YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)

YouLookFab Forum » Topic: Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry) https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 18 May 2026 10:43:49 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php Style Fan on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1724333 Wed, 07 Sep 2016 09:37:33 +0000 Style Fan 1724333@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Sterling good points about women in engineering, mathematics and science.  I am unfortunately too familiar with that strange idea that women are not good in math and if they are then well you know.  Also there is a belief that people who have strong math skills are not strong in creative or people oriented fields.  What nonsense.  Creative budgeting is a great term.  Feel free to use it.  I tend to wear the same scarf over and over.  Hard for me to give up the trusted familiar one that I know works. Thanks Shedev.  Yes I will start tracking my success rate. shedev on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1724176 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 21:49:53 +0000 shedev 1724176@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Great analysis. Your planning is impressive. An 87% success rate is awesome. Anonymous on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1724149 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 20:36:33 +0000 Anonymous 1724149@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am going to go back and read your post in a minute, but you brought up a pet peeve and I had to say something.  The term "girly math" offends me.  I always try to brush it off thinking that the person using that term probably doesn't understand how hard the women mathematicians, women engineers, and women scientists worked to get their degrees.  THEN you rocked my world when you said you were a mathematician.  I wasn't certain how I felt.  I was so pleased when you clarified it as "scientific" versus "creative" math.  I might have used "hard" math versus "soft" math.  Nonetheless I was pleased with your clarification.  Still ...... math is math.  Either your accounting is accurate and representative or it is not. I very much prefer "creative budgeting."  I think I am going to steal that term and use it when I explain my clothing budget to my boyfriend.   I was impressed with your analysis.  Great work.  I would celebrate if (1) I only had a 13 precent failure rate; and (2) I could get control of my impulse/emotional purchases.  Since joining YLF I am doing better, but I am no near as good as you are. Scarfs are a huge issue for me as well.  I absolutely love them on other people.  I buy them and then find they are fussy on me.  I want to wear them, but I don't.  Thus, the failure. Wardrobe planning is a secret hobby for me too.   Style Fan on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1724123 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 19:53:12 +0000 Style Fan 1724123@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Jenn I am very careful about making notes.  It comes from years of practice.  I document everything.  I was relieved about the number of purchases.  I worried about that but it was not so bad. It helps that I retired to a place with very little B&M.  Canada's online shopping is not the same as the US.   That has certainly helped me.  My friends don't know what they are missing.  Jenn on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723987 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 14:01:40 +0000 Jenn 1723987@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm really impressed by your careful account/analysis of your purchases. I can be an emotional shopper too, as evidenced by the packages that inevitably arrive in the days after my husband takes an out-of-town business trip. Making a list and delaying planned purchases until those times helps. I find your overall purchase numbers totally reasonable, though. I'm sure I didn't do as well! Wardrobe planning is a secret hobby for me, too.  :) Style Fan on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723945 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 10:18:59 +0000 Style Fan 1723945@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Yes Denise clothing math is totally different from business math.  DH has car math which makes no sense to me.  Somehow he can explain to me how it makes sense to buy a new (and more expensive) car and it will not cost any more money.  I point out that it does cost more money.  His math says it does not.  I think I need to allow for some emotional shopping or I will rebel.  Less is better.  None is impossible. Kkards.  Units!  I like that.  How many units did I buy?  But I still have to keep some sort of budget.  This will get my creative side working.  And then I can draw little diagrams.  What fun! Barbara Diane I did a lot of planning over the past few years.  I am going to do a post on that soon.  I had thought of cutting a very large scarf that I love so that I could wear it but I haven't yet.  Maybe I will post it and get feedback.  The blanket scarf has gone to the donation box so it is too late to save.  Good idea though.  I could have experimented with it before the beautiful scarf was used. Staysfit I find posts like this interesting to read as well.  I do like the idea of organized emotional shopping.  I need to allow some emotional shopping in my life.  It is one of the ways I deal with stress.  Yes I do Yoga, blah, blah, but sometimes I want to run out and buy nice jeans.  I like the idea of a subconscious internal bean counter. Suz that is a great way of looking at it.  The misses were small items.   I will do a post on my wardrobe planning.  I have been working on it since retirement.  It is one of my new hobbies.  A secret hobby that I have only told a few friends because very few people in my life would understand.  The scarves were to add statements to my rather bland wardrobe.  I love scarves but I will be more carefully picking them out.  I think I will look for a high end scarf that has the colours of my palette.  That is on my list.  A Hermes maybe.  :) Suz on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723935 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 09:10:15 +0000 Suz 1723935@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This sounds like an incredible successful shopping year and I am in with JAileen that and 87% success rate sounds more accurate than a 13% fail rate, and you could improve that number simply by recognizing that the "fail" purchases were on the whole smaller and less expensive than the successful additions.  