Halfway through early fall, the report (long)

Earlier this summer I decided to start budgeting by season, rather than by month, as well as try to be more methodical about my clothes shopping, doing more of it all at once rather than constantly being preoccupied with thoughts of shopping. I thought you guys might be interested in how it's going so far now that I'm a couple cross-quarters in.

For 'late summer', the first full cross-quarter I tracked, I met my budget goals but only by returning some things I had bought earlier in the summer and hadn't worn yet. This entire year has been about learning how to live within my budget, so this didn't worry me too much. I bought 18 items, and about an equal amount went out.

Now, 'early fall': I am almost out of budget. You could argue that that's not great, because it's only halfway between the fall equinox and Halloween, but the rest of this month is quite busy for me, and in addition, the stuff I bought in September was almost all on my wishlist/HEWI, including a new pair of black tall boots bought on almost 50% off flash sale (yippee). Speaking of sales, that's what gets me about the 'only shopping once or twice a season' thing - you miss a lot of opportunities to save money. Granted, 'bargains' can sometimes be a trap, but when it's something you need and have been keeping an eye out for, does it really make sense to wait and end up spending more? You can tell that I'm not entirely convinced.

Item counts for early fall are currently at 16, with 1 pair of jeans, 1 skirt, 4 tops, 2 sweaters, 1 blazer, 1 jacket, 1 bag, and 4 pairs of shoes (2 pairs of sandals, one pair of shoes, and one pair of boots). I haven't gotten rid of anything permanently, because I found that I'd been over-culling - instead, I started a 'time-out zone' in our guest room where I put things that I don't like anymore. I'll revisit that in a while and see if I was hasty. 16 vs 18 - not a big difference in number, so I'm not really reaching my goal of fewer and better, at least not entirely.

The most useful thing for me in this whole process has been the budget sheet, which is more like a tracking of everything I buy and a wishlist of what I need, as well as the budget numbers themselves. It has been super-helpful this fall because it's still very warm here, and most of my fall items I haven't even gotten a chance to wear yet. Whenever I get that itch for a new item, I can go read my notes instead and remind myself of all the new things that I have sitting, waiting for me.

As far as shopping trips go, I have not been keeping hard counts. I've been trying to stay off the shopping part of the internet when I don't have a budget left, or anything in particular I need. B&M shopping is tricky because I am noticing that I like to do it a little bit at a time, when I'm in a particular area because of other reasons, or to take a break from working at lunchtime, or as a reward when I finish a project, etc. I don't have solutions for this, nor do I know that I feel like I need to address it in any kind of 12-step way. The awareness that I do sometimes shop (or rather browse) as stress relief or escapism is helpful enough, at this point; I can ask myself whether I really need/want something, or whether what I want is the temporary rush of having something new.

More to do: We talked a few weeks ago about how long items should be expected to last and replacement schedules, and I swooned over the link someone shared of a blogger's 5-year buying schedule. Since then I've been monkeying around with one for myself. I think for big items - boots, winter coats, etc. - and things one always needs new of periodically - jeans, bras, underwear - this will be really useful. I'm pondering what percentage of my wardrobe should be off this list and what percentage should be surprises and what Angie calls wild cards.

Thanks for making it this far and I'd love to talk more about any of these topics.

11 years ago

Aida

Veteran

So you're doing 4 seasons, rather than the two fashion seasons? Makes sense! I'd expect that this approach gets a bit better as you use it more so you have an idea of what things are best to buy at what times, and especially when you're not at a point where you're still looking for basics or essentials.

Interesting that looking at your list to remind you what you purchased was enough to quell some shopping urges, particularly for things that you bought for the upcoming season that you haven't had the weather to wear yet. I've been sort of doing that as a mix in my head and with my Finds but I bet a proper paper list would be more helpful since it'd be comprehensive. I too like to browse and purchase throughout a season, though I do tend to spend the bulk of S/S in March-April, and F/W in July-August.

