Resurrecting The "Shopping Bans" Topic

Faithful readers of this blog and close friends know that last year, I embarked on one of the hardest challenges I've ever set for myself: From the beginning of May to the end of September 2008--just a little under five months--I was under a self-imposed shopping ban...no clothes and accessories were purchased during that time. Recently, I've been seeing more and more fashion bloggers impose bans on themselves to save some money for the holiday season or for other goals, prompting me to look through my archives at what inspired me to not shop and how I fared when I ended it.

Right now I once again find myself on a mini ban of sorts to save money for other people's Christmas presents without compromising my personal savings goals (although I've already slipped up and bought a netbook).

Are you on a shopping ban? How have you fared so far? Let's share and commiserate in the comments. And for the readers trying to watch their spending, check out this old post from August 2008 with tips on how to make it through. Good luck! I know how difficult it can be.

21

The Ban Is Broken!!!

What kind of crazy masochistic bi-atch denies herself much-anticipated retail indulgence on her birthday? Not me. I decided I'd proven to myself that I could refrain from impulsive spending, and that I could start looking for quality instead of spending on cheap crap. Just in time, too, because this weekend was the big Banana Republic 30th Anniversary sale when everything in BR was 30% off.

I started off my first weekend of shopping in more than 4.5 months with the Blim fall craft market up on Main and E. 17th. I was exhausted after a week of BC Fashion Week coverage for Stylefinds and was mainly there to chill out rather than write up the market as another post. It was there that I met Nicole of It's Your Life and fell in love with her vintage-inspired charm necklaces and earrings. A little too much time browsing the jewelry selection on the Urban Outfitters website had given me a taste for faux vintage jewelry, especially pendants on longish chains with statement charms. I picked up a brass chain with a bow charm and a cameo.



My 3 BR visits (I went to one location, went to another, then went to the first one to get a cardigan in a bigger size) led to 3 cardigans purchased, all of which fit into my fall must-have list.

A hot pink cashmere sweater was on my must-have list, but when I spotted this silk-wool blend cardigan I just couldn't resist. The raised rounded buttons are a whimsical touch on a wardrobe staple, and the punchy colour would look great paired with the white, gray, and black tees and tanks I've been wearing constantly.

Just a basic black cardi made almost entirely of fine merino wool. Again, not cashmere, but considering my limited sweater budget, it's better to buy a good wool sweater than a shoddy cashmere one.

I couldn't find my size in the reddish-orange version of this sweater. Then I tried on the sweater in brown and loved how refined it looked. Besides, I already have a reddish-orange wool coat with black buttons...getting a similar-looking sweater coat would be too much. (Incidentally, I like how I've used the words "bi-atch" and "refined" in the same post--because here at Solo Lisa y Nada Mas we're all about class.)

11

Tackling Shopping Bans

(Image from imdb.com)

More bloggers and shopaholics seem to be contemplating a shopping sabbatical or even an outright ban these days. The Clothes Horse and Emily of Vulgar Moon tried shopping bans as a means of motivating them to read some heavy literary works. Most recently, Arielle of Hautest Style asked her readers what they thought of her giving up shopping to save for a car. People have their own reasons for starting shopping bans, whether it's because they want to save for a big-ticket purchase or a trip, motivate themselves to achieve a goal, or are trying to curb some bad consumption habits. Indeed, with today's worsening economy, we may see more belt-tightening and less shopping in the very near future.

I myself am now in month #4 of my own shopping sabbatical. If you're contemplating a ban/sabbatical, here are some things to consider beforehand and some tips to help you make it through. This is just based on my experience and what worked for me.

1. Be realistic and specific when you set goals for yourself. I said to myself right from the beginning that my shopping sabbatical would include clothes, shoes, and accessories, and it would last 5 months. However, I didn't include toiletries and cosmetics, and this turned out to be a sneaky little loophole that has kept me sane. In the last 13 weeks, I've bought a new makeup case, makeup brushes, a pumice stone, nail polish, perfume, etc. When I add up the numbers in my head, what I've spent on makeup-y stuff is pretty high all things considered, but what I've spent in the last 3.5 months is still only half of what I'd typically spend on clothes and accessories in a single month.


2. Substitute shopping habits with new ones. Is shopping a way of passing time when you're bored? A bonding activity with friends? An indoors pasttime for rainy weekends? Look at when and how you shop, and develop new habits as substitutes. If you shop when you're bored, find a hobby or apply for a volunteer position to occupy your time. If you shop to bond with friends, make plans to try a new restaurant or see a movie instead. Go to the library and look for a book to read on a rainy afternoon.


3. Avoid going into stores. Stores and shopping districts are a major source of temptation. Just stay away. Why torture yourself looking at things you know you can't buy?


