SYC does NOT work for me! SYB from here on out.

I caved after realizing I was not willing to go over $200 for that unique leather jacket, which would have certainly blown the budget for the year. I instead immediately got some layering tees off eBay. I realized that a) the jacket was a splurge and not a need and b) I actually had a wardrobe hole for short sleeved tees to go with my black skirts.
Today I guess I just continued with the floodgates once they opened I got $50 of random goodies at Old Navy, but mostly want the tulip skirt and caramel colored tank. The rest was sort of padding the order for free shipping. I do like the pieces, but likely wouldn't have picked them up otherwise. Of course, this is exactly why they do this shipping ploy lol!
So I am left with roughly $31 in the yearly budget, if my gray skinny cords that are backordered are keepers. Just enough for a great silver cuff, I think ha ha ha.

Firmly in the camp of SYB and responsibly satisfying my fashion urges,
Malina

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14 years ago

ironkurtin

Veteran

You can return the items you didn't want though, right? From the ON order.

(website)

yep - but hopefully I'll want them. Ideally, I wanted a red cashmere scarf for winter. But fleece is fine for now And I'm thinking another white tee can always come in handy.

Anonymous

Or how 'bout SYWH (shop your wardrobe holes). I'm having some luck with making rules for what categories I'm allowed to shop for.

I never realized that clothing stores are set up a lot like grocery stores. All of the healthy "essential basics" are in boring hard-to-sort-though stacks around the perimeter of the store. All of the junk food (read: cheap tat) is arranged in eye-catching displays right up front and center!

Claire, I didn't think I had any real holes left - but was wrong! I am still basically doing a 1 in 1 out so that's within my rules, as is the SYB. I just get overzealous occasionally and try to SYC, with always failing and falling back to my budget.
We were supposed to be moving by now, which was the impetus for the SYC. It has since gotten pushed back month by month and so I fell back into my monthly budget. Which I find makes me MUCH happier than trying to abstain altogether. This is my lesson - how much new do I need to keep my wardrobe feeling updated, without my closet getting out of control?
I have even sketched out a plan for next year, involving a smaller budget and less overall pieces added. I think most of my overhaul has happened with this first year. I envision a couple of pieces in each category each season will do the trick to keep things fresh but manageable.

Anna

Active Member

I need a definition of terms, please. I figured out Shop Your Budget but what is SYC? Thanks

annagybe

SYC = Shop Your Closet.

rae

High five for SYWHWYB (shop your wardrobe holes within your budget)! I can't do SYC, either. I don't think the closet is functional enough yet, for one. For another thing, I just love to shop and try new things.

Kate

Mo, sounds like a plan! I've managed to go one or two months without shopping, but every time I've tried a several month SYC I wind up ending it early. The reality is that some months of the year there's just nothing in the stores that is perfect for me, and so it's easy to abstain. But there are just as many months where there are a ton of clothes that are perfect for me. I simply can't maintain an SYC during those times, and that's ok! You are in good company

I hope that the move happens soon so you can take full advantage of layers and your cold-weather clothes!

Lisa

A main reason why I keep trying to do SYC is to stop my impulse shopping. As long as you are getting a benefit from your SYC experience, who cares if you stick to the entire time frame or not. It's all about learning and changing habits in my opinion.

Lisa, I agree, it is *totally* about learning! Your shopping habits, how to remix your clothes, a wardrobe purchasing strategy (which was nonexistant for 40 years for me!), how much is *enough*. And I found for me it's more like a diet, I do better with controlled moderation. I never had a budget before in my life. The biggest lesson is how much new/fresh influx I want/need to keep it interesting but manageable, both in size and dollars.

By trying not to buy and then caving and getting the sought after items, I found the certain amount that works for me. And I'm trying to plan next year with this in mind.

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