The Shopping Ban / Frugal Fashion Thread

[FrugalFashionista]

Tentatively dipping my toes in here ---
Do you love clothes, shoes, accessories, and beauty products - perhaps a bit too much?
Have you self-prescribed a shopping ban, are you on a strict budget, or are you trying to learn to shop more mindfully for other reasons? Are you a budding recessionista, thriftionista, frugal fashionista - or would you like to become one?
Would you like to do this with like-minded people, still looking stylish and up to date?

This thread could be a place for mutual support, inspiration and creative tweaks (planning outfits from what you already have; charity shopping, swaps, repurposing).

My personal goal: no more clothes, shoe or beauty purchases in March.

I'll tell you more about why I am here in true 12-step tradition, but we need a few like-minded people first

To me, eBaying is rarely very rewarding financially (you have to factor in time spent doing it and seller fees), but I made about 1000? in a about two weeks selling maternity and children's stuff. And I intend to do another round of eBaying next summer. It's also a form of self-discipline and punishment (next time I am going to buy something, it's good to remember how time-consuming decluttering can be). I try to buy items I can use for a longer time, but of course it does not always work out.

I've been out a lot today saw lots of women in my part of the city wearing bootcuts. Teamed either with wedges or with flat treaded suede boots. People here are fastidious about their appearance and quite well off, so it may be something you want to consider ie don't get rid of them quite yet. I love street fashion, reading people's outfits (lots of ideas to copy).

I'm spending warm anti-shopping vibes to SteppingOnLego. Don't browse online shops, read this thread and these columns instead (by Dr Benson of To Buy Or Not To Buy fame). Have been flipping through the book and it has really sound advice. I love the Mindfulness part in particular.

ALittleOfWhatYouFancy re clearout and Scarlet re outfit planning.

Fairlyliz I too have more posh things that is healthy. My style personality is classic (plus I like girly touches in some contexts). I've started wearing my pretty dresses in my daily life and it's much more 'me' than loungewear (hey ho, lounging in a silk pussy bow blouse at the mo). Sometimes a leather jacket or a knit blazer will tone down a dress, and I have a brilliant non-traditional denim jacket. And I wear tweed / boucle Chanel jacket type things nearly always with jeans and my coatdresses with black leggings (or pseudo leather leggings). Send us some pics (Pinterest is brilliant for this) of what you have and we'll give you feedback!

Thank you frugal for that timely reminder. It's been crazy busy at work today just sat down with a cup of tea and my email inbox is full of updates/newsletters/come and buy stuff from online shops. I think I need to do some unsubscribing as starting to realise how they reel me in.

Hello - am off out in a minute - night out with the girls, but we live rurally so not even bothering to get changed out of my Fitflop polar boots!

A couple of pertinent quotes from To Buy or Not to Buy before I hot foot it to the pub - have been flicking through it again today - it talks so much sense, and reflects a lot of what has been said so far.

Who you are becomes confused with what you have. You overfocus on impressing others and shortchange yourself when it comes to taking practical, positive steps to improve your spirit

Hi everyone. I read the link project 333, thank you to whoever linked it. This afternoon I had partial success applying it to my wardrobe. The website says you can adapt it to suit, so my 33 items do not count vest tops (counted them as underwear ), outer coats, accessories, shoes, jewellery. Maybe I need another allowance of 33 for these!) This may make it a pretty weak attempt, but my wardrobe is much more streamlined and I have already seen different ways of combining what's left.

What was removed either went in a charity bag or a separate wardrobe for later consideration.

Also, in the spirit of this thread, a large order due next week (ordered before reading this!) will be scrutinised very carefully. If I keep anything, I will really have to justify it in terms of quality, value and wearability!

Thank you everyone for all the inspiration!

Hello, is there room for me? I need lessons in not-spending. I also need to do a lot of eBay-ing. I have started over the last couple of months, but I need a proper clear out before the summer. I'm also on the minimalist thread, trying to abide by the 'one in, one out' rule. I'm getting better, slowly!

