Accountability

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February Accountability Post

The short month of February is behind us, so it’s time for another accountability post.  I can’t believe how fast this past month zipped by…  In this post, I will review the items which came into and out of my closet and the reasons for those additions and subtractions.  I’ll also provide an update on how I’m doing with both my budget and the “Wardrobe Benchwarmer Project” (for a more comprehensive report on the latter, please see my last post).

Wardrobe Additions

Since the cold weather persisted throughout January and I found myself frequently wearing my coats, I decided to add another coat as my February clothing purchase.  I saw a lovely blogger wearing a gorgeous black and white coat that was deeply discounted, so I opted to purchase that coat online via Piperlime.   While the coat is indeed beautiful, it was “final sale” and required fairly extensive alterations in order to accommodate my broad shoulders and narrow torso.  But now it looks great and I’m happy to have it in my closet.

My accessory purchase for February was a pair of Coach sneakers, black with grey and pewter trim.  I bought a similar pair last year in all black and they have been one of my favorite shoes this winter.  I also exchanged an unworn and too small pair of shoes from December for Ecco ballet flats in grey.  These flats are on the sporty side and very comfortable and will serve me well in my primarily casual lifestyle.

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“Benchwarmer Project” Update – February 2013

About a month ago, I introduced my “Wardrobe Benchwarmer Project,” which is a catchy term for my efforts to wear and evaluate everything in my closet this year.  In 2012, I had 146 garments and shoes which were only worn once or not worn at all during the entire year!  I termed these items “wardrobe benchwarmers” (because they sat on the sidelines in my closet) and I was quite dismayed to learn that they constituted close to half of my wardrobe!

I love a good challenge and this year is all about challenge for me in terms of my wardrobe and shopping.  I’ve created compelling goals and strict rules for myself in order to overcome my destructive compulsive shopping habit, and I’ve also decided to address my “wardrobe benchwarmers” head on.  Each month, I will address one or more categories of benchwarmers, wear the items in question, and make definitive decisions as to whether they should remain in my wardrobe or be passed on for someone else to use and enjoy.

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January Accountability Post

As I have completed the first month of my journey, it’s now time for my first accountability post (see my last post for “Reflections on the First Month”).  Today’s post will be a bit disjointed, as I did quite a bit of returning/exchanging of items I had purchased in December 2012.  As indicated in my shopping rules, exchanges are permissible, as long as they are done on a one for one basis and within my designated shopping budget.  Since I will only be purchasing one item of clothing and one accessory per month during this year, exchanges should be relatively minimal after this month.

New Purchases

Early on in the month, I decided to purchase a coat as my January clothing item.  I wear the coats I have frequently and really like how a nice coat can up-level even the most casual outfit.  Unfortunately, I found the coat inventory in stores had already been depleted by mid-January.  It can be frustrating how the retail season is months ahead of what we are experiencing weather-wise.  I was forced to turn to online shopping to find my coat.

After two online coat orders didn’t work out, I finally found a winner in a black brocade coat in a classic double-breasted style.  I love this coat and believe I will wear and love it for many years to come.  My accessory purchase was a black leather embellished multi-strand bracelet from Brighton.

January Purchases

My January Purchases – Black Brocade Coat & Black Embellished Bracelet

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The Wardrobe “Benchwarmer” Project

We all have favorite items in our wardrobes, things that we regularly reach for when getting dressed each day.  In contrast, there are other pieces that languish in our closets and rarely see the light of day.  Most people only wear 20% of their clothing on a regular basis, while the rest of what they own is merely taking up valuable closet space and leading to a false sense of having a large wardrobe.

It is one thing to think we aren’t wearing most of what we have, but it’s quite another situation to know this empirically.  The wardrobe tracking that I’ve done over the past two years has shown me the cold, hard truth of what I do and don’t wear.

Wardrobe “All-Stars” and “Benchwarmers”

I’d like to introduce two terms which I will use regularly in future posts:  “wardrobe all-stars” and “wardrobe benchwarmers.”   For my purposes (and you can, of course, create your own parameters), I have defined a “wardrobe all-star” as an item that gets worn eight or more times per year.  I know this is a fairly conservative distinction, and I would eventually like to be wearing my closet favorites far more often than that.  But for someone with a wardrobe of over 300 pieces, I think it’s a good place to start.

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The Cold, Hard Facts: What I Have

I did something yesterday that I probably should have done a long time ago… I took an inventory of my closet.  I decided that if I am really going to confront my compulsive shopping issues head on, I need to have all of the facts at my disposal.  I already looked at the cold, hard facts of my finances (how much I’ve spent on shopping over the past 10 years) and what I did and didn’t wear over the past two years.  Next, it was time to turn to my closet and really look at what’s in there.

january-2013-closet

Doing my closet inventory – Sprite wants to help!

Goal – A Manageable and Minimalist Wardrobe

One of my goals for 2013 (and beyond) is to create a more manageable and minimalist wardrobe filled only with items I love and wear.  My decision to buy less (only one item of clothing and one accessory per month) will help with that goal because it will keep me focused on quality over quantity.   As I wrote about in my post on shopping with limits, the constraints on my shopping will push me to be more selective about what I buy.  For something to be worthy of one of my two purchases per month, it needs to be at least an 8 on a scale of 1-10, and preferably a 10 if at all possible.

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