; I've also ordered clogs for my sorry feet, and they are in a gray print since I figured as long as I need to wear potato shoes that they may as well have some pizzazz. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358430 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:44:32 +0000 Aziraphale 1358430@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Absolutely. Shopping is a habit, like a lot of things. A little breather can help me readjust my priorities. It's a bit like getting out of the habit of drinking too much. I'm sure we all know that a glass of wine with dinner is fine, and possibly even healthy, but we (especially women) shouldn't have more than that on a daily basis. Yet often, over the summer holidays, I get in the habit of a beer in the afternoon as well as wine with dinner, and then maybe wine in the evening. And then suddenly I'll realize that I'm having at two or three drinks EVERY SINGLE DAY, and so I'll make a conscious decision to not drink anything at all for a couple of weeks. Then, when I go back to having wine with dinner, I'm more mindful of my alcohol intake. Shopping is exactly like that for me. In times when I have a lot of spare time, my number of purchases creeps up, and I find I buy more than I really need due to&nbsp;the pleasure of acquiring. A conscious break from buying always solves the problem.</p> <p>Moderation in all things. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358424 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:33:59 +0000 Anonymous 1358424@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hmm.. I never went in for Aus Aug, yet I haven't bought anything since about 5th August for my holiday. I tried to buy some cognac booties but they all got returned today. I think I'm due for a bit of a treat in Seattle :). Well done Janet. And I can see how doing this exercise would help to put the brakes on and re-think habits. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358418 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:15:36 +0000 KikiG 1358418@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I either shop, or I don't shop, and really, I'd rather just get it over with and not think about it again until spring.&nbsp; The seemingly endless cycle of keeping basics in decent shape gets so frustrating.&nbsp; However, the more thought I put into fashion in cold blood (as opposed to in crazed, retail lust) serves me well.&nbsp; For instance: no more tops that will be unsightly or unseemly if I take off my jacket or topper.&nbsp; That one is huge.&nbsp; High on my list are stand alone blouses, and all the things on order are calculated gap-fillers.&nbsp; I am also trying, hard, to not force an "ok" into a "keep" to be allowed to stop shopping.&nbsp; I have a top I bought last year that was a spectacular fail, and I feel very badly about it.&nbsp; I am sure I got a decent deal on it (AT, so if you don't get a decent deal, you are just not paying attention) but still.&nbsp; </p> <p>I just got two "blouse material sweatshirts" at Loft, and I am vibrating with excitement over them.&nbsp; (Props to Angie,&nbsp;whose sporty luxe analysis was key to awakening me to the possibilities&nbsp;of these garments!)&nbsp; I am trying hard to focus on this feeling and make it be the new standard for buying.&nbsp; </p> <p>My jeans are adequate for carry over to fall, and I got fantastic, incredible deals on a pair of boots and booties yesterday, which, added to&nbsp;good basics I got last year&nbsp;will give me the most options for shoes I've had in years.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358408 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:01:17 +0000 Thistle 1358408@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I did buy a pair of maternity jeans in late August&nbsp;as it is already full on fall here and&nbsp;I wanted full length ones. (High today of 57F, and dipping into the low 40s at night). Other than that, nothing.</p> <p>In September, I purchased one pair of full length ponte black maternity pants to replace a pair of cropped ones. And, I bought a fluid cranberry cashmere sweater for after baby. I thought it might be kind enough to the midsection in those cold post baby months. (The sweater was more than twice both pants combined, even on sale).</p> <p>It hasn't arrived yet, so not sure I am keeping it, but it got rave reviews, I put it on my wishlist at full price, and now its 50% off and still left in my size during triple points. </p> <p>A lot of my spending has been directed to what we need to get ready and to DD. She grew like a weed over the summer, but it didn't show so much as she mostly wears dresses all summers. In the meantime, all of her&nbsp;pants&nbsp;become "capris". She gets the legs from DH. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358383 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:39:21 +0000 MsMary 1358383@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have been so consumed by house stuff that I'm afraid fashion has fallen by the wayside for me, almost completely.