March comings and goings

I vowed that I would not make any purchases in March, and I succeeded! =) I ALMOST had a slip-up when I saw a Transformers t-shirt (hubby's a huge fan) on mega-sale at Target, but I walked away from it. 

Going - 

• Adidas sneakers - I loved them when I bought them but because I wanted to keep them looking new, I rarely wore them. I tried to bring them back into my wardrobe earlier this month, only to find that they were not as comfortable as I remembered. I have been wanting to let these go for years but couldn't overcome the guilt I felt for spending money on something I barely wore - I'm over it now, and own one less pair of shoes, hurray!
• Adidas runners - I've had them since grade 8, haha, and I just love them; they were really hard to give up but my mom gave me her runnners and she told me mine needed to go. Can't argue with my mom!
• few more pieces of costume jewelry, and items I was going to use when I wanted to try my hand at making my own jewelry (what was I thinking?)
• Adidas bag - one of the vintage inspired ones from my university days.
• Indigo tote bag - given to me by my friend, but just have too many bags and had to decide to let it go.
• Not wardrobe related, but I let go of a few more glasses from our kitchen, and made the rounds in my condo and threw out as many random pieces of paper as I could.

Coming - 

• Black Hunter boots - my mom can't wear a lot of her shoes any more due to spurs =( so she gave me her knee-high Hunter boots. In Vancouver, these are a staple and I'll now have another pair of rainboots to add to the two I already have. Rainboots are an item that I plan to not buy until I need to replace them so since my existing pairs are still in great condition, I won't be buying rainboots - probably, ever.
• Nike runners - again from my mom. This is great because I have been thinking about replacing mine and I really needed a push. Free, is a good push, haha. 

Color capsule attempt - Black, White, Gray, and Navy

After my Tuesday post about our dreary Spring, I decided to try a new approach to my wardrobe. When I began my purge, I organized my wardrobe by colors and let go of anything that didn't look good on me. I am going to take it one step further and try to stick to a color capsule of only black, white, gray and navy (blues). 

Why the sudden change? I'm bored by all this rain and also find myself distracted with what I have - it's been harder the last while to put together outfits and I need to re-focus; also, my purging has really slowed down and I find I'm getting tempted to make purchases (I haven't! but I'm tempted!). Since my attempt at a capsule wardrobe didn't work out, I'm hoping this will help me stay focused but allow me to still be flexible. Also, it's a great way for me to wear more of my shoes - since I got so many new pairs lately, I've been working on creating outfits around my shoes (I have a really bad habit of starting with awesome shoes and then changing into flats the second I get a chance)

I discussed my plan with my co-worker (I shall call her N) and she suggested that I only do this for work, or I might get bored or feel restricted. I thought that was a really good point, especially since I still love color, have great pieces, and am still trying to perfect my weekend wardrobe - perhaps I can shift anything outside of the color capsule into my weekend and voila, perfected! (We'll see, haha) 

Also, she loved the color capsule idea so much, that she joined me on my challenge to wear only black white, gray, and navy for the rest of the week. Here are our outfits:

My outfits:

(Shoes: BCBG gray patent pumps; Nine West Swaymeso kitten heels; Nine West leopard pumps)

N's outfits:

I loved all of N's outfits - she looked so perfectly put together for the office and made it look so easy! For myself, I definitely love the idea but I need to actually organize my closet and think about outfits. Since it started out as a whim idea, I wasn't super prepared but we decided we loved the idea so much, that we're going to take the challenge into April - we'll be sticking to the same set of colors. Also, my husband is returning soon (yay!!!) and I will have use of my Stylebook App again (bonus yay!!!).

Did you notice my shoes though? hehe. I think if anything, although I wasn't super happy with my outfits, I AM super happy about my shoes and their rotation. 

Spring is here! and what do I wear?

