I have decided to join Mo's No Buy July and throughout the month I did fairly well. My guideline was that I was allowed two inexpensive items at NAS and that is indeed what I bought. I also reordered the white Munro loafers at the beginning of July when they showed up again on Nordies website in my size as I have previously bought and returned them in a wrong size. I consider this a delayed exchange so all was fine.
And then, the last couple of days happened!

The disaster commenced when a pair of gorgeous black shoes I was stalking for quite a few months finally got discounted enough to fit in my budget. I have really wanted a pair edgier black shoes with ankle straps, somewhat open yet with closed toes that were work appropriate and these were perfect. They arrived today and they fit really well and are so comfy.
The very same day I noticed that there was extra 25% of sale items on the Neiman Marcus website where I was stalking a pair of TR Briannas in a light wash, which also brought them in the acceptable price range for me. These are my perfect BF jeans and I already have them in a darker wash. I was thinking about duplicating them for a while, and then I read here a couple of days ago that they are getting discontinued so I pounced. They have not arrived yet.
To add insult to the injury, I was thinking about what my three fashion refreshers would be for the fall and my first wish was a plaid sweater, black background with white plaid. I was casually browsing the web to see what was available, and then I stumbled upon the perfect version, on clearance, in a form of knit moto jacket (which I love and are perfect for my lifestyle. I have no clue what the quality is like and it has not arrived yet.

The second part of the saga happened this Saturday on my trip to a large local mall. I had to go there to pick up a watch from Nordies that they were fixing for me. I also needed some very specific undies to go with clothes I am wearing for an event upcoming Saturday, so I managed to quickly pick those up, not even look at NAS items and promptly get out of Nordies. I was very pleased with myself.
Then I decided to browse the mall (you know what is coming, right? :D) I was looking around Macy's and spotted Angie's pick TH belt I was coveting for a while on a big clearance. I just couldn't leave it, so it came home with me.
The grand finale of this misadventure happened in the BR store. They were running two promotions, extra 40% of sale items and $50 of $100 that could be combined. So I went in, just to look I said to myself, and managed to find three items to buy. A sparkly silver sweater Elle bought earlier that I really liked. The chambray dress Angie recommended. And a HEWI: a silk blouse in my perfect shade of white: a soft white, neither super bright nor yellowish. The deal I got was quite outrageous, the total retail was over $250 total and I payed around $50 for all the three items.

So yes, this is what happened. The lessons learned for the future: no trips to the mall. Delete all the promotional emails. Try to stick to No Buy August and maybe even September. Suz said recently that she might have become too good of a shopper as everything she ordered fit and was gorgeous. I am feeling something similar about becoming too good of a bargain hunter. Everything I bought was discounted 60-80%.

Thank you if you have made it so far! ** "Covering myself with ears" = an expression we use in my country when someone is really embarrassed with something they did, inspired by Disney's Dumbo the baby elephant **