4. Make a mental list of things you would like to buy when your sabbatical's over. It seems counter-intuitive, but I've been doing this for a while now and it does help. If after 5 months, you still want the item you initially craved, it's going to be a well thought-out purchase rather than an impulsive one. Also, waiting to shop forces you to do research. For example, one of the items on my list is a couple of good-quality investment cashmere sweaters, so I've been looking up cashmere-buying and garment care tips online.


5. Having strict, non-enabler friends helps. If I'm with a girlfriend who's shopping and I'm a bit too interested in an item, she'll bring me down to earth quickly with a major guilt trip.

Are you contemplating a shopping ban? Do you have any tips on starting and sticking to a shopping sabbatical?

7

The Verdict Is In...

I'm returning the Nougat London skirt! This option won by an overwhelming landslide and left "Keep the skirt" in the dust.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a comment and vote; I was delighted with the thoughtfulness of all the comments I received. Now, let's never talk of my slip-up again. :P

1

I Caved.

I am so ashamed.

Yesterday, on a lunch break with a coworker, I caved and succumbed to temptation. I broke my proposed 5-month shopping sabbatical and bought a Nougat London skirt at Winners. Now I'm torn over whether or not to keep the skirt. I really love it, but it goes against the whole principle of the sabbatical! The point was to refrain from impulsively buying cheap crap I wouldn't use or wear and it was an exercise in forcing me to think about what I buy. At the end, I'd take the money I saved by not shopping and splurge on a Chanel purse.

So, I need your help. As my readers, you should tell me whether or not you think I should keep the skirt. Log in and leave a comment in the Comments section stating your opinion for/against. On Sunday June 15th, I will announce my decision to keep or return the skirt based on your input. Until then, I'm taking a bit of a posting break to let you guys vote.

Here are some pictures and arguments for and against to help you make a decision.




I should keep the skirt because:

• Nougat London is a quality brand that's not very widely available in Vancouver, and the stuff at the boutique is definitely going to be more than $31.
  $31 is only 22% of $140. I paid 22% of what the skirt's actually worth, so I saved a bundle.



• The workmanship and quality are fantastic. All of the black detail on the skirt is embroidery. It's not printed on.



• I will wear it more than once, and I will wear it often.



• Technically this isn't an impulse purchase since I saw it in Winners yesterday, thought about last night, and decided to go for it today.



• I've already gone 5 weeks without buying any clothes, shoes, or accessories. I didn't succumb to temptation at the new H&M. For those who know me well, this is practically unheard of.



• Five months is a long time to go without buying anything at all.



• If I return it, I might always regret it and remember it as "the skirt that got away," and secretly resent everyone who told me I shouldn't keep it.

I should return the skirt because:

• This goes against the shopping sabbatical!!! I'm kind of embarassed that I promised myself I'd buy nothing for 5 months and I slipped up after 5 weeks.



• This slip-up might compromise my willpower for the next 3 months and 3 weeks.



• It's a little bit big in the waist for me (the skirt is a size 3 and I'm a 1/2 usually), so I'll need to take it in, which increases the overall cost of the skirt by $20.

11

My Shopping Sabbatical Begins...Now!

As weird as this sounds for a fashion blogger, it seems like lately all I ever do is shop, and the act of shopping and buying pretty things is starting to lose its lustre for me. I'm buying things that I want and I know I'll definitely use, but nothing that I particularly need. Compounded over several months, you can see how these habits can amount to a lot of stuff. Suddenly, I feel a severe bout of consumer's guilt as I contemplate how my spending is contributing in its own way to killing the planet. I did some hard thinking last night while talking with a friend and came to a conclusion.

I, Lisa, will be going on a self-imposed shopping sabbatical for the next 4-5 months. I will buy no accessories and no clothing. I figure I have more than enough clothing and accessories to get me through the summer and beyond, especially considering there's stuff I've bought over the last two months that I haven't even had the thrill of wearing yet. (In my defense, the weather's been lousy! No skirts and open-toed sandals when there are winter-like temperatures outside.)

Now, here's what's really cool. If I stop shopping cold turkey and don't buy anything for the next 4 or 5 months, I will have saved at least $2000. I can then take that money and splurge on one really fabulous and cool item, like a Chanel handbag. That way I avoid wasting money on something I don't really need, and I can buy something that would otherwise seem overly expensive and out of my reach. If I can make it through the summer without buying anything, I'll likely buy the Chanel purse in September around my birthday, so the bag will be an extra-fabulous birthday present to myself!

So, if I ain't gonna shop, what can you expect from my posts in the coming months? For one thing, I'll re-assess the clothes and accessories I already have in my closet and try to wear what I have in new, more interesting ways. I'm also going to do more posts about fashion finds on the web, advice posts regarding certain items, opinion pieces...in short, anything that catches my fancy and doesn't involve me dropping dough on impulse purchases.

In the meantime, I've got a bit of closet-cleaning to do, a pair of ruined shoes to take to a shoemaker, and a zipper on a cardigan that needs to be repaired. I'll take care of all that eventually.

2