Splurge! - Burberry Brit "Blackwell" coat in camel

One of my wardrobe and minimalism goals is to get my coat and jacket numbers down to approximately 10. I currently have almost triple that, and have been slowly wearing them through, letting them go, upgrading them, and not replacing any styles that I don't consider to be a staple in my wardrobe. 

I am aiming for 10 really classic and high-quality coats that are diverse, and want them to last me many many years - I found THIS beauty over the weekend during a team retreat to Bellevue, WA where a Nordstrom was attached to our hotel. 

I love the neutral color and warmth, but most importantly, I love that it looks like a casual coat but can be worn in a professional setting due to its clean lines. I currently don't even have a casual wool coat (that fits me) and this will do double-duty in my work and weekend wardrobe. 

I am already wearing her!

Splurge! - Miu Miu black patent peep-toe pumps

Sometimes, it’s just nice to have something that makes you feel glamorous and these certainly do it for me!

I bought these beauties during my first trip to Hawaii at the Ala Moana Nordstrom in 2008. I’ve only worn these 3 times since I’ve owned them and although I rarely get to wear these, I will be keeping them for special occasions, such as the up-coming charity gala I will be attending this Saturday. 

Save or Splurge!

A few years ago I slowly started to 'improve/upgrade' my wardrobe. If money wasn't an option, I'd love to have a wardrobe of high-end pieces but I'm realistic in what I can afford and therefore have to decide which areas of my wardrobe I can allocate my funds to. 

I save on items such as: 

• costume jewelry 
• shoes for special occasions (although I do like to own one amazing shoe for those super-extra (rare) fancy events)
• basic t-shirts or tank tops
• trendy items (unless they end up being in constant use, in which case, I'll keep my eye out for a better quality version to eventually replace it with)

I am willing to splurge on:

• daily items I need to last as long as they can (i.e. every day shoes)
• the rare items that may not get much use of but need them to look fabulous when I do (i.e. cocktail dresses)
• pieces I find difficult to find and want to avoid re-buying as much as possible

My rule of thumb - spend only what I can afford, and try to get the best deal for anything I buy.  

I should note that my bag and wallet purchases follow a whole different set of rules, but more on that at another time ;)