Hi, I'm in please! Last year we thought we were going to move house and I packed up over twenty big boxes of my can't get rid of too small clothes :-( That did not include the two chest of drawers and large double wardrobe of stuff or the ten black bags of clothes I gave my friend.
At the beginning of last year I lost 40 lbs, I bought smaller clothes and even some smaller too small clothes to wear when I got to goal, it all went wrong and I am back to my start weight. having sold my too fat clothes I am very limited in what I can actually wear. The loft is full of boxes and the wardrobe has about ten things in that I wear all the time.
I DO NOT WANT TO BUY ANY MORE DARNED CLOTHES! I want to use the ones I have.
I have no clue as to style or beauty so would love to see some of your Pinterest boards. I'm on there under the name Cuddlyrunner if anyone can find me and let me see their boards for ideas.

I can definately relate to the quotes re:compulsive shopping, I'm not interested in expensive gadgets, posh things for the house or owning a nice car but I cannot stop buying clothes. I know it's because I don't feel good about myself, every time I buy something I somehow imagine that 'this thing' will be 'the thing' that makes me feel good and look amazing. I've also been trying to lose half a stone for 3 years, clearly it would be better to just accept that maybe this is my natural weight rather than being in constant battle with this . But of course i know really that all this comes from within and that if i can begin to learn to accept that i am lovely just the way i am these unhelpful behaviours would stop. Worryingly I'm a therapist specialising in low self esteem-it's a classic case of learning to practice what I preach

I have just discovered Pinterest. You can find me here: hipoptimist

Agee Ebay time consuming,but makes me feel virtuous.
I love jersey dresses in summer,they are so easy.I have perhaps half a dozen,maybe more. But in my mind they are 'old',ranging from 5 years/to last summer.
So hunting for more,even though there is nothing out there vastly different to what I already have.

Agree with those who say how time consuming eBay is. That said, I do sell periodically. Usually only 5-8 items at a time as I find the physical chore of washing, ironing, photographing in a good light, listing blah blah too onerous. One tip that works well for me is to sell similar things/same sized clothes at the same time. This works especially well for kids' clothes because people looking for e.g. 12-18 mo girls' clothes will happily look to see what else a seller is offering. Oh, and combine postage on items; buyers like that.

Women's stuff that has sold well for me has included White Stuff (yes, I am one of those who bought wheelbarrow loads of the clothes are pregnancies), Next, Boden and sometimes Brora. High end high street tends not to do so well and premium denim often goes for peanuts. If I want to get rid of stuff like that I usually take it to a dress agency. They sell it for a share of the profits - usually 60:40. Sounds a lot but often works out favourably when stacked up against eBay and PayPal fees.

FF - I am a bootcut fan. I do wear skinnies too, and also flares, but have never stopped thinking that bootcuts are very flattering, on me at least, perhaps because they balance out my broadish shoulders with my 5'10" height. I wear them very long, always in a dark wash and at the moment am teaming them with silk pussy bow blouses, fitted jersey blazers and either wedges or pointed toe burgundy chelsea boot style brogues.

awaywego parts of your post could be written by me. I feel sickened at times by the amount I have spent on clothes, chasing that one thing that will transform me and make me happy.
Of course it's really about how I feel within. My self esteem is very low. I struggle most days to think of anything positive about me.
Without wanting to sound arrogant, I often get told I am pretty. I am a skinny minny which friends who struggle with their weight envy. I am told I'm stylish. I have a good career that I am passionate about. But it's like I can't believe all these things about myself.

Shirley thanks so much for the quotes. If anyone here overshops because of feeling bored/tired/dissatisfied with your body/unhappy with life/feeling trapped, it's definitely very empowering and worth reading. Reading it was painful for me but it has helped a lot. Away I can recommend it - if you read it, give us a professional opinion what you think!

We are working on the swapboard and it should be up soon.
Are we going to have a launch party - is it going to be mobbed
I think you'll need to have a Pinterest account to play so if you are planning to host a swap (=offer an item) create yourself an account. And if you want to grab one of those items an account may make it easier too.

We are talking about dark stuff quite a bit (perhaps because there are not so many places where you can discuss these things), very good, but do remember that we want to look fantastic and feel good too! So any trend/fashion/budget style&beauty tips are really welcome!

And this is Day 2 of no purchases for me!

Fantastic thread OP, you really seem to have struck a chord with many people, myself included. Hope you dont mind me being 'fashionably late' to the party and that I havent missed too much as things seem to be gathering momentum. Still waiting for your explanation of why you started the thread, look forward to that and will check in again later on to see how things progressing.

