Friday Fashion/Beauty: Online shopping ramble
So… about that whole “buy less but buy better” thing… in the short term it sure can look like “buy more.”
Maybe that’s just me, lol… but in any case, there’s been some good sales around so I now have 3 blazers en route, a skirt, a dress, and a pair of Sperry boat shoes on their way to me.
(Hmm… I detect a theme of some sort… that’s enough pink for thins year, methinks…)
I’m trying to also eliminate or at least greatly reduce the amount of polyester and other synthetic fibres in my closet. (Rayon and viscose get a pass for now.)
It’s a bit of an adjustment since I used to do a lot of recreational shopping, but then a lot of that got squashed in the last year along with most other forms of fun. Also, I had tons of smaller sizes boxed away from previous iterations of my wardrobe, so while I have bought some new clothes over the last year, I also didn’t really need to.
I did get a bunch of silk blouses from secondhand, er “recycled clothing” shops, so I’m wearing those pretty regularly as part of my “wear nicer stuff” campaign.
Of course, I have my eye on something that would be perfect for that “wear nicer stuff” campaign… except for the price.
I’m in love, but there is no way in Hell I’m paying $1100 for a raincoat. Even if it’s Moschino. Even if it’s $1100 on sale.
However, I think I can probably make myself a knock-off with the right fabric and pattern. I did find a yellow fabric that looks close enough, now to find a pink and black fabric. Even if the fabric is what I’d consider expensive, it wouldn’t cost more than say $300.
Sigh… what a pain in the ass… but I ain’t paying $1100 for a raincoat.
All of which has reminded me that I really should sew more and work on those sewing skills to make fun stuff like this for far less than I can buy it for.
After all, I spent an hour at least skimming the clearance section of the Bay’s website looking for two of the blazers I bought. What I was struck by over and over again was the sea of dull grey and beige. Gross.
But I’ve made blazers before; it’s a pain in the ass but it’s doable. Let’s see here… I did a military-style jacket with red and black crushed velvet. I did a hot pink corduroy cropped jacket. Pretty sure there were others.
It gets back to what I mentioned before of not wanting to put in the work on something that I plan on shrinking out of over the next year, but still. Don’t want to live in hoodies and leggings, don’t want to be dull, don’t want to pay $1100 for a raincoat… well, that leaves but one option.
And just accept that as I drop pounds, I will have to take things apart and remake them smaller (or pay someone else to do the alterations for me!).
In other news, I think I mentioned having eliminated 90% of the grey and black in my wardrobe. The exception, of course, is in shoes, handbags, and jackets, and it seems hard to find decent replacements in those departments.
I mean, you want to always have a black handbag and a couple pairs of black shoes, but still. I think I have 10 or more pairs of black shoes.
I had 3 pairs of grey flats but got rid of 2 of them that were plainer (and which tended to give me blisters on my heels) and just kept the grey flats with a bow on them (that don’t give me blisters).
Those happened to be crappy ones from Ardene, but meh… when they disintegrate, then I’ll discard them. Until then, they’re a pass for going to Walmart for groceries.
Y’know, I used to love Ardene’s cheap shoes, especially if there was a BOGO deal on, but I find in the last few years they don’t last as long and they aren’t even as cute as they used to be. And then I would do things like buy 10 pairs when there was a BOGO deal on and I’d still be spending $100.
Then I end up needing to find space for those 10 pairs of shoes.
Well… better to wait for a sale on something that lasts way longer. I’ve gotten plenty of faux-boat shoes from Ardene over the years but they’re not leather and they wear out quick. I got the Sperry boat shoes for $70 on sale, but they’re leather and I’ll probably still have them in 20 years.
Also, it doesn’t hurt to consider where things are made and under what conditions.
I’m tempted by clothes shopping on Amazon, but while I’ve gotten a couple decent items, I’ve also had things come that were the wrong color or that were supposed to be a cotton blend but were clearly shitty polyester upon arrival. It’s really hit and miss on there, of course, since some things come that are really good and of course there’s the whole matter of various sellers in the Amazon Marketplace… but generally speaking, I can do better buying elsewhere or making it myself.
My new rules: buy well, buy on sale, and don’t replace until it wears out. In terms of the cheap shit I have now, don’t replace at all unless I really haven’t got any more of that item. And only buy what I actually am short of and which isn’t going to be drab and depressing.
(Also: start working my way through the damn fabric stash!)
