The other night while lying in bed I decided to add up how much I'd spent on clothing/shoes in 2012, and then use this as a way of planning my 2013 wardrobe with precision.
As I shop online 95% of the time, adding everything up (and finding photos) was relatively easy. The only things I couldn't find were a few items from Topshop, Zara and a pair of sandals. The total cost of this was over £3000... That makes me feel a bit sick - especially when a lot of these purchases were impulse.
The main costs were from The Outnet which I try to avoid like the plague now (I spent £800 on the site in January 2012 alone). There is nothing worse than receiving an email with an amazing deal to cause an impulse purchase. Here's to better planning in 2013!
Do you plan and review your purchases or shop on an adhoc basis? NHG x
What I bought in 2012 (mistakes marked in red):
Dresses (L to R): Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Richard Nicoll one-shoulder (mistake - doesn't fit), Vanessa Bruno silk (mistake - unflattering), Temperley London corset dress. All from The Outnet.
As I shop online 95% of the time, adding everything up (and finding photos) was relatively easy. The only things I couldn't find were a few items from Topshop, Zara and a pair of sandals. The total cost of this was over £3000... That makes me feel a bit sick - especially when a lot of these purchases were impulse.
The main costs were from The Outnet which I try to avoid like the plague now (I spent £800 on the site in January 2012 alone). There is nothing worse than receiving an email with an amazing deal to cause an impulse purchase. Here's to better planning in 2013!
Do you plan and review your purchases or shop on an adhoc basis? NHG x
What I bought in 2012 (mistakes marked in red):
Dresses (L to R): Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Richard Nicoll one-shoulder (mistake - doesn't fit), Vanessa Bruno silk (mistake - unflattering), Temperley London corset dress. All from The Outnet.
Dresses (L to R): ASOS Skater dress, ASOS neon lace dress, ASOS lace dress (potential mistake - yet to be worn), River Island neon fringed dress.
Jumpers (L to R): Acne Lia waffle knit, Uniqlo pink cashmere (BIG mistake - I now own 3 pink jumpers), Uniqlo blue cashmere, Iris & Ink pink/grey cashmere.
Tops (L to R): Equipment silk shirt, T by Alexander Wang wool cardigan, ASOS gold/black peplum top (unnecessary purchase), ASOS open-back lace top.
Shoes (L to R): Belstaff Biker boots, ASOS Chelsea boots, Steve Madden leopard loafers, United Nude Sandals.
Other items (L to R): A.P.C Trench Coat, Topshop Wool Coat, Sandro lace top, ASOS metallic leather skirt (potential wrong size - yet to be worn).
This is so brave of you! I had to add up my purchases for the previous three months when I did the piece in Elle Magazine, and needless to say the £500 per month figure was accurate (I spent more than that in January, but this was primarily down to the Net-a-Porter sale - and all of these purchases were mulled over for weeks before finally clicking 'buy').
ReplyDeleteThinking about it, it's always the cheap high street purchases (usually impulse buys) that I regret and never wear, but I always wear the more expensive purchases. Either way, I now put things in my basket or wishlist for weeks and think about them before I come back to buy to avoid impulse buying things I don't need/want.
Thank you for the reminder to be more considered in my purchases!!
Briony xx
This is excellent - makes me feel a lot better about being similarly profligate and I think readers will really appreciate the honesty. I also wonder if it's a good way of getting a sort of overall view on the palette/shapes we tend to buy. Could be useful for thinking about 'signature' style etc. Thanks for a great post.
ReplyDeleteI dare not think about my purchases for 2012 and the mistakes I made - there have been a few. I would most definitely not list them on my blog because my hubs would choke. And I do love him dearly. Like they say, what one doesn't know, won't hurt them :o)
ReplyDeleteMy partner spends the same amount as me on clothes and shoes (just more in one go rather than little bits and pieces) so he couldn't say anything about my spending habits (thank goodness)!
DeleteOh that's a bit like my hubs - when he spends he spends on something a bit nicer - I'm happy with bits and pieces, little and often. Makes a girl happy :o)
DeleteThis is brave! I'm not sure I could bear to do it - the multiple cringes that would occur would be too much to take! I agree with Briony's comment above, it is rarely the expensive purchases I end up regretting because I spend SO much time thinking about them, putting them into my basket online to see how it feels, creating polyvore collages with them etc, so by the time it comes to the purchase point it is a BIG DEAL. I just don't do this drawn out thought process with high street bits and pieces normally. And I'm not sure I should, because I sometimes feel if you over-think always then you miss out on the fun spontaneous purchases that might not last a life time but you'll love wearing for those few weeks or months. I suppose it's all down to knowing what is really 'you' and what isn't. Once we've got that down we'll be fine! :)
ReplyDeleteOlivia x
Oh I love the idea of this post! You know I did a huge clean up of my wardrobe recently and guilty as charged, found several 'warehouse' bargains with tags still attached. I donated all my unworn and old clothing to charity and am going to ensure I make better choices this year.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I love the look of that lace ASOS skater dress you marked in red!!
www.tstyledme.com
Tien xo
What a great idea! I'd say relatively few of your purchases were mistake in comparison to mine - I genuinely wouldn't even want to know.
ReplyDeleteI wish I'd seen this sooner and thought to keep track of my purchases from 1 January! (I do shop mainly online but have made some in-store purchases recently and already can't remember the costs!)
love those Chelsea boots
ReplyDelete