No buy or low buy 2023

[TheOGCCL]

Starting a new thread for the new year. I really must do better. Pretty sure I am in need of nothing after my 2022 spending spree.

Ironically I think this board sets me off a bit.

I’m better with a blanket no spend but how dull. Still thinking about my ‘rules’, eg set a budget or an item limit.

I need to avoid the sales as many mistakes happen there.

All welcome who want to cut down for environmental or ethical or financial reasons, or simply the satisfaction of buying second hand, or the ease of getting dressed when you have less stuff.

I can recommend Lauren Bravo’s book How To Break Up With Fast Fashion.

Its a bit like eating meat, if we all collectively did it a bit less, the world would be a better place.

I'm going to do no buy april

Checking in here. Not done too badly. Bought one pair of black ankle boots (I put up with my previous ones for years - they always pinched, but finally decided enough was enough when I spotted some perfect ones in the Outnet sale).

Also bought a jacket that will go perfectly with the rust-coloured trousers I always gravitate towards. So think I am up to 8 purchases out of 12. Somewhat ahead of schedule (one buy per month) but vastly better than previous years (in terms of items, not spend: am buying less but vastly better quality).

As we are coming towards the end of march and I cannot forsee any further expenses

• newlook dress £10
• marks and Spencer dress £14
• leather work bag £72 but DH is giving me the money for that.
• jumpsuit £11 Sainsbury's but I haven't yet tried that on and it might go back.

Don't think I've purchased anything else clothes wise -- spending far too much money on coffee etc to be able to afford to at the moment 🤣

I bought 2 replacement nighties in White Company outlet - 2 old uglies will go out. Nighties are essential and I spend a large amount of time in them 😂

I forgot:

• £12 for a Radley canvas bag, it's literally a new work horse fits so much in day to day for me and baby.

I ran out of my favourite night time moisturiser so I replaced it from Vinted.

Ditto for bath oil.

I still browse clothes and accessories more than I should, but everything has gone up so much (mortgage, energy, food) that I just don't feel justified in doing any frivolous spending.

I did buy the expensive products I know and like though, just from the cheapest possible supplier.

I probably could have spent a little less if I'd gone for a punt on something unknown in the supermarket but that might've been wasted if it wasn't any good.

So I stuck to what I know and love.

Here's to an equally successful April for all of us.

2 items from Baukjen sale arrived and I'm keeping both - a long sleeved denim dress and a striped top. We're travelling through Netherlands and Denmark in April and May for 6 weeks and they'll work for the trip. £91 in total

I’m coming to the end of my three month no buy on clothes. I’ve still been looking at clothes, preparing for when my ‘spring window’ opens up. My plan is to have a small window (maybe 2-3 weeks) where I can buy ‘some things’ (kept deliberately vague) to update my wardrobe for spring/summer, using the money I’ve saved.

The things that have stood out to me from this experiment so far are:

• Shopping online is not really any fun and much harder work (trying to work out what an item will fit like) - I’d love to be able to just shop in real shops but even though I live in London, I can’t
• You are allowed to go to a shop and not buy anything. I still enjoy looking at what’s there and getting a sense of the trends and people watching others
• I’ve pinned loads of items over the last three months that now I go back and scrutinise just aren’t special enough. Without the ban I’d have bought most of them (and then returned most of them), what a waste of time and energy. It turns out when forced to really think about what I need/want, most items do not make the cut
• Just because I like something doesn’t mean I should buy it
• I am almost sad the out and out ban will be suspended as being permitted to buy is likely to mean I return to my old ways. Lots of scrolling for the perfect items, albeit I am now doing it for specific items and not randomly. No spend is very clear cut and I think helps someone like me who is, ultimately, a bit addicted to shopping
• Not buying new clothes has made no difference whatsoever to any other part of my life (apart from my bank balance) over these three months. Not less happy, not worse dressed, not less confident, no greater or fewer ‘what do I wear’ moments
• The retailers make it hard - if you do want to wait and consider an item you run the risk of it being unavailable as the lines keep changing

My main thought now is how can I have a normal relationship with clothes buying. I shouldn’t need to have to make up these rules, I want a normal relationship where I buy something if I see it and like/need it but am not constantly acquiring new stuff.

My main thought now is how can I have a normal relationship with clothes buying. I shouldn’t need to have to make up these rules, I want a normal relationship where I buy something if I see it and like/need it but am not constantly acquiring new stuff.

If you ever figure it out let us know!

I had a difficult week and spent £200 on stuff I don't need 🤦

RainyDays pyjamas are the things that get worn out and replaced quickest here too

Me too @IndianSummer78 😳
I've bought 3 brightly coloured cashmere jumpers in the m&s sale. I don't need them, but I'm wearing them a lot. They're cheering me up In this chilly gloom & making me feel all warm & snuggly. I've also bought some underwear, as I desperately needed some better underpinnings. I haven't budgeted for any of this, but it's come out of my eBay profits. So that's still ok. My cheaper items from h&m & Tk Maxx have been returned due to poor quality.

