(SO in this post I prove that I can accurately convey emotions through facial expressions and hand gestures, exciting no?!)
I thought it might be time to do an update on my crazed decision not to buy clothes for an entire year. I’m 22 23 days into this challenge and at times my vow to end shopping and plaster this vow all over the internet makes me feel like this:
Grumpy. “Whhhhyyyyyy?!” I ask myself. “I’m already bored!”. Most of my friends and family have been uber supportive and told me they think I won’t last. How lovely of them.
Thankfully Grumpy doesn’t stick around for long before the purgatory of emotions comes to stay:
“OH well!” I tell myself. “It’s only a year!”. This she’ll be right attitude is what will see me through. In the last 22 days I’ve identified a few things that will make Wearing My Wardrobe a little less painful, and should you want to embark on your own shop-free challenge or get the most out of your wardrobe I have a few tips:
1 Repairs
A few times this month I’ve almost burst a blood vessel in my eye from sheer frustration as I’ve gone to put something on and realised there is a button missing, the zip is broken or a seam is split from the time I swore I could scale a tall fence with a single ballerina leap. So pull out your Mum’s sewing kit (the one that still has those labels with your name on them from when you were 8) and get onto that biz. Or find someone who can.
I read somewhere that during WWII women often only had one or two pairs of stockings and had to repair them if they got holes. Failing that, they would use eyeliner to draw a mock seam down the backs of their legs to create the look of nylon stockings. While I’m not quite at the point where I need to draw on my clothes I think a few repairs should be easy enough.
2 Alterations
I have a few dresses that need about 5 inches off the end to make them wearable, until then they are as useful to me as a screen door on a submarine. I should also mention underwear, I have a couple of skirts that I have only recently identified as see-through (the horror) so I need to find some appropriate undergarments stat. Also good for synthetic material is anti static spray to stop that awkward clinging and potential electric shocks on escalators.
3 Don’t go shopping!
This seems quite obvious, but sometimes shops are hard to avoid. I went into a local shop on Saturday and one of the shop assistants and fellow blogger Jenelle was like “what are doing in here?!”. Sometimes living in a small place has its perks. I wasn’t really tempted by anything though.
So far, so good. I also should mention that I have noticed a few spare dollars rolling around in my bank account, which is nice.
And finally a big shout out to Jo and Chloe who are also not buying any clothes this year, it’s great to know I’m not alone!
(Ps. how did my facial expressions go?! could you have guessed them without the captions? Be honest)
My Bloggable Day 
I’m not buying clothes this January, so far so good hahaha… but I can’t imagine not buying clothes for a year! That’s commitment! x
Hopefully I can make it! Imagine if I got really into it and never bought clothes again…. Hahaha! That will NEVER happen. How is your month going? Do you find it tough? x
I don’t think I could ever do this, although I probably SHOULD give it a go. My wardrobe is at times overflowing and often a place in which it’s very hard to find things. Regarding your facial expressions, I would have got grumpy. Not sure if indifferent would have come to me immediately, but I love the way you’ve got your hand up and palm out there, it really conveys the whole “meh” feeling. I think I would have gotten there eventually. Nice work on the facial expressions. I like to be challenged a little first thing in the morning.
Haha perhaps I need to introduce a regular segment ‘guess the emotion’?! I think it would be particularly helpful for guys who struggle to recognise when their partners are angry at them. Then I could release a book… New career path here I come! 😉 x
Congrats on making it 23 days! I’ve just had a few dresses altered so I can actually wear them. It really does feel as though I now have new clothes 🙂
I felt I was doing really well, not even tempted & then emails from all my favourite shops with all their new season offerings starting piling in to my inbox. My solution? I’ve unsubscribed so I won’t be tempted to browse their online stores & find that item (or two) that would make my wardrobe complete 😉 Let’s hope it works.
Yes! It’s funny you mention that because I had thought of putting unsubscribing to emails in this post and then completely forgot. Such a good idea. The relentless emails from ASOS and the like needn’t tempt me anymore! Especially when they have those ridiculous sales. Well done! Out of interest were the alterations expensive?
Not too bad but then I live in Sydney & there is a lot of competition. Hemming dresses were $15-20 & alterations on the fit around $40. Not exactly cheap but it makes unwearable clothes wearable & cheaper than buying new clothes (if I weren’t on a ban, or course!).