Month: October 2014

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October 2014 “Grab Bag” of Useful Links

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it!   Since it’s the last day of the October, it’s time for another installment of “useful links” on a variety of subjects.   Included below are links to articles I think you might enjoy on the topics of shopping and shopping psychology, wardrobe management, style, and personal development.  I’m also sharing a few early “Recovering Shopaholic” posts that you may have missed the first time around (or may choose to revisit now).

Happy Halloween with pumpkins

Yes, there are a lot of links in these posts, but I don’t expect you to click on all of them! Just explore the ones that most intrigue you.   You can always go back to this post later via my Archives page if desired.   While you’re on the site, you might also want to check out my Recovery Tips and Resources pages, as well as learn about my book, “UnShopping:  Recovery Solutions from an Ex-Shopaholic.”   And as an FYI, I’m hard at work on my second book, “End Closet Chaos,” and plan to release it before the end of the year.  Stay tuned!  Okay, here are the links:

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Peeling Away the Layers – Another Jewelry Pare-Down

Last week, I shared some of the advice Bridgette Raes gave me in regards to my jewelry collection.   In response to that post, I received lots of comments from readers on the level of duplication among my jewelry pieces, as well as some suggestions for paring things down.    This feedback, coupled with my own feelings of overwhelm with my jewelry, led me to peel back another layer and let some more things go.

Jewelry Pare-Down Process

Is your jewelry collection a manageable size?

In today’s post, I share how I managed to release more jewelry pieces this week and my plans for continuing to cull my collection moving forward.   There will be lots of photos below, but you may also wish to refer back to the full set of photos from last week.   Those images, which I took to send to Bridgette, were what made me realize it’s time to let more pieces go.   Sometimes the old saying that a picture speaks a thousand words is really true! Continue reading →

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Styling Advice from Bridgette Raes – Casual Skirt Outfits

Last week, I shared my initial debrief of my second virtual style consult with Bridgette Raes.  In that post, I wrote about Bridgette’s feedback on paring down my large jewelry collection and cultivating a more workable accessories wardrobe.   Bridgette’s words of wisdom coupled with readers’ comments provided some excellent food for thought – and now I want to do some more culling!  I’ll be back with a follow-up on that topic before too long, but today I’d like to talk about skirts.

A Skirt Conundrum Revisited

Skirt outfit advice

In my first session with Bridgette back in August, we reviewed a few of my skirt outfits, two of which were very corporate and/or church-worthy and not at all appropriate for the life I lead.   Using Bridgette’s feedback, I put together some new skirt outfits that I hoped would be more suitable for my casual lifestyle.  In today’s post, I share what Bridgette had to say about my skirt ensemble “reboots,” as well as my follow-on thoughts and future plans for this area of my wardrobe.

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The Things Shopping Won’t Fix

For years, shopping was my go-to activity for when things weren’t going well in my life.   If I had any sort of bad feelings, I did my best to banish them by heading out to the shops, browsing online stores, or perusing fashion blogs and forums.   I distracted myself from feeling anxiety, worry, fear, sadness, and a whole host of other distressing emotions by means of what many people call “retail therapy.”

What Shopping Won't Fix

Have you ever tried to “fix” your problems through shopping?

I convinced myself that my tactics worked because I did feel better, at least for a while.  But now that I’ve been on my recovering shopaholic journey for almost two years, I feel quite differently.  I now know there are many, many things in life that shopping can’t fix and only one thing it can.   If you head out to fill a legitimate wardrobe gap, you may be able to fix that problem via shopping.  Of course, there’s a fair amount of luck involved in even such directed shopping, but it is possible to fix a defined closet need.   However, that’s the limit to what shopping can do in terms of the problems in our lives. Continue reading →

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Styling Advice from Bridgette Raes – The Accessories

I had a follow-up virtual styling session with Bridgette Raes last week (read about my first session with Bridgette here and here).   I listened to my recording from the session yesterday and there is a lot there!   I was originally going to do a single post about my second session with Bridgette, but now I just don’t think that will suffice!   Consequently, I will devote several posts to debriefing my follow-up styling session.  These posts won’t necessarily be consecutive but will all be published within the next couple of weeks.

I know that many of you would probably love to work with a professional stylist, but that may not be feasible for financial or other reasons.   So I’ve decided to let you in on my experience in the hope that you will glean some valuable style insights through what I’ve learned.  Although Bridgette’s advice is specific to my situation and needs, much of it will also be applicable to others, especially the information pertaining to accessorizing and color coordination.  These are topics often covered on Bridgette’s excellent blog, but I thought these points might be driven home further by means of my personal example.

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