I think @TheOGCCL upthread said just because it's perfect doesn't mean you have to have it. That's SO true. The world is filled with beautiful things and I have a real weakness for aesthetic things and I'm trying to teach myself to admire, but not own.

I had a tough talk with my mum recently - she was in London and did a fair bit of shopping. She particularly likes jumpers/tops and shoes and justified everything with "it's such great quality, I'll wear it loads". When she got home, I made her count all her jumpers. 59. I mean she lives in Canada, and winter is half the year, but even with a perfect rotation she'd end up wearing each one just three times a year. So no, you won't wear it loads... or maybe you will, but at the cost of another garment. It might be good value at 20% (which is what she bought at) but you save 100% when you leave it in the shop. That's what I'm trying to remind myself.

Right, that's it, spring/summer wardrobe update completed and I'm done.

I know when I joined here I was going to buy nothing and that hasn't happened. But I have put everything onto the Whering App, identified some gaps and now filled them.

What has been good is that I returned everything that wasn't quite right and just kept the few things I wanted. On top of the 3 pairs of Seasalt trousers, Seasalt belt, Boden silk shirt and Hoka trainers, after quite a lot of buying and returning I have also ended up with:

2 short skirts and a denim mini pini from Lucy and Yak, total £87 for all 3;

A petite fuller bust denim Jacket from Next, £38.99 incl delivery;

A green v neck merino t-shirt from Edz, £35.99 (I only wear merino T-shirts and really wanted a green one, which I don't have).

There was also a fuschia merino wool.knitted skirt from Boden which I might or might not have mentioned earlier at £67.50, just because I loved it.

I really do want to stop shopping now, I am quite bored of it really. I think I just felt at 53 I needed a bit of a wardrobe revamp. And now having tried a load of different things I realise I am never going to be a floral dress or skirt kind of person and I'm better off just sticking to the mainly plain, block colours I prefer.

So I have added some canvas and denim to my mainly merino and wool knit plus cotton leggings wardrobe, which gives a bit more structure to outfits. I can mix and match the denim/canvas with the merino now which means I look less like I am dressed in outdoor gear all the time. Which is pretty much what I did with my winter revamp, introducing knitted jumpers and cardigans to add to my numerous merino hoodies. The wool knits are also warmer, which I needed to cope with reduced heating.

So this it it, no spend here I come.......

I read that to do our bit towards hiring the 1.5 degree climate target we should buy no more than 5 items of clothing a year so I'm aiming for that.

(I actually thought it was 9, but I reread the Vogue article and it's 5. )

I'm trying to hold on to my allowance of 5 in case of a wedding or new clothing needed for work situation or knackered knicker elastic emergency etc.

My nighties have seen better days, and I almost always exclaim at my summer wardrobe when I get it out at Easter because some things are shabby and past their best, and O don't know why I bothered to put them away last year, but I shall try to stay strong.

www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/how-many-clothes-do-we-need/amp

There are lots of rental services popping up now which is great for things like weddings if you dont have something already.

I buy more than 5 pairs of knickers a year 🥴 Plus how about items like white cotton & linen t shirts which are generally washed out by the end of the year? The only way we would be able to stick to the 5 items would be some sort of world wide standard uniform. Overalls ( star trek stylee!) or some sort of similar combo. Or maybe each country can set their own uniforms? It will be like going back to the days of the cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao jackets anyone?

I found YouTuber Hannah Louise Poston’s postings on her ‘no year spend’ and the life changing effect it’s had fascinating to follow (she was formerly a make-up and clothes ‘shopping addict’). I really recommend.

I was only ever really in for a couple of months but I have bought 2 dresses on Vinted, jeans, a jumper, and some new trainers this week because DH was away and I was stressed. Oops.

@verdantverdure, yes, important to consider these things. Over a lifetime our consumption builds up. I do my best in many areas but this year has not been a good one for clothing purchases.

I had a look in the Whering App where I have recorded all of my clothing into categories of years bought. They also include items I received as presents which I haven't separated out. This is the number of items I bought, which includes shoes, outerwear, tights etc. but not underwear (bras, pants, socks):

2016 - 22 items
2017 - 78 items
2018 - 6 items
2019 - 20 items
2020 - 18 items
2021 - 7 items
2022 - 48 items
2023 - 50 items

The app says I have 255 items of clothing, so a few were bought pre 2016 but not many. I also have a few really old things I haven't worn for ages but have kept that are not on the app yet.

2016-17 was a big wardrobe upgrade time for me, when I replaced most of my clothing with merino. I also replaced all of my shoes as I developed plantar fasciitis. And things in my life changed so I finally had some money to buy clothes. Everything I bought during those 2 years I still wear and like and many will last for years to come and are still in good condition.

