September 15, 2015 by Debbie Roes

How Many New Items Should We Buy Each Year?

A few weeks ago, I launched my private Facebook group. The discussions in this group are so interesting and thought-provoking that I will periodically share some of them here on the blog. Today’s post includes the very first discussion topic that I posed for the group.

What’s a reasonable amount of clothes to buy per year?

The Question…

Here’s the question that I asked the group members to comment on:

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how many new items it is reasonable to buy within a given year. I know there isn’t one number that will apply to everyone, but I’d love to get some thoughts on this subject. I know that the 50+ items I’ve been purchasing each year since I started “Recovering Shopaholic” is still too many, although it’s a lot fewer than the 150-200 annual purchases I made in 2012 and previous years. I’m thinking that I could probably reduce my purchases by half and it would still be more than enough, provided that I make wise choices. Thoughts?”

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August 25, 2015 by Debbie Roes

How to Successfully Shop for Clothes on eBay

The following is a guest post from Margaret, who is one of the readers of this blog. Margaret lives in New York City and is a lover of style, fashion and interior design. She describes her personal style as an eclectic mix of menswear classic, vintage feminine, and quirky relaxed creative. When not studying for school, she enjoys lifting heavy things, watching interesting TV shows, anime, ballroom dance shows, and reading.

Having grown up during the period of the internet, I have always been quite comfortable with shopping for items online. One of my very first eBay purchases was actually an antique early 1900s French-made chinoiserie wardrobe that cost me less than the price of an IKEA Pax system and is an item that I greatly treasure today for its function, craftsmanship, and beauty.

I want to begin exploring this topic by first providing some examples of advantages to shopping on eBay and shopping online in general versus shopping in brick and mortar shops. I will also provide a list of disadvantages to shopping on eBay and the ways in which I minimize those disadvantages.

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March 27, 2015 by Debbie Roes

Where to Find Quality Clothing

Many of us are looking to shop less often and place shopping into the proper perspective in our lives. At the same time, we’re also aiming to find quality items that will stand the test of time. In the comments section of one of my previous posts, some readers shared resources for where they find quality clothing and asked me to share my insights on the topic. I thought that would be a great topic for a post. As I’ve often said, I get some of my best post ideas from readers!

focus on quality

In today’s post, I list some of my favorite locations for finding quality clothing, as well as some additional resources provided by readers. You may also wish to check out the guest post written by frequent commenter Dottie last year, “How to Tell if a Garment is Well-Made.” This article provides a wealth of information to help you determine if clothing pieces will last before you buy them, so I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already seen it.

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November 18, 2014 by Debbie Roes

The End of Season Wardrobe Analysis

Most people around the world switch out their wardrobes a few times each year as the seasons change. In many instances, this involves moving items from one closet to another or packing and unpacking pieces from boxes or suitcases. Even those of us who live in temperate climates generally have some sort of wardrobe transition as the weather shifts to either cooler or warmer.

Believe it or not, summer is only now coming to an end where I live. The warm weather typically arrives quite late – usually in mid-July – and sticks around until early to mid-November. Thus, I’m only now transitioning into my cooler weather clothing. However, I’m doing things are bit differently as I make the change this time.

For one, I no longer have to pack any items away, as my entire wardrobe now fits quite comfortably in my closet. This is great, as it will now be easier for me to seize the opportunity to wear summer clothing when unseasonably warm days come around. But I will plan to move things around a bit and shift my cooler weather garments to a more front and center position for easier access.

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September 5, 2014 by Debbie Roes

What I Learned from the Five Piece French Wardrobe Experiment

The following is a guest post from Erin DePew (see her two previous guest posts HERE and HERE). Erin is a web developer and graphic designer who happens to love shoes almost as much as “hackathons.” She also enjoys musing on minimalism, client-side scripting, and the pursuit of the perfect pumps.

If you have an idea for a guest post on “Recovering Shopaholic,” please connect with me to share your thoughts.

I love reading about style challenges. I think that they can be a great way to push us outside of our stylistic comfort zones and reveal a lot about our relationship with our wardrobes. While I have really enjoyed reading about Debbie’s experience with Project 333, I decided that the “Five Piece French Wardrobe” was a little more my speed.