Am so sorry to hear of those of you who feel low in self confidence. I've been there and it sucks, and I well remember spending a fortune on clothes to try to improve it.

One of my aims for the next week or two is to look at my (very A/W appropriate) wardrobe and try to figure out how to make it work for spring. Admittedly the lack of wafty maxi dresses and short shorts is unlikely to be a problem in the UK summer, but I probably can't continue to rock shearling lined doc martens and opaques all year...

Welcome all newcomers.
I think there are nearly 100 of us here now...

Repeating my story (not because it's particularly interesting, just to give people an idea). And if you scroll back about 3-4 pages you'll get a recap of people's goals and interests. Not everyone is a shopping addict, many here just want to consider their purchases very carefully.

Hi, I'm Frugal, ex Material Girl , I a shopaholic and my story is nothing special. Over the past years, my life has been quite limited because of small children and various other constraints. I work, mostly full time, but maternity leaves and several years of p/t work have slowly but steadily depleted my savings. After childbirths, I had the usual frumpy phase and then underwent a joyful gradual transformation - I lost the baby weight, found my style, colors, favorite shops etc etc. But once you get started it's not so easy to stop. I have a tendency to use shopping as an outlet and a way to fill a void. Sometime last year I realized that this cannot continue and that I have to do something about it. I have taken steps in the right direction (can really recommend the book "To Buy Or Not To Buy" - if you overshop, it's very compassionate and it really helps), but am still vulnerable and in need of support. I want to look good and really love fashion, but also want to put money into my pension plan and break free from the strong pressure to consume. Things (not to mention my bank balance) have been improving a lot this year, but I had a big relapse yesterday. And here we are, AA style

Am pleased at references to bootcuts.
I look so much better in skinny flares/bootcuts than skinnies,especially in spring/summer when not wearing boots.
I like flares/bootcuts with wedges and white tee,little cardigan etc.

Can I get some style advice on here or shall I hide and start a new thread? I want a consensus on what may suit my shape but I have no idea what suits me since DS2's arrival floored my shape(beyond bootcuts probably).

It would help too if it's done before i do a wardrobe purge, Id rather get rid of what may make me look a blimp rather than what actually suits my shape to save costs IYSWIM?

Got stuck in traffic on way back from Barcelona practices, Frugal, some guy driving an infiniti with a bumper sticker saying 'my other car's an RB9' held us up and another guy, a Frenchie driving a black lotus caused one almighty pile up. but I'm here now, DH in almighty bad mood, keeps muttering and saying something about just like bloody Prost.

I'd def be in. BUT....

Could someone PLEASE tell me best way actually just how you do it AT ALL as no frickin clue? to E-Bay clothes?

And please act as if you were explaining something to a 4 year old

OH - and are there diff ways for diff things? IE, designer dress, Topshop kit, shedload T-shirts etc?

And is it a total faff and uber time-consuming?

Joining in with a helpful link (not a buying site, a nice safe advice blog) - www.puttingmetogether.com/2012/02/building-remixable-wardrobe-part-1.html?m=1

Frugal, yes very happy to start the planned purchases thread. Have some big assignments coming up so not lots of time to keep an eye on it but I'm sure others could help me!

Will link back to this one to keep it in the same spirit, if anyone wants to then jump between the two then they can or just avoid it if click-happy!

wewerehere, I would either post on here or on the 'planned purchases' thread (once I've set it up!). I'm very happy to and I'm sure other people would be able to give advice on either thread about clothes/shapes/colours etc, I guess it will just depend whether you are happy with links or not.

Just a recommendation for the reading list - a book called 'willpower - why self control is the secret of success' by Roy F. Baumeister.

The book explains that we have limited willpower and it's important to conserve it and direct it towards the things that are most important - it helps you identify when and why you might be most like to give in to temptation. It has a fantastic section on dieting - it convinced me to stop dieting and be easier on myself and since then I have actually lost about half a stone and have decided that the weight I am is fine! I can't recommend it highly enough.

Someone may have to guide me through pininterest.

Have spent the night talking shoes and clothes

And expensive handbags!

Not me

I spent the day returning items

Tomorrow a pininterest day and eBay.

Once I get drunken rugby dh up!