From 2013-2020 I pulled back on my wardrobe. I eventually got my annual spending on apparel down to less than $500 a year, which for a New Yorker who loves fashion, I felt was no small feat.
This year I decided to see what would happen by letting the inhibitions loose. It’s part of a year of more values based spending and relaxing our extreme frugality.
Below is the picture with the full clothing spend arranged by brand, Condition, where I bought it, what the item was, its current status in my closet. I also evaluated whether I felt like I really needed it, and whether it was worth it. Then the cost. If you can’t see it you can click on it to make it bigger
Out with the old
– at the beginning of the year I removed around 20 items from my closet. Mostly due to wear and tear and me being tired of wearing it for 5+ years. This created the room in my tiny nyc closet
– post partum, my feet gained half a size and my hips slightly widened
– I added 22 pieces of clothing (20 of which are part of my capsule wardrobe), 2 pairs of shoes, and 3 leather goods
Guidelines for how I shop
– I must love the item. It must fit easily
– It has to be in neutral colors or in the red family for capsule wardrobe
– Usually, I try to buy quality. For fast fashion items I am not going to splurge on a trend.
– I love Express because fit, but I’m moving away because quality
– Covid meant I bought more items without being able to try on. Not ideal and led to many misfits
– I try to go for classic silhouettes and styles
– If I have multiples of a similar type (e.g. jeans, white tops, etc) I try not to go over 3
Cashmere
– I discovered cashmere last year. Am obsessed. Upgraded many sweaters.
Of these 3 that I bought from Nordstrom I kept just the oatmeal. I knew my cats’ fur would get on the black one and the pink one didn’t look good on me
This gray sweater from Aqua I ended up wearing all the time. It looks great on me
While not cashmere, I loved this sweater dress from BR. I didn’t need the belt in retrospect
The $550 Allsaints Wool coat
– My investment piece. It did later go on sale but my size often sells out so I bought full price, guilt free. I wear it every day
Fancy dresses
– My weak spot is dresses. I don’t need them often so cost per wear is high.
I got a cute little black dress but it feels a bit itchy and too hot for the summer
I forgot to get a dress on my vacation to Colorado so I grabbed this white dress from H&M. It’s all right – the fit could be better
– I caved to buying two from Yumi Kim. They’re gorgeous and easily tailored
What I didn’t buy
– An LV bag – not worth the price (both new and used), don’t love the brand
– A coach wallet – not worth the retail price
– This Max Mara outfit – no justification for the cost $2000 but it looked amazing and I’m having a hard time finding the exact match on resale websites
If anyone is great at tracking down this belted blazer from Max Mara let me know!
– Veronica Beard blazer. I loved their blazers but had a hard time justifying the cost per wear
What I didn’t like
– My Aqua faux leather pants ripped after two wears
– I’m not buying underwear from VS anymore
– Chicwish – I liked the top I kept, but I had to pay my own shipping to ship heavy coats to return
Don’t buy a ton from Chicwish – you’d need to pay for returns
– Italic did away with their membership so I felt my membership money was wasted. The second Italic bag I bought was too small – by the time I decided it, I’d used it too much to return it. I LOVE my pink Leah camera bag and you see me with it almost every day
I thought the pink bag would be great for going out but it doesn’t fit a wallet and phone
– Don’t buy a summer dresses on impulse
Cute dress but only wore twice
– I wanted to love Fashion Foundation where you buy samples on discount, but I ended up not liking most items. I think the issue is that it’s not brands I’m familiar with and I can’t return (I got Rebecca Minkoff and Alepel shoes and a Saks top from them)
Really tried to love the mission of Fashion Foundation but fit is an issue
Letting go of my love of Express
Express and I go way way back to high school. I still think a few of their items are good as essentials. But my post partum body now hates their pants. These are all the items I tried and did not love
But this one top did work out
Next year I think the goal is to keep to less than $1500 total spend with a focus on better fitting pants, as I’m happy with my tops.
When I move to socal, I also want to make it a goal to stay away from places like the luxury centers of South Coast Plaza and Rodeo Drive. I found that I just feel unhappy and triggered being around luxury. A part of me really wants it but I know it’s mainly for the wrong reasons. And until I have more peace of mind, it’s better not to put myself in that stressful a situation.
