I have a bad habit of buying investment pieces for my wardrobe and ‘saving’ them. I’m not sure what I’m saving them for, exactly; special occasions or events, or someplace fancy, I suppose. Blazers, cozy knits, expensive shoes, the perfect black leather biker jacket… I love owning these things, and the idea of wearing them, but I rarely do. How come?
I read somewhere that lots of women do this, and it’s because we don’t think we’re worthy of enjoying our nicest things. Like, there’s some deep-seated part of us that believes we’re not good enough, so we subconsciously punish ourselves by buying lovely things and depriving ourselves of the joy of using them. (Like Toni Collette’s character in the movie In Her Shoes and her dreamy collection of unworn designer shoes.) Although I’m not sure it’s that deep for me, it’s definitely something to think about!
I wear a handful of pieces on repeat. Eventually this becomes boring, and — with half of my closet allocated to unwearable “special” status — I buy more clothes. Since I’m really trying to be mindful of quality over quantity and ‘fewer, better things’ in my wardrobe, they’re usually more investments. Do you see where I’m going here? Unless I shift my mindset, this cycle will continue, forever and ever, until I’m old and gray[er] and all of my neglected investments have turned to dust.
So this year, I’m vowing to wear all the things. Sure, I may damage something at the flower shop, but that’s better than never wearing it at all. Why not throw a blazer over my favorite relaxed-fit tee — currently on clearance at Target for $6 — or put my fun shoe collection to use to level-up a basic outfit? I’m on a mission to appreciate all the great stuff in my closet, so I don’t feel the itch to constantly buy more.
This is where my ‘style files’ posts come in! On Mondays, I’ll share a roundup of my real-life outfits from the week before. Silly as this may be, I know that by committing to sharing my outfits on the blog again, I’ll be more creative with remixing my wardrobe. And the ultimate goal: it will help me stick to a low-buy through the entire year (more on that soon).
I probably won’t share specific details and links to all the things I wear because, 1.) I’m really into vintage and secondhand designer finds right now, so links aren’t even an option; 2.) I want to give you ideas on how to build a great re-mixable wardrobe and utilize the pieces you already own without focusing on labels; and 3.) I don’t want to sell you stuff that you don’t need. I’ve thought about that last one a lot over the last few months — specifically, how style blogging contributes to irresponsible consumption and waste — but that’s a conversation for another day.
With that said, I know it can be frustrating to see something you like and have to hunt it down. So I’ll include a Shopstyle widget in each post with any items featured that are still available online, if you’re interested. I’ll share exact items only, no substitutions or ‘similar’ alternatives; unless they’re nearly identical.
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Those are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase. (This helps offset some of my blog expenses — like hosting costs and design upgrades — and gives me a little extra cash in my piggy bank.)
I’m really looking forward to sharing my life and style with you for another year! I’m getting back to the heart of why I started this blog a decade ago: as a creative outlet; a place to share what I love and what I wear; and an archive of my life, as told through outfit photos and my favorite recipes, books and beauty products. I’m turning off the [completely self-imposed] pressure of traffic stats, monetization, and growing my Instagram/”my brand”… and just having fun with it all again.
I was chatting with Jess of Roots Out West about this topic recently, and she sent me this Instagram post. I loved it, and it’s just what I needed to get re-energized about a new decade of blogging. I wanted to share it with all of you, in case you need it, too.
Let’s rediscover hobbies in 2020!
Whew! That was a lot for a post that’s essentially about uploading selfies of my outfits every week, lol. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. ;)
What do you think?