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The winter 5 and plans for shopping fast

shedev

Veteran

The last Item of the winter 5 has arrived and I'm ready to begin the shopping fast.
The Five
1. Guess puffer- Nordstrums. Wanted a non black or grey coat, love the lacing detail under the arms.
2. Rick Owens jeans- Yoox. the details on these are awesome.
3. Helmut Lang cardi- Ebay.
4. Helmut Lang top- Ebay. I love HL from a few years ago, but in fall 15 they changed away from their drapey awesomeness.
5. Nike Rosche flyknit. Nike.com.
The Essentials
1. Geox top- Century 21. The sleeves are sheer past the elbows and have thumholes. This is an underlayer that I don't plan to wear alone.
2. Express lace up jeans- Express. They have carried these in the past. They discontinued them just as I was going to pull the trigger. The higher waist is really good for me.

I feel ready now to start the shopping fast. I will likely abstain from purchasing in March as well. I'll begin planning my S/S five in April. I plan to do some sewing in the meantime.
I'm also going to reclaim my WIW spot, which got lost in setting up a desk in my spare room.

Guess Faux Fur Trim Hooded Lace-Up Detail Quilted Coat

$198.00 $129.90

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DRKSHDW By RICK OWENS Denim pants

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high waisted lace-up side ankle legging

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Shopping

25 replies

Latest reply was from Jaime

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

I picked up an olive puffer in the fall, too. Unfortunately it really only works at temps above about 45. I am into the olive and had a serious parka in mind, but all the nicest looking ones were trimmed with real fur and I don't go there. I'm glad those laced-side jeans are working for you. I tried three pairs and ultimately decided that I'm going to pass on that trend even though I like it a lot.

Teresa

I am planning to try the five item plan, you've inspired me. Do you incorporate a budget as well, or do you find that the five item limit keeps spending lower?

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

These all seem very true to your style, shedev. The two Helmut Lang pieces are especially fab. I very much enjoy seeing your five each season, so thank you for that!

Anonymous

I'm intrigued by the 5 plan......something about having to work hard for the perfect pieces appeals to me. Did you set the list at the beginning of the season and then go to work seeking them out?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What Lisa P said. I think you are developing a superbly curated wardrobe this way. It's wonderful to see.

carter

Veteran

I always love hearing about your 5PW. Is it serving you as well as it seems to be? Do you feel like you're happier with your wardrobe? Is your purchase success rate significantly better since you consider each item so carefully?

shedev

Veteran

Ummila, I don't go there with fur either. Luckily, my puffer is warm. I have plenty of jackets for above freezing. I'm glad the side lace jeans work well too.

Teresa, I've done the 5 piece for a little over a year. The first year, I didn't use a budet. I got a lot of great items, but I spent a lot of money. This year I have a budget for the 5 and one for the essentials.

Some things about the 5 piece, it works for me because I'm less trend driven than a lot of people and want to get a lot of wear out of my things. I wear things a little differently each year, which helps me to keep from getting bored of my things too easily. I wanted to break out of the buy purge cycle.
Thanks Jenn, it's great to hear from others who do the 5.
Lisap, I have an idea of some things I'd like, but not a specific list. My wants can be pretty specific. I was interested in patchwork jeans, but all the pairs I saw were lighter and brighter than I wanted. My main 3 criteria for the 5 piece are that they advance my persona, bring some attribute that I don't have, and mix well in my closet. I don't think you have anything to lose by giving the 5 a try for a season.

Anonymous

Breaking the buy/purge cycle is definitely a priority for me too this year . I am not trend - driven either , and I make up my own mind about what I wear based on gut feel. Choosing 5 key pieces seems doable , responsible , and thoughtful. I tried playing around with cheap H&M stuff as a way to introduce trends and different colours / patterns into my wardrobe , but it all gets purged , after being rarely worn . What's the point of that ?

I like your criteria too . Advancing style , adding something , and blending in with what one already has . Bingo . I'm in ! This has been a most unexpected source of direction for me , and I'm pretty pumped ! Thank you !

P.s. Out of curiosity , have you set your 5 pieces for Spring yet ?

Anonymous

Never mind that last question - I see you plan to do this in April , which also sounds like a good idea to me .

Joy

Veteran

Once you have a pretty good working wardrobe, the idea of 5 new pieces plus a budget for essentials that may need to be replaced sounds like a great idea. Your new pieces look perfect for your style.

Brooklyn

Veteran

These are great choices for your style. As always, I really admire the cohesiveness of your wardrobe. I like your purchasing criteria too.

