Winter wrap-up (long) - YouLookFab Forum

Spring equinox isn't for a few weeks but I'm calling it functionally spring for me. This was the first quarter for me of my 2015 goals, and I made some progress on some more than others. Quick recap of goals: continue tracking my purchases and sticking to my seasonal budget; center my buying around big shops four times a year; increase my average spent per item (buy less, buy better); investigate some new-to-me brands; upgrade my workout wear; track my wears and CPW.

First off, I gave up on tracking wears pretty quickly, and haven't tried to start again. It just feels onerous and makes things less fun for me. Maybe I'll do it in the future sometime.

Budget: I bought a lot in December, with all the Xmas sales and such, so I felt a bit out of control. On the plus-side I only kept items that I really liked and were good deals, and managed to fit it all in my budget, by spending less the rest of the season. I'm really enjoying keeping track of everything, and the list of items I bought is a good sop when I feel like buying something new - sometimes I've forgotten to wear something after I buy it! (Thought for next year: pre-save some extra $ for the holiday deals?)

Purchases: This was the last winter for several of my heavier sweaters due to pilling, so I wanted to find replacements. I found a couple and should be good to start next fall. Mostly bought in-season, about 2/3rds, with a few items bought out of season, all from thrift/consignment. Last year I ended up buying a lot of shoes because all the old pairs started to go at the same time, so I've tried to keep on top of that: I bought 3 new pairs in winter, one pair of boots, one pair of flats, and one pair of wedge heels.

Less but better: FAIL! My goal had been to buy 20 items each quarter (not counting undergarments etc.) and ended up buying 39. Right on my 2014 pace but not really slowing down at all. I wonder if this is a goal that really fits with the way I like to shop and dress (cheapskate bargain-hunting variety seeker).

Workout wear: not much progress made here, since I was dealing with a health issue most of Dec/Jan and not working out anyway. I do have a pair of new trainers on backorder from Nordstrom right now.

New brands: Just did the Everlane try-on, and also have been investigating some new brands and stores.

11 years ago

carter

Veteran

It sounds like you're off to a pretty good start! Hooray for staying in budget through the holiday sales. Do you feel like the seasonal approach allowed you to have the things you needed ready when you needed them? I have this thing about being "prepared"...like the world will fall apart if I haven't found something by the time I want to wear it;-).

Number limits may not be your thing. I want them to be mine, but i just don't think that's going to work for me.

Are you making a plan for your Spring shopping? Did you shop from a list in Winter? If so, did that work well for you? I find that about half my shopping is list driven and half is see-it-buy-it. You?

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

I'm planning for spring right now - got a couple things, others are on order - so I'm starting to think about that. I did put up the 'proper winter' sweaters and cords last weekend, and pulled out the warmer of my spring stuff that had been in storage. Literally as I write this it is pouring down rain (and hailing!) for the first time in weeks, so there may be a couple more weeks of winter left.

I've been keeping a wish list, but it's usually a combination of things I need to replace and specific items I've seen that have struck my fancy. It's not a comprehensive list of what I need for a particular season. I find that I remember it subconsciously, although - I buy something unplanned without looking at the list and bring it home to realize that something very similar was on the list the whole time.

The quality/cost thing is interesting because I keep thinking that I should want to buy nicer things, and occasionally I do, but it's so easy to find bargains if you spend a little time on it, that spending more just seems a waste to my Calvinist sensibilities. It would be one thing if I were annoyed with my clothes and finding that they fell apart or something, but generally they're quite sturdy.

CocoLion

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are five factors driving my wardrobe size.

The desire to be current and stylish. This drives acquisition.
The pure love of shopping, whether retail or on-line. Drives acquisition.
Space. Should limit acquisition but in my case, it doesn't. I don't live in a city with close quarters. I have a lot of space.
Overwhelming factor. Limits acquisition but I forget about it easily. The sheer volume of clothing adds stress to getting dressed due to the many possibilities.
Budget factor. Limits acquisition of high-end pieces, drives purchases at places like H&M, Zara, and sales anywhere.

It's a constant push and pull. Actually #4 has become the biggest motivator to reduce my shopping and wardrobe size. As for #5, I think this will be hard to change. I got back from SF yesterday, I was there for 4 days with my boyfriend doing cultural things (SF Ballet), eating out, exploring and of course, shopping. I got all of the things on my list for Spring (track pants, slip on sneakers, real running shoes, a leather waist belt). Plus I got some impulse things. Two of the impulse things were all things I had seen before and mulled about for an entire month before buying. So they were not needs like my list items but they were things I fell in love with and did not forget about.

Now, I have been wanting an Alexander Wang shoulder bag for a long time. I still would not have been able to purchase it even if I sacrificed all of the things on my needs list plus all of the impulse purchases. I still would have been hundreds of dollars short. So I just need to accept that about myself. I am not wealthy, and real designer goods are out of my reach. I want that Alexander Wang bag but I also want track pants, and need the sneakers and belt.

Phew! That was long. To get to my point. Select those things that you are willing to accept about yourself. In my case, it's the budget factor (#5) and #1 the desire to be current and stylish. I really would like to work on #2 (and find other fun things beyond shopping) and #4 (have a smaller quantity of clothes so I don't feel as overwhelmed).

I hope there is a kernel of wisdom here for you and not just a load of rambling about myself!

PS -- We had hail a few hours ago too! Next time I'm in SF we should meet up, if you can get downtown.

Totally hear you on not spending more for an item than needs to be spent! I have this issue with clothes as well. I'll freely spend what what I want on other things, but for some reason, very few non-leather or cashmere things meet the spend-freely test for me. One thing I started last year that helped me was to decide on a threshhold limit for retail prices for various items. I then felt free to shop sales, NR, TJMaxx, etc because I could judge a product based on its "retail" price, not the price I paid. I think my bottom retail prices were something like $40 for tees, $75 for sweaters, $150 for blazers, etc. As an example...I sent back all my $15 Everlane tees. Instead, I found some Tahari tees at TJMaxx for $17...retail $58. I have a couple of them from last year, and I love them.

CocoLion, I'd love to get together sometime! Thank you for the reminder that the entertainment/variety value of shopping, for those of us that like it, is worth something too. I'm unlikely to get an all-designer budget anytime soon, at least not without sacrificing other things I don't want to give up, so that's something I'm ok with.

It's more that, well, I'll be 40 next year, and I keep on feeling like I need to be somehow more serious in how I dress and shop, less trendy. maybe it's just an idea I've imposed upon myself, and not something that I really want to do?

Carter, the budget floor idea is an interesting one; you've found it helpful? I'm not sure how I'd manage that with thrifted and consignment stuff; I'd just have to make an approximation. I have stopped buying brands I've never heard of when I'm thrifting, or brands I would never buy firsthand. But mostly that would be obvious with quality issues even if I ignored the brands. I mean, take Everlane - they say their tees have a retail equivalent that's higher than what they sell them for, since they don't have the cost of stores and brand advertising, etc.

rachylou

You've given me food for thought re. Number of items bought. I'm space limited. And while I've purged a lot of old stuff, I'm (over) filling right back up...

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