I'm also really interested in your process of shopping, the way you have gone about it since retirement. It makes sense to me. You know you had to pull back and change your ways, but how to do it....Organized emotional sounds like the way to go, keeping your eye open for HEWIs (like your puffer -- I remember that post!) and buying when you find them.  I guess you can make a note to yourself to buy a few statement items this year. Perhaps that was what you were trying to do, in a way, with the big scarf that did not work out?  Staysfit on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723818 Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:45:22 +0000 Staysfit 1723818@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I find posts like this very helpful and interesting to read. I am impressed by how well you have done with your purchases. Congratulations on your improvements, and getting closer towards your goals! I love the concept of organized emotional,shopping. I tell myself that's what I'm doing when I go over budget. My kind of girly math - spending whatever I want just because I want to without consideration of the budget, but it always seems to balance out in the end. Is it luck or is there a subconscious mental bean counter? Barbara Diane on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723709 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 19:25:22 +0000 Barbara Diane 1723709@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ The blanket scarf-would it work to cut it in half lengthwise? I'm thinking of doing that to a scarf I like that is quite large. I'm impressed that you shopped so systematically, and that so much of your items worked.  kkards on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723695 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 18:45:18 +0000 kkards 1723695@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have a degree In poly sci....but I work in retail planning.....so math is every day job.....we (jokingly) have 2 kinds of math, planner math (ie if you buy that you must cancel something else, so that they Open-to-Buy does not change, and buyer math (ie, if I buy this my sales will go up, so my Open-to-Buy will not change)......trust me....retail math is very creative..... Anyway, another way to look at this is units instead of dollars....this may be helpful because while the winter coat was 13% of the expenitures,it was only1 unit....so assuming your budget is the same next year, unless you have another pricey item, your total unit buy will likely go up. CocoLion on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723671 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 17:34:14 +0000 CocoLion 1723671@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ The term "girly math" always makes me smile.  I don't have a math degree, I have an MBA.  My clothing math is different from my business math, and that's ok.  So -- I totally get your point.  I would say you had a very successful year; I think my emotional shopping count is still greater than yours.  That is a good goal for me to set for myself -- less emotional shopping. I don't have a strict list just yet, except I'm looking for a cognac bag and cognac booties.  Also potentially a dark gray/green bag. Style Fan on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723668 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 17:24:21 +0000 Style Fan 1723668@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Girly Math means that I saw after the fact how much I spent and thought that was about right.  I didn't have an anxiety attack and think what was I thinking!  How could I have spent so much money on clothes?  I am retired.  I am going back to work right now.  I didn't plan how much I was going to spend in a year.  I did this by looking back at my bank statements online.  I will now call it Creative Budgeting.  I look at how much I spent and it seems about right. Bonnie I have been working on my wardrobe in a more systematic way for about 4 years.  It was one of my retirement goals.  I bought clothes in an emotional way when I was working to deal with stress.  That really needed to change.  Or I was going to have to go back to work.  I certainly have wardrobe holes to fill.  Snow boots for example. Tanya I do like doing analysis of things.  My work was not really math related.  Well not at all.  So I get to use those skills.  I did have the purchases planned and the colours planned but not the budget.  I didn't know how much to spend.  Now I have a better idea.  Good idea about donating the scarves.  I plan to do a big edit soon. I do find it fun Angie.  Yes I am now on Team Organized Emotional Shopping and not Team Emotional Shopping.  Big improvement.  I teach in a university.  They start up in September.  Not me.  I only teach occasionally these days. JAileen I am not a big fan of the term girly math either but I agree that I can use it given my background.  I like your way of thinking.  87% success rate.  Of course.  Think positive.  The pj pants were the right colour but miles too big.  Yes live and learn.  The scarves were 1/ too big and 2/ the wrong colour.  The blanket scarf just took over my entire head and neck.  I couldn't get it to work.  The other one looked an entirely different colour when I got it home. Smittie I have been looking for a couple of years for a puffer.  My old one was falling apart.  Sophie had also eaten the pocket because I left treats in it and she munched on them including the pocket.  I have had the pocket fixed twice.  She sneaks into the closet looking for treats. Jen I have finally found a way to get on top of my emotional shopping.  So far it seems to be working.   Anonymous on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723658 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 16:37:08 +0000 Anonymous 1723658@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have always tended towards emotional shopping myself, I admire your budget and your ability to curtail the emotion and shop with a plan so successfully. Anonymous on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723649 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 16:11:28 +0000 Anonymous 1723649@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'd like to hear about how you do your creative math. My creative math involves setting a monthly budget and then at the end of the month seeing if I went over it using memory and ballpark figures. I have mostly been going over. I'm surprised scarves were unsuccessful as they are almost always successful for me. What's up? Hopefully you are going to enjoy your puffer. Its good to know which features you want because not all puffers are created equal. My next puffer needs a really big hood so that I can quickly jump into it without having to put in a hat and scarf. Your shopping seems really tight and a 13% fail rate seems alright. JAileen on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723647 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 16:08:59 +0000 JAileen 1723647@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I hate the term "girl math" but since you have a degree in math you have a pass to say anything you feel like about math. I don't have a degree in math, but was a CPA and loved cost accounting. 