And 2022-23 has been a big wardrobe upgrade time too, wanting knitted wool jumpers and cardigans and more layers to keep warm, as well as some denim/cotton to add to my merino for summer. I have put a lot of time and effort into this to ensure I only kept items I really like and hope to keep for years to come. But ordering and returning loads of clothes is not really something I enjoy, it is a means to an end. And I felt a need to slightly redefine my style as I get older and am moving towards a new life phase.

So now I am really going to unsubscribe all of the emails and stop buying and will stay with you all on here to give and receive moral support.

I also deleted all of the outfits I 'made' on the Whering App that I haven't actually worn. I am going to do things the other way round now, when I actually wear or try on an outfit and put it together and feel happy with it, I will add it to my outfits. Then I can actually remember what items I wore together that worked.

@Noodle421 I like Hannah Louise Poston a lot too and recommend!

I haven't bought any knickers since 2019 but I did have loads - I'm determined to wear knickers and socks out totally before buying new ones.

Re t-shirts, I dunno, mine last pretty well. I have yellowish stains in an All Saints tee I got in 2019 but it's lasted 4 years so I think that's expected. I'm just trying to figure out if/how to save it.

I read somewhere that right now, we have enough clothing on the planet to clothe the next 5 generations, so I'm trying to find my wish list items second hand, even though I find second hand shopping slightly annoying and time-consuming. I read how so many returns end up in landfill so I'm trying to only order things I'm pretty sure I'll want to keep.

@IndianSummer78 I wear pyjamas a lot too, but I haven't bought any for years.

This is one purchase of multiples that was very worthwhile. Years ago, maybe around 2015, I really needed some new PJs and couldn't find any I liked.

I'm very fussy about my PJs, need to be cotton jersey, thin fabric so I don't get too hot, not loo long for my petite size, no buttons, no waist ties, gentle waist elastic, dark colours so they don't stain.

After a huge search I found the perfect navy cotton PJs at H&M for £10 in the sale.

I am wearing a pair right now, I bought 6 pairs which are the ones I've been wearing for the past 8 or so years and another 6 pairs which are still at the back of my wardrobe NWT.

Generally I think H&M has varying quality and I also find after 8 years of washing cotton jersey can get stiff and bobble, but not these, they have been washed and worn countless times and are still in great condition and the waist elastic is still OK too. And I still have the other 6 pairs for when these finally fall apart.

Not seen the same PJs on H&M for years, I have checked periodically, or I would probably have bought more. I think I might get another couple of years out of these ones, so if I'm lucky I might go 20 years without buying PJs after spending £120 on them in 2015.

Funny, one of the things I tried in my recent search for denim was a navy canvas jacket and wide leg trousers from Monki. They looked ridiculous on me and DH said it looked like an outfit from the Cultural Revolution.

Regarding white cotton and linen, I made a decision to stop buying it many years ago and decided to wear colours instead, simply because it doesn't last.

I don't have any white clothes, just some ecru wool underwear and a cream wool cardigan, but wool doesn't stain like cotton or linen anyway. And a couple of washable silk pattern shirts which are partly white or ecru and a cream silk dress with some white in, but I find silk stains less than cotton or linen. And I would wash all these things separate from coloured items on the wool/silk hand wash setting.

DH does a white wash for his clothes every now and again and I have nothing to add to it.

@Cantonet, I reckon you can count a 10 pack of cotton knickers as 1 item. Depends if you like posh knickers you have to buy individually. I have a mix. Loads of M&S or H&M basic black cotton knickers bought in multi packs, I wear them till they fall apart. No white ones, because they never stay white! And expensive merino boy shorts in various colours, including some paler ones for lighter summer dresses, which are more shaping, or for if I'm doing a lot of walking as they are more comfortable, but they last as I don't wear them as much.

@Netcam me too with the H&M pj love.
A few years ago H&M did lace edged white pima cotton pyjama sets in a shorts style & in a grey long legged style. I wear them all the time. I even wear the camisole tops under other clothes during the day. They're so cool & comfortable in the summer. Plus practically the shorts stop my Hrt patches from sticking to my linen sheets ( so annoying) & my fleece dressing gowns ☺️

@Cantonet @IndianSummer78 , wanting to join you in the normal relationship with clothes! Still not decided if the Whering App has made it better or worse. Does it fuel my interest or distract from the shopping? I think there is something of the perfectionist in me, unfortunately trying to work with a less than perfect body. And feeling like at 53 I am running out of time to look my best!

I read that renting can be very bad, sometimes even worse than buying, because the companies tend to send their rental clothing to be dry cleaned (hideously polluting) and pressed after every rental, plus there is the polluting transport to send it out and return it!