For the last few weeks I have been anticipating the arrival of Spring - looking at Pinterest for ideas, I couldn't wait to start wearing some color and break out some lighter outwear. Of course, we are experiencing terrible weather. While we have it better than eastern Canada, it is pouring rain and randomly breaking into torrential down-pour. This means it's wet, dreary, and COLD. Forget the cute skirts and open toe shoes, forget the tan trench coat, forget the small cute bags, but DON'T forget your umbrella and rain boots =(

How have I been battling these Spring blues? With khakis! After I discovered GAP khakis, I have purchased 4 pairs in less than a year. 2 in lighter spring colors (pale pink and dusty gray/blue), a lighter gray in linen, and a pair in dark gray. Yes, Yes, I know, I talk about the GAP a lot, and honestly, I'm surprised that I haven't raved about these pants sooner, haha. When I bought them, I bought them for summer use, but I am fast realizing that they give me the taste of Spring I'm so longing for, AND they keep me warm. 

The great thing about them is that they look great with flats, sneakers, and high heels. I've been wearing my rain boots to work and then switching into my heels for a more professional look at the office. When I have a tour, I can wear flats and they still look professional and keep me comfortable, and for weekends, I can wear my sneakers =) Very versatile!

TGIF!

TGIF! Must be said twice. What a week... I am happy to announce that March is still a no-purchase month for me and I haven't had an urge to buy anything; I've also had 3 no-spend days in a row, this last week! 

My younger cousin has taken up sewing lately so instead of donating my items, I have been giving them some thought to maybe re-vamping/re-purposing them. I was given two, WAY over-sized t-shirts (in the same style!) and I asked her to turn them into a crossbody feed bag, and a laptop sleeve.

(original t-shirt; two sides of the feedbag)

The laptop sleeve (not shown) worked well and the look of the bag was great except the material is 100% cotton so there is a lot sagging. We are currently thinking of how to correct this - the most obvious answer is to add a lining of the non-sag nature (perhaps with another item I already have), buuut... we may also re-re-vamp it, entirely.

I'm now less 2 t-shirts I will never wear and have one functioning laptop sleeve, and working toward, a functioning feed bag =) 

Benchmark items

I know one of the first rule of thumbs when purging is to get rid of all the clothing that doesn't fit you but while I was purging, I couldn't help but keep some favourite items in hopes that I will one day fit into them again. 

These are a few of my benchmark items.

(Mexx, Tahari, Tommy Hilfiger, GAP)

I try on my benchmark items every few months - I last tried on these items at the beginning of the year and they were tight. Very tight. This month I started to do the 30 day squat challenge and I tried these pieces on, on Saturday and they fit! The blazer was a little tight in the shoulders but I was able to button it, and the dresses and skirt skimmed my body like they did when I first bought them, years ago. I am beyond pleased and am so glad I kept a few of these pieces - I know some people find them demotivating and I did too at times, but they also help me find motivation every time I looked at them because they remind me of why I want to be healthy and shed some weight - so that I could wear these favourite pieces again! 

Do any of you have any benchmark items? I have a few ultimate benchmark mark pieces but I think I'll actually have to lose 10 more lbs to be even close haha, but I'm not giving up!!!

So far so good...

We're almost nearing mid-month of March and so far I've managed to keep my goal of not making any purchases. 

I do put it out there that I did purchase two items from Target, NOT for my wardrobe, but to help me organize and de-clutter my bathroom. 

I purchased some little containers that were less than $1/each for a pack of 2 (I bought 2) and a jewelry stand. I don't have a jewelry box as I hide my valuables haha, and I've never been one to pay too much attention to costume jewelry. Last year, however, I did commit to incorporating more of my costume jewelry into my style  and daily wardrobe. I have been eyeing a jewelry stand for ages but just didn't feel compelled to shell out $20 for it - I know, I can be SUPER cheap about some things. With Target lowering their prices as their Canadian stores close down, I figure, finally, why not. 

I now have de-cluttered my small counter top (I live in a condo, trust me, there is practically no counter space) and feel a lot more organized. My jewelry is now where I can see it and easily accessible - loving it!

