I've bought more than I'd have liked to but I've bought a lot less than 2023 so it's good progress. Purchases were more considered, far fewer mistakes were made (which is a big deal since I never return anything).
I've really cemented my sense of style, what I like, what works for my body, what my colour palette should be. That last one was hard because most colours suit me and I've ended up with a wardrobe that doesn't all match because of it. It was more like I have several separate wardrobes in different colour schemes. Whilst jewel tones suit my skin tone they also make the clothes seem overpowering on my small frame, so I've decided no more jewel tones. Instead of pastels I'm going to stick to lighter, muted, faded versions of the autumnal colours that suit me best, so they match with everything else. Ecru, cream, tan, lavender and French navy suit me, look polished and slide seamlessly into the rest of my wardrobe. White, charcoal, most blues, purple and black do not.
My new criteria for purchases isn't
"do I like it?", it's
"can I wear it to the supermarket?" because that's the level of formality in my life. So lots more basics bought and lots of far-too-fancy-for-the-supermarket stuff left on the shelves. Slowly my wardrobe is looking more like I can grab any outfit and it'll be suitable for anything I might do that day, which is a useful improvement on having to consider what I'm doing before I get dressed of a morning and possibly change clothes later if I change my plans.
Successfully stopped buying anything that's similar to something I already have, unless I'm going to get rid of the other version for some reason. Also worked on accepting my current body and weeding out anything that isn't comfortable or doesn't fit me right now. Very little has been kept in case I lose weight, only those items that made me look amazing, it's about one bagful and they're kept separate from the rest of my wardrobe. Lots of mistake purchases have been culled from my wardrobe too. Overall more has gone out than come in, which was my aim.
This wasn't really about finances or the environment for me, it was about reclaiming space in my home and getting my shopping addiction under control. I'm really happy with the progress made on both counts. I've been doing similar with other areas of life too. I don't think no-buy, or even low-buy, is realistic for me. I'd like to get to a place though where I have normal levels of stuff and where I'm consistently doing one-in-one-out, having an end of season declutter and that's enough to keep on top of it all. I'd like to start saving instead of spending all I have available too. My wardrobe is looking way more cohesive than it ever has and I feel I've reached a place generally now where I'm set up for a good year next year, although I shall keep decluttering and keep working on my spending.