13 percent failure rate? How about 87 percent success rate! I bought pajama jeans thinking they were awesome. Then I saw myself in them and realized they might be awesome on others, but not on me. Live and learn. What was wrong with the scarves? Except for size or maybe scratchiness, they generally work for me. Angie on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723643 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 16:04:44 +0000 Angie 1723643@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I'm impressed with this level of analysis too. NICE. And clearly, you find it fun - or you wouldn't have done it! Happy feet are stylish feet, and go Team Organized Emotional Shopping.   It's not the end of the year yet though - so do you work on a US school year?  Tanya on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723633 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 15:52:33 +0000 Tanya 1723633@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am very impressed by your level of analysis here.  I can be very analytical about a lot of clothing-related things, but usually avoid such heavy statistics, I guess it reminds me of work too much. I am also super impressed about you sticking to your plans and budget. It looks like most of your purchases were planned and only 13% were failures, so I would call this season a major success for you. You can always donate the scarves to places like Salvation Army.  I am looking forward to your planned purchases post, too, I am planning to do one of those myself once I am done with my big closet edit and wardrobe analysis. Bonnie on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723631 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 15:51:17 +0000 Bonnie 1723631@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This is an interesting analysis of your clothing budget. I'm impressed that you have already planned next year's purchases. I'm still in the wardrobe building process and am planning this month's purchases. It seems that there are still lots of wardrobe holes to fill. I think of the year as starting in September for the same reasons that you mention.  Style Fan on "Yearly Review of My Purchases (Warning: Long and Potentially Dry)" https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/yearly-review-of-my-purchases-warning-long-and-potentially-dry#post-1723567 Mon, 05 Sep 2016 12:48:25 +0000 Style Fan 1723567@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I have been inspired to do a yearly review of my clothing purchases since I joined YLF and this weekend I set aside some time to actually do this.  I reviewed my purchases from August 26, 2015 to August 25, 2016.  I spent so much time as a student and then teaching that September feels like the start of a new year to me. My Discoveries: 1.  I spent the amount that I had sort of planned in my girly math method.  I have a math degree but I use girly math when it comes to clothing purchases.  I am not suggesting that girly math is not great math.  Or that there is boy math.  Maybe scientific math vs creative math would be better terminology.  But math can be very creative and artistic.  Enough rambling. 2.  I did not make as many mistakes as I thought I had.  I will get to the statistics later.  My mistakes were mostly scarves.  Scarves! 3.  I am spending far less on emotional purchases now than I did before I joined YLF.  Yeah!  This was definitely one of my goals over the last few years.  Really the only big emotional purchase was a pair of jeans that were very expensive (7s wide legged jeans) which is very good for me. 4.  Footwear is expensive.  I have to purchase footwear that works for my poor feet and of course it is expensive.  And not trendy.  Sigh. Statistics: My Purchases: When I am giving the statistic it is the percentage of my total expenditure for the year. 1 Winter Coat - Planned-13 % of Purchases. I had been looking for a new puffer for at least  2 years so this was a great find for me and checked all the boxes. 6 pairs of Footwear-all Planned-30% of Purchases All of these were successes.  I bought a pair of walking shoes, rain boots, El Naturalista Booties, Birks, Finn Comfort Sandals, Fly London Sandals for wedding (on sale!) 1 Bag-Planned-included in above purchases I bought a silver clutch for the wedding.  I have also used the clutch on other occasions so it was a big success. Bottoms-50% were planned and 50% were not planned-27% of Purchases. Altogether I bought 8 bottoms.  One was a total miss.  This was a pair of Free People printed pj pant.  Looked great in the store.  On sale.  Oh well.  I bought 3 pairs of jeans and 5 other bottoms. 2 pairs of Levis (faded and dark wash), 7s wide legged jeans, Jen 7 eggplant pants (big success), 3 pairs of Joe Fresh linen wide leg pants (I really only needed 2 but I got carried away with excitement at the grocery store). Topper-planned-3% of purchases This was a success now that I have realized how to wear it.  The topper is an olive green (yes I do need more olive green) cropped cotton cardigan with a zipper.  More of a fall and spring topper than winter. Tops-planned-11% of purchases I bought 8 tops.  One is a possible miss and I may return it to Nordstroms.  I may post it as a WIW and get opinions from YLF.  The rest of the tops are all successes.  Boring but successes.  I bought 3 Three Dot T shirts, 1 short sleeved T shirt, one linen T shirt and one denim shirt.  I also bought a purple/burgundy sweater as a statement piece.  I am missing statements in my wardrobe. Basics-planned-7% of purchases I bought 3 pairs of dress socks, 4 pairs of smartwool socks, 1 bra and 5 pairs of undies.  These were all successes.  I also bought a pair of leggings that are iffy.  I think they are too sheer to wear with a tunic but might work under jeans in the winter. Other-planned-sort of-9% of purchases I bought a poncho, a sun hat in Florida, a silver bangle, necklace with wooden beads and silver pendant and 3 scarves.  Two of the scarves were misses.  Not sure why I did that. If you have made it this far then I am impressed.  I will do a closet review someday.  In terms of my total expenditures 13% were failures.  This number includes the Free People PJ pants, two scarves, sheer leggings and extra Joe Fresh pants. My next post will be my planned purchases for next year.