Month: September 2013

by

Retail Therapy is a Ruse

A few weeks ago, the following quote was posted by one of my Facebook “friends”:

Retail therapy works every time.”

I had to resist the strong temptation to fire back with, “No, it doesn’t!”  Although I didn’t want to get into a lengthy debate on Facebook, I do want to write about the concept of “retail therapy” here on the blog. I have some strong feelings about this term and its implications.  In today’s post, I share my thoughts on “retail therapy,” how I don’t believe it’s really helpful at all, and what I believe might work every time.

Retail therapy is a ruse

So you shopped til you dropped – did it really help anything?

Continue reading →

by

Useful Links on Tailoring Your Clothes

After two emotionally heavy posts this week, it’s time to shake things up a bit and turn back to the subjects of clothing and style.  In today’s “useful links” post, I focus on the topic of alterations, as I believe tailoring our clothing can help us cultivate a minimalist wardrobe filled with things we love to wear.

Few Women Tailor Their Clothes

Alterations Tips and Resources

Do you tailor your clothes? Most women don’t!

Alterations have the power to take a ho-hum garment and transform it into something that looks and feels amazing. During my stint as a wardrobe stylist, I learned that very few women tailor their clothes, with the exception of hemming trousers and altering suits and formal wear.   While some of my clients merely needed some education on proper fit principles, others required an attitude adjustment in order to embrace the concept of tailoring.  Fortunately, most of them came around in the end.  In fact, we were often able to salvage many pieces by simple “tweaks” that didn’t break the bank.

Continue reading →

by

Why Do You Overshop?

As I mentioned previously, I am working through the exercises in “To Buy or Not to Buy:  Why We Overshop and How to Stop” by April Lane Benson, Ph.D.  Periodically, I will share some of these exercises on the blog. I won’t share them all, but I will post key exercises I feel will have the greatest impact for my readers.

Today’s post is the first in a series that will stretch at least through the end of 2013, and perhaps longer. I will continue to write about other topics here as well, as I like to keep things varied and interesting for both my readers and myself.  Yet I feel the exercises in Dr. Benson’s book will be highly beneficial toward my personal recovery from compulsive shopping – and yours as well.

Why we overshop

Do you understand why you shop too much?

Continue reading →

by

Useful Links: Fast Fashion and Ethical Shopping

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week!  Since it’s now Friday, it’s time for another useful links round-up.  This week, I’m touching upon the topics of “fast fashion” and ethical shopping.  These issues have been addressed on the blog a few times in the past, both by me and in a few excellent guest posts.  If you’re new to the blog or would like to revisit these articles, click here to view all of the posts in the “Clothing Quality & Sustainability” category.

Ethical Shopping Resources

Today I’m sharing a few articles related to fast fashion and ethical shopping, as well as several links to ethical shopping guides.  While there are a number of companies who are committed to producing clothing in socially and environmentally sound ways, I decided to link to a few shopping guides instead of inundating you with links to individual retailers.

Continue reading →

by

August Accountability and Benchwarmer Project Update

The sun has set on yet another month, so it’s time for another accountability update.  In this post, I share what left my closet, what came in, and how I’m doing in terms of my clothing budget for the year. Also included are some stats on what I wore during August and an update on my “wardrobe benchwarmer” project.

You may remember that in my July benchwarmer update, I committed to making decisions on all 45 of the remaining “benchwarmers” in my wardrobe (for those who are new to this blog, a benchwarmer is something I wore only once or not at all during 2012).  Well, those decisions have been made and I reveal my verdicts below.

I’m Still a Shopaholic, But I’m Learning and Growing

There’s a lot to cover in this post, so it’s a long one!  The news is not all good, but the growth and learning continues.  Although I am still a shopaholic in many senses of the word, I’m definitely in a much better place than I was at the beginning of 2013.  While I still have a long way to go, I acknowledge the positive changes I’ve made and know I will continue to transform my relationship to  shopping and my wardrobe as the months progress.

Continue reading →