Sunday Tips: Who Says Stop Buying Clothes? :(
Vivienne Westwood
“Stop all this consumerism.” I just tell people, stop buying clothes. Why not protect this gift of life while we have it? I don’t take the attitude that destruction is inevitable. Some of us would like to stop that and help people survive.” -Vivienne Westwood.
Don’t buy clothes?! What? Nooo!
Yes it is outrageous. It’s borderline blasphemy. So what, I don’t buy clothes and look like a hobo?! At the end of one of her February shows, Vivienne Westwood went backstage and stated the quote above. It was reported by a number of outlets, including The Huffington Post. “[H]elp people survive,” she said. She does have a point.
The recession, reports the Daily Mail, has not stopped women from buying clothes. On the contrary, it just made them better liars, hiding their expenses from their spouses. And in a shocking twist of events, the New York Times reported in January that during the recession women bought more .. wait for it… SHOES! The NYT article states:
Gorgeous Louboutins
[T]he cost-per-wear of a pair of shoes is far lower than that of a dress or suit, which can only be donned so many times a week before colleagues snicker. And new shoes spruce up old outfits, a cheaper alternative to buying more clothes.
and…
Among the more curious explanations proffered for the relative strength of shoe sales is that women — who make up the lion’s share of the American shoe market — get an emotional lift from shoe shopping in a way they do not when trying on jeans and cocktail dresses.
So what’s a girl to do?
Budget.
We talked about this in the previous post. It seems ridiculous for any working girl not to buy new clothes to wear to the office and impress everybody with; and yes it is totally forgivable if you spend your entire salary on clothes and shoes. However, being independent and wise with money means curtailing the habit a little.
The best thing about budgets is that you are free to allocate where you want your money to go, just by being a little extra wise. So instead of buying something new every week, cut it back to every month. Learn how to budget wisely and how to dress wisely.
DE-CLUTTER. You can have tons of clothes that you’ve only worn once or twice, or, have never ever worn (and every girl is guilty of that!). De-clutter your closet. Donate the old stuff that you will never wear. There is no point of it just taking up space and crowding your vision. Something is too small? Chuck it out. Too big? Chuck it out. Other than that pair of skinny jeans that you hope you will fit into one day, no other item can be the wrong size! This way it will be easy for you to actually realize what you actually need to buy so that you CAN SUCCESSFULLY pick something at 5am in the morning!
Focus on the classics. Instead of stuffing your closets with items that will soon run out of style, try to focus a little more on classic items that will last through numerous fashion seasons.
Be savvy. Top fashion magazines always show you ways of wearing the latest trends by paying less. If you want to dress like a Gossip Girl, check out the magazines savvy and sassy sections on how to do so without torturing your wallet. Not all your clothes have to be designer. Mix and match high end brands with low end brands.
Don’t go shopping with your girlfriends. Seriously. Shopping with your girlfriends lowers your sense of self control. How can you resist not buying that really expensive but really hot top that your friend – and the shop assistant- are saying makes you look so damn hot? If you really need somebody else’s opinion, pick just ONE friend and explain to her before hand that although you want to go shopping, this is not a spree, but a budgeted shopping trip that requires restraint and skill and lots of self-control.
So you don’t have to stop buying clothes, you just have to shop smart. And, budget, budget, budget!
I think every girl’s relationship and shopping guru, Carrie Bradshaw, sums up how the majority of girls feel when she says, “I like my money right where I can see it… hanging in my closet.” :) But don’t do that. You want your money right where you cannot see it, ACCUMULATING in YOUR bank account!