Glad to hear you got your tall black boots

Michelle

(website)

Good job on setting up such a thorough system that forces you to be accountable! I've recently shifted to the notion of shopping for the season too, and I've found it very helpful. It keeps me focused, and this fall it's allowed me to come home with a number of pieces that make my seasonal wardrobe feel cohesive. Of course it's very easy to convince yourself that you have more wardrobe gaps than you do, but I suspect that would be the case for me no matter what time of year I hit the stores. I may have to adopt some of your tracking techniques. Conscientious spending has been a watch word of late, and I feel like your tools could be very helpful. Your reply

Anonymous

Michelle! Wonderful to see a post from you!
Laura and Michelle, I think that you are on to something. I usually shop sporadically but am beginning to see the advantage do shopping at the beginning of the season and be done. Then it's time to relax and enjoy the new things. The problem is being organized enough to know what I want to buy to refresh the wardrobe. Making myself donate an item for each that I add is helping. I'm also stopping to ask myself what I might have to use in place of the item I want to buy. Usually there is something I have that should get more wear. A replacement plan sounds like an excellent start.

rabbit

Interesting reading, I haven't tracked my budget by season, just by year and I'm a little over my lowest end number already. I think in the future dividing it up more might be the way to go. I think it will end up okay though, I'm buying very few things for this f/w because I bought SO many last f/w and I can keep wearing them.

I've found tracking wears and costs, and unworn items really helpful to quell the urge to buy. Part of it is a game with myself to hit a certain CPW for all new items for the year, so if I buy another top, it takes away my ability to rack up more wears for one I already have. Part of it is I now know a realistic number of wears for every category of item, so I know what price threshold not to exceed. It also makes me much more reluctant to buy anything but something perfect that I know I'll wear frequently and starting immediately. It's also fun to plan outfits that incorporate little worn pieces on the same spreadsheet, and this constant variety of dress also helps stop the craving for new things.

I also enjoy shopping as an escape or treat in short frequent jaunts, but I'm getting better about only looking for the few outstanding things on my F/W HEWI list, so most of the time I don't buy anything, but do try on possibilities. It still doesn't solve the problem of it being time consuming though, even with short visits.

Hi Joy! A replacement plan is something I really need to implement. I like your considered approach.
Your reply

fern

Laura, I am on a similar "wardrobe analysis" path as you, so I enjoy your thoughtful posts.

I also just looked at how long the things in my current donate bag lasted in my wardrobe, so I have an answer, sort of, to your other post with the question of how long things last. I was getting rid of things under a year if they were a mistake (like an Ebay purchase that didn't fit properly) or 4-5 years for clothes I wore often that are now ready to be retired. Not a lot of in-between.

My pic is what I recently came up with for my annual shopping plan. It's based on shopping quarterly and only replacing 16 clothing and 2 shoes and 2 accessories a year, which seems very low, but I mostly work from home, have a pretty good wardrobe for my needs, and I am aiming for lasting quality. I tried to schedule replacing items in roughly the same percentages as what I have now. I will have to give up my Ebay habit - I really want to concentrate on
buying those things that will work well for me for those 4-5 years.

Oh, and I just restock underwear & bras annually in January and it doesn't count against my budget.

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^waving to Michelle* Good to see you on here again!

Laura, I think I need to make a proper paper list. I think I shoot from the hip too much when I'm out shopping, and that's were my mistakes are made. If it's not specifically on my list, I should make myself go home and see if that item works into my paper plan, and if I'd be willing to forgo something else in favor of it. THEN I can go back and buy it (either that or the impulse would have worn off). I love hearing about how everyone deals with this.

carter

Laura, I love your wardrobe analysis posts! I'm inrigued by the 5 year shopping plan as well. When I first saw it months ago, I felt like it was very sparse, but I think that's likely because her wardrobe is significantly smaller than mine. I have played a bit with how it might look for me, but I still haven't gotten to some formula that makes me comfortable. I would love to read about your thought process and progress on this.

I also totally agree with you on the sale issue. On one hand, I think I would be better served holding out for sales to replace the basics or core items like jeans, tees, etc and be willing to pay retail for the style/trend/statement pieces. But I can also argue that the opposite plan might be more appropriate.

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