Between Season Blues

Thistle

I have not really been feeling very inspired either in what I wear or to shop. Part of it is body changes I am less than happy with, but a bigger part of it is seasonal change. I am on Team Wear. If I buy it now, I want to wear it now. But it is finally summer here, and in less than a month, it will be quite cool. So lovely short sleeved tops will have to be packed up in a few weeks.

I had a bout with NAS, but several pieces I am now considering returning as I am thinking it might have been the thrill of the sale rather than the thrill of the pieces.

I have not even been really keeping tabs on what is coming out. Just not ready for fall/winter again. And, I am never happy buying something and hanging it in my closet .

Anyone else out there feeling this? What do you do to stay fresh? Or do you just embrace it and save your budget for once it has passed?

12 years ago

Shopping

5 replies

Latest reply was from Diana

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I save my budget for once it has passed. I make a list of wants/needs for the upcoming season, match up that list to what I have/what it will work with in my closet, maybe check my list with some on-line sites, and then fine tune my list. By that time, I usually ready to begin shopping and I feel better that I'm not just making random on-sale purchases.

12 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You never purchase for the sake of purchasing. There has to be a goal.

It sounds like you need to step back, stop shopping, and enjoy your Summer wardrobe, Thistle. That's 100%. I was there a few months ago. Wear the heck out of those clothes.

Usually I can't stand to wait to wear something - but I make the exception at the NAS. Apart from the fact that it's a really fun process to preselect the sale at the flagship, some of the items I can wear immediately. Others have to wait till Autumn. I love finding the fresh new seasonal surprise in my closet at the start of the new season, which is what NAS purchases provide. It's utter enjoyment from start to finish.

12 years ago

Pawprints

Active Member

Katie's process sounds liked mine. I'm a shop-aheader though. I'm a Boy Scout, anxious if unprepared. What if a cool/warm change of season day should come and I have nothing to wear? What if my sizes/colors/styles aren't there once the weather hits? However can I manage if I don't fill this critical wardrobe hole well before the day I need it hits me in the face?

Oh, the angst. I want that complete wardrobe the day the season announces itself--whether or not I can actually get it. I might want a mid-season refresher, but that's not the emotionally driven event of making sure I'm ready for the next one.

But I also understand the wardrobe and shopping malaise. I go months, even years sometimes, with no real desire to shop. I'll take care of a functional need, replace key pieces when needed, but I don't want to try on, to spend, to be bothered with the whole shop, ponder, return, mix, sort, wonder, regret thing. At these times I rely on my classics, realize my true needs are minimal, and go do the rest of my life until the style bug or wardrobe tending impulse kicks in again.

I think a hiatus or even a hibernation can be a good thing. Like nature's way of saying it's just not time to send out new shoots and buds.

12 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

Goodness, where do you live that summer is only a month long? No wonder you're frustrated.

I'm with the others on this. Return those things you don't love, and wear your short-sleeved tops like crazy. Save your money for when you are in the mood to shop again. The feeling will return in time!

I can relate somewhat, by the way. When we moved from Vancouver, Canada to San Francisco, I was surprised to discover (although I really should not have been) that there is no winter in California. Like, not even a month. I could go a whole year without wearing a heavy sweater or winter coat. And I found it frustrating. I like ALL the seasons, and am always looking forward to the next one. Bypassing winter entirely left me feeling a bit bereft. I'm not saying I'm itching to move to Ottawa to freeze my pants off for six months a year or anything -- but a little bit of winter is nice, you know?

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Keep the short sleeved tops into fall and wear them under blazers! That's what I do. They fit better than long sleeves under jackets anyway.

Because I love to layer, I think I am less constrained by "seasonal" items, or at least warm weather ones. I can alway stick them under something else or stick tights or even pants under them for warmer looks. This might be why I like summer least of all, because then I can only wear summer stuff. No boots, jackets, sweaters, etc.

I don't do NAS or presales in general, and almost never for trendy items (although I might pick up one or two investment items), because I am Team Wear! I think of it as research for the coming season. I like to see what others are buying and how they style it, then maybe when it's actually fall I'll pick up a couple of the pieces. Retail seasons move so fast nowadays that sometimes they are on sale again by the time I'm ready to wear them!

12 years ago

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