&nbsp; So really, Austerity August was an effect rather than a cause in my case.&nbsp; It's partly that my creative impulses are directed elsewhere, and partly that I am spending so. much. money. on the house that it hurts to spend any money on <b>anything</b> else, including fashion.</p> <p>That said, I am really looking forward to Seattle Shoptember Inge-Fest, so I can see the new fashions and hopefully pick up a few pieces to refresh a wardrobe that is feeling a tiny bit stale. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358340 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 17:50:43 +0000 Isabel 1358340@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am at the same place as Shevia. Not just calculating, but the time it takes to look for things. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358279 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:57:55 +0000 Suja 1358279@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, Austerity August had a lasting effect on me.&nbsp; I now write everything I want&nbsp; on Evernote whenever I think I want or need something.&nbsp; I look at the list periodically and am always amazed that something I wanted last week is no longer important to me.&nbsp; I think I have saved myself several buy and return cycles.&nbsp; </p> <p>I am pretty happy with my wardrobe.&nbsp; My birthday is coming up and I am going to ask my husband for the items on my list that have been on there for several week and I know they are real needs or wants, not just random hunger cravings.</p> <p>I am also thinking of sitting October and November out and then buying whatever is on my list during black Friday sales. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358276 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:53:25 +0000 unfrumped 1358276@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I also got some fall items that are a major focus and help me compare any new "wants" to whether they are as good or fit in in some major way.</p> <p>think I'm trying to be sure I'm wearing all the things I have, with allowances for major seasonal temps and special occasions. I am finding that I will just have to make a decision on <u>wear</u> or <u>toss</u>. Sure, there is the holding zone, and I have used that greatly,but it can become the great indecision zone.&nbsp;So, no fair having a big holding zone and buying more stuff.</p> <p><i></i>If I&nbsp;have more things to wear than days to wear them, it either means that I have lots of great things and "eyes are bigger than stomach" and is wasteful, or it means I'm stuck on some fit or style dilemma that needs solving before I will know what to add.&nbsp;</p> <p>Goal is to avoid&nbsp; "wardrobe cognitive dissonance". </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358195 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 14:10:33 +0000 TraceyLiz65 1358195@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I plan on doing a no buy November and December and hope that I am as strong willed as you were. I of course, may have a detailed Christmas list for DH...<br />&nbsp;I feel like I have a lot of clothes and want to edit and be more purposeful in my purchases ,as sometimes I confess I emotionally shop... &nbsp;I've never set a budget or calculated what I spend in fashion, so an entirely new direction for me...<br />I think in years prior I didn't indulge in fashion and neglected myself, so &nbsp;I've spent the past few years making up for that. &nbsp;Now, I am not trying to fill the deprived whole and can be more purposeful and critical &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358188 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 14:04:56 +0000 Angie 1358188@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Good job, Janet. I'm proud of you. Give your doggies extra love from me. xo </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358187 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 14:03:15 +0000 Mo 1358187@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I did this in July, but yes. &nbsp;I'm pretty conscientious anyway with my shopping most the time but I felt a certain shift in my habits and thinking after the month off. &nbsp;<br />I, too, finally purged a handful of things I'd had hanging around that were never quite right but I'd not parted with. &nbsp;Leather panel skirt, peplum destructed top, silk tank. &nbsp;All perfectly fine items but none really fit or flattered, or got worn, like I'd like. &nbsp;So, off they went! &nbsp;<br />My buys since then&nbsp;have been pretty on the mark. &nbsp;The after swim dress (worn several times already), white shorts I've been meaning to upgrade all year, just recently the anorak that's been on my list for months. &nbsp;I had one impulse buy of the cobalt blue button front. &nbsp;It's one of 'my' colors, though, so I know it will work with my stuff.