My post today was meant to be about a lesson I learned during my NO SPEND but I’m pausing on that after the following texts/emails came to my phone within a couple hours of each other;
Interestingly the day before I received all of these messages, I made a purchase. An item that I spent a lot of time thinking about during my NO SPEND. The purchase was well researched, high-quality, versatile and was meeting a very specific hole I identified in my wardrobe. I felt great about the purchase.
Something I have alluded to in the past is that I am a capital B; BUDGETer. I have a set amount that I allot to myself to spend on clothes every month and it allows me to either purchase a single mid-priced item (several fast fashion items) or to bank it for a high-priced item in the future.
Texts and emails like this send me into a tizzy. The barrage of sale alerts around Black Friday literally prompted my NO BUY because, I realize now, I needed to draw boundaries to NO BUY so that I wouldn’t fall prey to browsing every sale that came my way (or feeling FOMO for not participating in it).
Seeing these texts was a wake up call to me; everything is always on-sale. You can purchase something and the very next day a sale will launch that will make you want to buy more. Or you will carefully wish list an item and thoughtfully purchase it on-sale and then receive a text that deeper discounts were made.
I write this as a reminder to myself, and anyone else who needs it (especially those embarking on NO- or LOW- BUYs this year) that the most powerful tools in our personal style journey are as such;
Loving the clothes you already have by having fun in the myriad ways you can style them
Remind ourselves that there is not one single piece that is going to make THE difference in your closet
A wish list is a powerful antidote to prevent sale fever (you can wish list your favorite BRANDS, SPECIFIC items or even an idea (i.e. suede shoulder bag))
I think the Tibi sale is a good example of wishlisting a specific BRAND so when Tibi launches it’s twice annual sale, you can participate with intention. The Doen sale, on the other hand, might be better off wishlisting a specific item since their sales are more frequent and can lead to “buying just to get a brand item.”
I can say, gratefully, that none of these sales tempted me for more than a split second and I credit my 6 weeks of not spending. I am a much more thoughtful purchaser now and browsing the sales would have led to a frivolous purchase (fun sometimes!) but my need was already met.
And now for a very fun fashion tip that will hopefully help you love your closet like it did mine. The lovely,
, recently recommended Hannah Louise Poston and I immediately knew I wanted to mention her content here.My favorite of Hannah’s recent videos is here talking about proportion, which I have talked about before;
To summarize, Hannah talks about how there are essentially 4 proportions we can play with; completed fitted, over-sized top with a fitted bottom, a fitted top with an over-sized bottom or a total over-sized look.
Here’s a street style version of these silhouettes;
And here’s a realistic look at how I make these silhouettes happen in my closet;
Hannah suggests finding your favorite silhouette(s) and finding the heroes from your closet based on that. So, for example, I love a fitted top with an oversized bottom so my trousers and oversized jeans are the heroes for me; alongside my tried and true t-shirts.
Perhaps the next time we are stuck in front of our closets, we simply try for a different silhouette. You wore a chunky knit and jeans yesterday? Try the same knit with wide-leg trousers today!
Thanks again for such a wonderful post. I love the way you marry a couple of topics and it makes so much sense. Have you watched HLP minimal closet change? I loved that one and even inspired to look for more. And my shopping resolution for this year was simply to write down everything I buy, yet that alone has impacted me. Simply making me aware. 😘
I relate to all your observations so far. It’s a great feeling when a no-buy no longer feels like a punishment! I’m not great at styling myself and changing things up in how I dress but I’ve been r reaching for my rarely worns more these days and I like that feeling.