Cold turkey
Inspired in part by this article, I am going to give up buying clothes. I figure I'll try it for six months and see how it sits - maybe I'll be able to stretch that out to a full year.
Obviously, there are financial benefits to not spending money on clothes. While I almost always buy in sales or from fairly cheap stores, it does add up. Not spending anything on clothes might mean I can afford another snowboarding holiday next year, which would be nice.
I also need an enforced break from trying stuff out. In the course of trying to work out my personal style, I've bought an awful lot of clothes over the past year - very much the scattergun approach, seeing what worked and what didn't.
Mistakes
A blue chenille v-necked sweater. Great colour and good cut, but the texture was all wrong, and I shouldn't be wearing chunky-knit sweaters (bust goes from generous to huge).
A three-quarter sleeve lavender cardigan. The colour was terrific and the cut was pretty good, but the style was unreservedly feminine, and it just didn't work (I ended up feeling very unfeminine. Go figure).
A lilac zip-front hooded top. It suited me but I just couldn't deal with the pastel nature of the colour (I have previously found the same thing with baby blue).
Not just one but two pairs of trousers with a seam down the front of the leg. I just don't get on with these, it transpires. Something about the way they wear/drape doesn't suit me, and I will not buy any more.
Successes
Lots of cargo/combat pants and straight-leg work-y trousers, nearly all from Gap. These are perfect - they fit very nicely over the hips and because they're fairly low-rise, there isn't a waist issue.
A handful of sheer cropped cardigans in various shades. These have been fab over strappy tops in the warm weather, and incredibly, actually work with the cargo pants (YMMV). They're probably the most feminine things in my wardrobe, but somehow they work.
Many t-shirts in clear shades of blue. Blue hasn't played a big part in my wardrobe for the last little while, but it really does suit me better than almost anything else.
A wide variety of green tops, ditto. I have been helped immensely by the very fickle fashion industry, which has belatedly decided over the last couple of years that Green Is Good.
Shoes (trainers, chunky ballet pumps, etc) in shades other than black; almost none of my trousers are black, so this is a good thing.
A really good Rohan men's jacket in steel grey, which I do love but which I can't wear with cargo pants because I just look completely shapeless. It works well with fitted jeans, though. I bought this at the start of summer and have hardly worn it because of the good weather - I should be able to get to grips with it in autumn.
Three dresses. One is very summery while managing not to be outright girly, one is go-anywhere with shades of sporty, military and (less obviously) cheongsam, though it needs a day's investment with a sewing machine before I will wear it. The last was a gift from a dear friend who thought it would look better on me than on her: it's black, it's Prada, and it's quite, quite fabulous in a sort of retro-future kind of a way (though definitely not for summer).
Big scarves/pashminas in bold, clear colours. These are essential in winter now that I have largely broken my polo-neck habit, and they cheer me up no end when the weather is bad.
Girly, heeled sandals that I can walk and stand in quite comfortably. I didn't ever think I would find these (and when I did, they were in BHS, of all places), and now I have two pairs (one red and pink, the other black). Now I just need to manufacture some occasions on which to wear them ;)
Really good, proper bras. I had nearly written off the "proper bra" market, because I have always found it very difficult to get something I like and is comfy (and supportive) that isn't a sports bra (but sports bras don't present all that great a profile under clothes, so ... ). However, recently I tried my hand at this again and was pleasantly surprised. Makes a massive difference under clothes, though occasionally I'm disconcerted by my profile in the mirror.
Things I didn't buy but so easily could have:
A brilliant, structured Oasis LBD that gave me a terrific figure but was just Fundamentally Not Me.
An awesome burnt orange and very sixties square-cut sweater in M&S. Beautiful garment, hopeless on me (both in terms of shape and colouring).
An awesome smoke-blue Vivienne Westwood coat in Liberty that was part kimono, part mohair rug, part sculpture. Actually, the only reason I didn't buy this was that it was £300something and my clothes need to be hard-wearing or cheaply/easily replaceable; I'd have worn it with jeans and boots, glasses and my hair up. It was brilliant.
So, what am I going to do for the next six months to keep getting my style fix? Well, lots of things.
* A friend is having a clothes-swap soon, so I may return from that with a few new bits and pieces (I'm not expecting to get much, because I am, frankly, picky as hell, and I'm not convinced that many people share my tastes - but I intend to enjoy the experience regardless :)
* I'll still window-shop. Really, that's half the fun. I enjoy spotting trends and seeing what's out there, what works for me and what doesn't. I probably shouldn't try stuff on, though - that's going to stretch my powers of self-control a bit much, I think.
* Obviously there's this community ;)
* I've got some half-finished bits and pieces that I should sew. Some of these are alterations I haven't made time to do yet, and a few are from-scratch sewing projects.
* The most important thing is that I'll have several months (and three seasons) in which to evaluate the wardrobe I already have before I go slinging any more money at it. I don't think I'm deficient in any particular department except possibly "smart winter jackets" (currently on the rail: plain black though somewhat sporty down jacket; tan velvet quasi-military jacket which I'm thinking about customising; very smart full-length mole-coloured wool coat; grey-blue snowboarding jacket), but we'll see what the clothes-swap brings, and the pause gives me more time to work out what exactly it is that I want. Probably something by Vivienne Westwood ;-P
Obviously, there are financial benefits to not spending money on clothes. While I almost always buy in sales or from fairly cheap stores, it does add up. Not spending anything on clothes might mean I can afford another snowboarding holiday next year, which would be nice.