Style Fan

Veteran

I like the pieces you have picked. Great idea for having a beautiful and workable wardrobe.

Deborah

Veteran

Brilliant items for your style, this is working fabulously for you. I fell of the 5pw wagon completely but am refocusing for 2017. Having said that, I have well and truly ceased the buy /purge cycle and am thrilled with and love everything in my closet. I have also shifted to quality over quantity. I think our goals are similar and I appreciate the inspiration you provide. I have just added some new items using Christmas gift money and now I think I'm done for a while.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I like the idea of a "winter 5" and then a "S/S five" along with a shopping fast. It's much better than saying "I'm not shopping at all" because we all know how that goes! I'm another one who needs to make a plan/make a budget and stick to it. Thanks for the inspiration.

Anonymous

Perfect.

El Cee

Veteran

I love your Winter 5... especially the puffer coat. I can see all of these pieces fitting in so well with your style persona. I think your seasonal 5-piece plan is an ingenious way to avoid the lure of random shopping.

JAileen

Veteran

These are great choices for you. I love your olive puffer. I think olive goes with everything. I admire your self control. I definitely need to shop less, but I don't know if I could do the shopping fast. At first I read your title as needing to shop fast!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Nicely done, Shedev.

madeline

Veteran

Okay Fabbers! I have been quietly reading along for a while now, but I had to post about the Winter 5. Love love love this idea! Purged over the holidays and so far I have purchased one gray striped Cuddledud turtleneck, one pair of tall white Baffin snow boots and a pair of cognac color Ugg gloves. ( I already own a pair of pink Ugg gloves, super warm).
I live in the Northeast so these items will up my comfort in the cold temps. Two more items left: old Navy blush pink skinny cords (so cute and will go with quite a few of my gray sweaters) and a black nylon tote. Done till S S 2017!

LaPed

Veteran

I love your 5-piece posts, so inspiring. You've really got your style nailed down, which must feel so good. I'll get there someday, if I can ever get off the replenishing-basics hamster wheel.

AM

Veteran

Very interested in the continued discussion on 5pc seasonal style building. Great to see your selections and the thinking behind them. Thank you (again).

Sara L.

Veteran

I always enjoy seeing the 5 pieces you picked. I like those lace up jeans and they'll add interest and fun to your outfits.

Lyn D.

Veteran

This is something I like the sound of, and it seems to be working well for you.

shedev

Veteran

Suz, I agree that this has really helped me curate my wardrobe. It took my aspirational style and made it just my style. I didn't want to hijack Jenn's thread, but I think the pink coat is a statement. It seems that whether we call them basics or essentials, or core pieces can be hard to identify. My challenge was that my basics aren't so basic. Also, I would say that the RO booties were essential to my style. They became instant workhorses. They were also pretty spendy. There is a money threshold to what is an essential, Jenn and I both chose a $100. limit. A few things of my 5 have been under, but they were statement enough that I decided to call them 5.
Carter, It is serving me really well. The majority of my wardrobe budget goes to items with really high happiness factor. They tend to be really spendy. I also get to enjoy my purchases more because I'm not constantly on the hunt for more.
Lisa p, I agree about the stuff from H&M or other fast fashion places. I went through the same thing.
Joy, I didn't have it quite as nailed down as I thought I did in the beginning. It took my most of the first year to figure out what a basic was to me. That should be easy, but it wasn't. The types of lists that I was seeing didn't work for me. They seemed like the 10 items every women should own lists. Those are always orphans for me. I think I have it nailed down now.
Deb, I look forward to seeing your new items.
Karie, the fast is because I truly am experiencing shopping fatigue at the moment. I'm not even looking at stuff much.
Madeline, nice to meet you. I also live in the Northeast. Your Items sound super cozy to me.
La Pedestrienne, doing this really helped me to nail down my style. It started out as a year long experiment. I wasn't sure I could stick with it, and was kinda surprised when I did. I tweaked it a bit to meet my needs this year.
Thank you all for your positive comments. I'm truly humbled that I've inspired anyone. I use 3 seasons instead of 2 because I have a wide range of temperatures. In recent years, our high has gotten up to 110f, and low of -20f. I think it is more important to have a system that works than to conform to someone else's rules. But once I determined what my rules were, I stuck to them for the year. That creates the structure that I need to practice PPP.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

This is really fascinating. If I were to identify my essential 5 it would have to be looking backward. I wonder if I could do it at all!