Shopping Without A Cause
Doctor Jones fedora (Goorin Bros.) - Natural linen cotton archive tee (Imogene and Willie) - Catherine natural selvage trouser denim (Imogene and Willie)
Dear 2021, I am on a mission to buy less.
My wardrobe is my happy place, I find joy in all things clothing and so inevitably that’s where I spend my money. This isn’t necessarily a problem as long as I feel comfortable with my account balance after all of my expenses have been covered. For quite some time I got into a bad habit of spending money I didn’t have on items for my wardrobe. Years of this habit led to racking up a credit card bill and the feeling of constant worry of not having enough money each month to pay for my crucial living expenses. Needless to say I grew tired of the misery I was inflicting myself! Moving forward I’m determined to make what I consider a healthy change for my bank account, but also for my mental health.
For the first three months of this year I was able to break my spending pattern and without much difficulty sustain intentional shopping habits. Keeping in reach of my goal to purchase 12 items or less for my wardrobe this year—I had a successful no-buy month in January, made a necessary and well-researched purchase for new underwear in February and then went nearly the entire month of March without a single purchase for my wardrobe. Nearly. During the last week or so of March leading into April—I purchased three items in the span of about two weeks, two of them were unplanned. With the onset of the change in seasons, the month of April is tempting me with her springtime embrace. I can almost taste summer on the way… the touch of warmer weather has me lusting after skin exposing silhouettes and feather soft fabrics. How will I resist?! I’m not going to bullshit you, I’m having a hard time. It’s become clear that I will have more difficulty sticking to my shopping goals during these transition months. I find it easy to get caught up in the excitement of new styles and trends marketed for the upcoming season.
Commonly our society has us thinking shopping mistakes are realizations made a few months or years after we’ve purchased an item—when we see it hanging in our closet with tags still attached or when we see an old photo of ourselves wearing an unflattering or outdated item. Yes, it’s true those might be considered shopping mistakes, but for the purposes of our discussion here shopping mistake or what I like to call shopping without a cause will refer to any purchase made without careful consideration of our wardrobe goals. More generally speaking this would include any purchase made where there was no clear intention or thought process into if or how the item fits with our lifestyle. In this post I’m referring to the context of our closets, but this shopping principle can easily apply to other aspects of our lives.
In my humble experience, browsing without intention can be a powerful instigator for shopping mistakes! My pattern typically consists of the following: I’ll begin by navigating to a website of one of my favorite brands, scroll through hundreds of items and if I don’t see anything I want I’ll move on to the next brand. If I browse long enough I’m guaranteed to find something I like. Oftentimes browsing tempts me to purchase items I don’t need or necessarily want for my wardrobe. Deep in the throes of online shopping, everything looks attractive. Not only are these marketers selling an item, they’re selling a lifestyle. If you have this thing, then you will be more stunning, more magnetic. You’ll laugh more and you’ll absolutely have a more interesting life. It’s their job to convince us we need whatever they’re selling, and wow are they good at it! It’s incredibly easy to get swept away in the sea of beautiful things.
Aimless browsing is something I find myself doing particularly when I’m feeling bored or anxious. My brain is looking for an escape, something shiny to distract itself from the uncomfortable feelings of boredom and/or anxiety. Marketers know how to use this against us! Tapping into that void they know we’re trying to fill—they are able to convince us this purchase is the one that’s going to make us feel better, (at least until the next one). After a session of this kind of purposeless browsing I tend to feel worse because not only do I still feel bored and anxious, but also I become conscious of the time I wasted. I realize my lost opportunity I could have spent actively working on a project that positively effects my mental health.
In the past it was common for me to participate in what I thought was harmless browsing and then end up making an impulse purchase because of it. Why is an impulse purchase an action I want to avoid? I’ve most likely purchased the item based on an emotion or feeling without much, if any consultation from my critical thinking. I haven’t paused to ask myself a question as fundamental as: Do I have the money to spend on this right now? What other expenses do I have coming up that I need to keep in mind? Impulse purchases often leave me feeling as if I’ve wasted my money and cluttered my space. It is possible to add an item to your wardrobe that started out as an impulse purchase and becomes one of your most worn/most loved items. I can tell you it’s possible—because it’s happened to me. However, the majority of items I’ve purchased in this manner spend a great deal of time in my closet before ultimately moving on to a new home by way of donating, gifting or selling at a much lower cost than I originally bought it.
So…how do we march forth without stepping on all these land mines marketing gurus have set in our path? I would encourage anyone interested in changing the way they shop to equip themselves with a plan before opening a browser or stepping inside a store.
The bottom line is if you want to impose changes on any facet of your life you must have a set of goals to point you in the direction you want to go. In order to improve your shopping habits and avoid shopping mistakes you must first decide what your overall wardrobe goals are and second, remind yourself of why those goals are important to you. This second step is vital in helping you to sustain your commitment to achieving your goals. It’s the fuel that sparked you to make a change initially, use it to keep the flame burning. For example, my overall wardrobe goals include, I want to buy less because I want to own fewer items and because I want to prioritize saving money. I also want a thoughtfully curated closet filled with pieces that make me feel like my best self. Now, why are these goals important to me?
I am tired of owning an abundance of things—I have found that it drains my energy instead of restoring it.
I would like to be able to save money for some of my other passions such as building a tiny home or traveling.
I notice that my mood is affected by what I choose to wear—positively and negatively. I want to tap into that positivity as mush as possible!
I find joy in learning about fashion and style. I enjoy the creative process of collecting items for a cohesive wardrobe as well as piecing together an outfit. More creative me = More moments of joy
Take some time for yourself to write these down and keep them accessible for those days you need a little extra motivation/inspiration. Once you have a clear direction ahead: try your best to avoid aimless browsing and impulse purchases. They are the arch enemies of an intentional wardrobe! If you catch yourself browsing, attempt to instead focus your attention onto an activity that is positive for you. Go for a walk, snap a few photos with your camera, play a game on your Switch or pick back up on that project you started a month ago and never finished. Whatever you feel are healthy activities for you, make it a habit to go back to those things when you feel the temptation to browse. As for impulse purchases—if you find yourself wanting to click “place order”, in my experience waiting at least one day gives me the perspective I need to make a more informed decision. Try to put off making the purchase for a day and observe what happens. Routinely I notice that the initial urgency and excitement for acquiring something new has worn off and I’m able to consider the purchase with a more critical eye.
I’m looking forward to putting these habits into practice this year and I’m feeling motivated and up for the challenge. Are you interested in changing your shopping habits? I hope this post inspires you to rethink shopping without a cause. Good luck.
Thanks for reading.
This cream colored linen tee I purchased last fall and it has become one of my most worn items. I love the laid back breezy feel and it seriously goes with everything! I prefer to wear it tucked into one of my high waisted bottoms.