I also need an enforced break from trying stuff out. In the course of trying to work out my personal style, I've bought an awful lot of clothes over the past year - very much the scattergun approach, seeing what worked and what didn't.
Mistakes
A blue chenille v-necked sweater. Great colour and good cut, but the texture was all wrong, and I shouldn't be wearing chunky-knit sweaters (bust goes from generous to huge).
A three-quarter sleeve lavender cardigan. The colour was terrific and the cut was pretty good, but the style was unreservedly feminine, and it just didn't work (I ended up feeling very unfeminine. Go figure).
A lilac zip-front hooded top. It suited me but I just couldn't deal with the pastel nature of the colour (I have previously found the same thing with baby blue).
Not just one but two pairs of trousers with a seam down the front of the leg. I just don't get on with these, it transpires. Something about the way they wear/drape doesn't suit me, and I will not buy any more.
Successes
Lots of cargo/combat pants and straight-leg work-y trousers, nearly all from Gap. These are perfect - they fit very nicely over the hips and because they're fairly low-rise, there isn't a waist issue.
A handful of sheer cropped cardigans in various shades. These have been fab over strappy tops in the warm weather, and incredibly, actually work with the cargo pants (YMMV). They're probably the most feminine things in my wardrobe, but somehow they work.
Many t-shirts in clear shades of blue. Blue hasn't played a big part in my wardrobe for the last little while, but it really does suit me better than almost anything else.
A wide variety of green tops, ditto. I have been helped immensely by the very fickle fashion industry, which has belatedly decided over the last couple of years that Green Is Good.
Shoes (trainers, chunky ballet pumps, etc) in shades other than black; almost none of my trousers are black, so this is a good thing.
A really good Rohan men's jacket in steel grey, which I do love but which I can't wear with cargo pants because I just look completely shapeless. It works well with fitted jeans, though. I bought this at the start of summer and have hardly worn it because of the good weather - I should be able to get to grips with it in autumn.
Three dresses. One is very summery while managing not to be outright girly, one is go-anywhere with shades of sporty, military and (less obviously) cheongsam, though it needs a day's investment with a sewing machine before I will wear it. The last was a gift from a dear friend who thought it would look better on me than on her: it's black, it's Prada, and it's quite, quite fabulous in a sort of retro-future kind of a way (though definitely not for summer).
Big scarves/pashminas in bold, clear colours. These are essential in winter now that I have largely broken my polo-neck habit, and they cheer me up no end when the weather is bad.
Girly, heeled sandals that I can walk and stand in quite comfortably. I didn't ever think I would find these (and when I did, they were in BHS, of all places), and now I have two pairs (one red and pink, the other black). Now I just need to manufacture some occasions on which to wear them ;)
Really good, proper bras. I had nearly written off the "proper bra" market, because I have always found it very difficult to get something I like and is comfy (and supportive) that isn't a sports bra (but sports bras don't present all that great a profile under clothes, so ... ). However, recently I tried my hand at this again and was pleasantly surprised. Makes a massive difference under clothes, though occasionally I'm disconcerted by my profile in the mirror.
Things I didn't buy but so easily could have:
A brilliant, structured Oasis LBD that gave me a terrific figure but was just Fundamentally Not Me.
An awesome burnt orange and very sixties square-cut sweater in M&S. Beautiful garment, hopeless on me (both in terms of shape and colouring).
An awesome smoke-blue Vivienne Westwood coat in Liberty that was part kimono, part mohair rug, part sculpture. Actually, the only reason I didn't buy this was that it was £300something and my clothes need to be hard-wearing or cheaply/easily replaceable; I'd have worn it with jeans and boots, glasses and my hair up. It was brilliant.
So, what am I going to do for the next six months to keep getting my style fix? Well, lots of things.
* A friend is having a clothes-swap soon, so I may return from that with a few new bits and pieces (I'm not expecting to get much, because I am, frankly, picky as hell, and I'm not convinced that many people share my tastes - but I intend to enjoy the experience regardless :)
* I'll still window-shop. Really, that's half the fun. I enjoy spotting trends and seeing what's out there, what works for me and what doesn't. I probably shouldn't try stuff on, though - that's going to stretch my powers of self-control a bit much, I think.
* Obviously there's this community ;)
* I've got some half-finished bits and pieces that I should sew. Some of these are alterations I haven't made time to do yet, and a few are from-scratch sewing projects.
* The most important thing is that I'll have several months (and three seasons) in which to evaluate the wardrobe I already have before I go slinging any more money at it. I don't think I'm deficient in any particular department except possibly "smart winter jackets" (currently on the rail: plain black though somewhat sporty down jacket; tan velvet quasi-military jacket which I'm thinking about customising; very smart full-length mole-coloured wool coat; grey-blue snowboarding jacket), but we'll see what the clothes-swap brings, and the pause gives me more time to work out what exactly it is that I want. Probably something by Vivienne Westwood ;-P