No New Clothes Challenge - The End

 

So I've done it, I've actually gone a whole year without buying any new clothes. It wasn't difficult  it was quite liberating and it has probably changed my habits for ever. Looking at  cheap new clothes now seems a bit obscene and realising that I've far too many clothes anyway is a bit embarrassing.

Over the past year the times when I've felt I "needed" to buy something has been for smart nights out but I've come to realise that going shopping is actually the lazy option. Mainly I buy something new because it is easier than looking in my wardrobe. The other day when we were off a black tie event I was convinced I didn't have anything ..... ummmm yes I did. After going through my wardrobe I managed to find at least three things  that would do and ended up finding a dress belonging to my mum that I wore and was absolutely perfect for the occasion.

I suppose I have missed that lovely buzz of buying something new and sometimes you buy something that you wear and wear and wear but more often than not you don't realise it at the time. Little did I know the day I was made redundant and couldn't face going home just yet so went shopping and bought my blue silk dress from Planet in the sale that it would become my "default fall back I don't know what to wear attire". I love that dress and I've worn it so many times that it was worth every penny. But those purchases are few and far between. 

The only person who seems to have noticed  my lack of new clothes (and maybe been a bit scornful) is my friend Sarah who quite honestly admits she has a bit of a problem with shopping and couldn't go a month week day without buying something new. Maybe her scorn was justified though as the last time I saw her I was wearing a dress of hers that I seem to have borrowed and never quite given back to her ... oooops. She really notices what people wear and will tell me when the last time she saw me wear something and will remember when I bought it! But let's be honest she is unusual. Last week I went to a party and thought I couldn't wear this dress because I'd worn it with the same people not long ago, then I tried to remember what they were wearing .... no couldn't recall .... so decided that they wouldn't remember either and, if they did, they would be far too polite to say anything. I was right.

Which brings me onto another thought. Why do we buy new clothes? Is it to get that buying buzz, to impress others, to be fashionable or to not look scruffy? I think that I can cover all these things by just buying a couple of new things each year. I'm going to try not to be mesmerised by the price of clothes and perhaps spend a little bit more and go for quality rather than quantity.

I do need {yes need} a couple of pairs of jeans as when it warms up and I stop wearing leggings underneath my current jeans there will simply be a little too much flesh on show from the rips where they have worn out. I would like {not essential but would like} a couple more "not quite everyday but not quite going out" jumpers/cardigans/tunics as I'm getting a bit sick of wearing the same ones all the time. And that's it, I really don't feel the need for anything else.

I really hope I don't lapse back into my old ways