I don't count this as a wardrobe purchase, but more so, as necessary tools to help manage my life, thus bringing me more clarity and joy =)

The joy in finding things that don't work

Now that I have been working on purging items from my wardrobe and life, I find so much joy when I discover something isn't working for me. The other day, I decided to break out a pair of sneakers that I've held on to since university (I was a huge sneaker fanatic) and work it into my outfit. 

Outfit was very casual for wandering around my neighbourhood, but I found that my shoes were not as comfortable as I remember. Instead of feeling sad, I found myself doing a self high-five in my head because the only thing that I could think about was that I was able to let these go. I held on to them for so long because they were in such great condition, and I couldn't bare the thought of letting them go for the money I spent on them, but hey, they don't work, they don't work, and now I can let them go in peace, having given them a fair chance. 

An added bonus, it will help me slowly even myself out in my shoe numbers since I bought 4 pairs last month =S 

Do any of you feel happy when something doesn't work? I find now, for the most part, when I'm in the dressing room and something just doesn't work, I'm more relieved than sad. 

Stress shopping

The last few months have been quite stressful and I have been feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and worry. I won't get into it, but I will get into 'stress shopping' - I found myself doing that a lot. In addition to the 4 pairs of shoes I purchased, I completely forgot to add the 2 pairs of pants, skirt, and dress that I bought, to my February count. Oops. Seriously, I just forgot until this morning. 

I noticed that when I'm in a good state of mind, the idea of shopping does not even occur to me. I'm pre-occupied with being productive and motivated that shopping is the last thing on my mind. When I'm upset, I have realized that I start to feel an urge to purchase things, and if I'm not careful, it can spiral out of control. Knowing this, I do stick to more affordable pieces and places during this time and I always keep the tags on and ride it out. Once I feel better, I re-evaluate what I purchased and make returns if necessary. (although right now I have a very big urge to go nuts at Louis Vuitton - but I won't, I know better than that).

Right now, the silver lining is, since I know my style a lot better than I did, I've made some good purchases even during this time. I know, not an excuse to buy, or keep, but at least it's not a total loss. All the items I've so far purchased, I have worn and love. The pants I bought, love love love - again, from the GAP (I'm really in love with the GAP right now) - I bought their Always Skinny corduroys in black and a pair of their boyfriend jeans. No hemming required for either! Hurray! I've worn them so many times since I got them that their cost per wear is almost down to nothing (it helps that they weren't even $15 each - see, how could I pass them up??). I made two purchases at H&M for date nights when my husband returns and since he loves them, I will be keeping them; I don't have any 'date night' clothing, so these are nice additions to my wardrobe and I can always use them for other occasions, with the right accessories. 

Although I stressed shop, I picked up some great pieces and I DO NOT intend to bring this habit into March. March, I vow, will be a purchase-free month!!!

An amazing find for me - GAP boyfriend shirts

I love dress shirts - I think they look amazing on people! 

Unfortunately, they were an article of clothing that I found difficult to buy - they would either be too tight across the chest, or fit my chest and then be too big around my shoulders and back, or just over-all too tight or too large. And then there's always the gape between the buttons - so many gaps!

Last year I was shopping at the GAP (I love their sales and grab my trendier items from there (trendier for me, not necessarily trendy haha); and their sales are amazing) and came across a dress shirt and I thought, why not - by this time, I had decided that I wasn't going to wear dress shirts any more but I figured I've already been disappointed this many times that once more isn't going to make a difference. 

I tried, and fell in love - GAP's boyfriend fit shirts fit me to a T and since my discovery, have added 5 of them to my wardrobe, including the much raved about 'chambray shirt,' and wear them constantly. I also really love this pink plaid one - it looks great with so many things!

And the gaps? Depending on the material, there are none! For the thinner ones, there's only 1! Which I just tape up using double-sided tape =)