<br />The buys that weren't quite right all went back or off to be sold ASAP. &nbsp;That was one of the biggest changes. &nbsp;No more 'make do' items. &nbsp;I don't want to struggle with my wardrobe. &nbsp;I want it to work for me! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358186 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:59:26 +0000 Janet 1358186@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That's a great jacket, cgdc. Elizabeth and Shevia, I hear you about saturation point. </p> <p>I do think I may be in for a boot or bootie purchase, and maybe another handbag at some point this F/W. I think some of my old boots might get sold. I'm wanting lower heels, pointier toes, and more refined shapes lately. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358183 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:56:13 +0000 citygirldc 1358183@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>August was good for me in terms of not shopping. &nbsp;I ended up purging 5 bags of clothes and shoes last weekend&nbsp;and it felt good. Which means, I'm ready to do some Fall/Winter shopping. I'm concentrating on structure and&nbsp;quality this year, rather than impulsive shopping.</p> <p>I do have my eye out on a lots of black and gray this year. One item in particular is the Ann Taylor leather moto jacket (#1). &nbsp;I'm also looking&nbsp;for a longish cardigan (I did see Angie's picks), maybe a great winter wool coat (just haven't seen anything I like),&nbsp;and of course a great of booties/boots. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358182 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:55:24 +0000 Elizabeth P 1358182@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You nailed it Shevia... "saturation point".&nbsp; That's how I feel as well.&nbsp; It doesn't mean I'm not going to spend, and that there are no holes to fill, but my attitude towards "stuff" is definitely different. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358179 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:49:48 +0000 Jaime 1358179@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I didn't take part in Austerity August but am definitely at saturation point and ready to edit. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358173 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:44:42 +0000 Elizabeth P 1358173@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I did really well in Austerity August, then threw all to the wind and sailed into Spendember with a bang.&nbsp; However... most of what I purchased, or ordered, is going back.&nbsp; So I think in some ways there is a carry over.&nbsp; I sort of&nbsp; missed the thrill of the hunt, but I AM looking at what I want to keep with a much more critical eye.&nbsp; Which is kind of the point!&nbsp; I'm also looking forward to pulling out the fall clothes, and doing a bit of an evaluation on the summer items.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/austerity-august-has-a-lasting-effect#post-1358169 Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:37:19 +0000 Janet 1358169@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So, I got through Aus Aug with minimal "damage" -- really only departing from my no-buy ways to get a great floral dress, and at a bargain, at that. </p> <p>Since it ended, I pulled the trigger on the Matisse red booties, which I had been eyeing ever since Angie posted them here. I have also bought three other things -- all either simple basics or inexpensive trend items: a new long sleeve black tee, since my old one is starting to show a bit of fading, a short-sleeved black and white tee from Old Navy, and the quilted black sweatshirt from Target. Total spent on those tops: $75. Considering my usual monthly fashion budget, this is pretty darn good. (We'll ignore for the moment that all my new purchases were black, but I think that just means they're easily mixed with what I already have.)</p> <p>So it seems like Aus Aug was a good chance for me to step back and take a bit of a breather. I've still perused some of my usual online shopping sites, and I've wandered through a few shops, but I haven't had a particularly itchy trigger finger. I'm also pretty happy with what I have for the moment. Since we're not quite into fall weather, I'm more anxious to wear some of my new fall purchases from NAS than to buy more that I still can't wear until the weather cools. </p> <p>Oh, and it's always nice to get a Nordstrom bill with a total due of $0. :-)</p> <p>I've also culled a few more things from the depths of my closet -- a special occasion dress I've NEVER worn, some random items that don't feel like *me* anymore, etc. As I start to put away the sandals and shorts and pull out the boots and sweaters, I think I'll get a better sense of how to keep up a more thoughtful approach to buying. Hubs and I are looking at tightening our budget in the coming years, so it's a good time to pull back. </p> <p>How about you? If you took a month off of buying, has it caused you to extend your cautious ways? I know Anna has been on a roll of non-buying, for one. </p>