September 15, 2014 by Debbie Roes

January through June 2014 Purchase Analysis – Part Two

You know you’re a numbers nerd when you have to break your purchase analysis post into two parts! In the interest of not having epic length posts on this blog that put my readers to sleep, I thought that would be the best approach.

Crunching the numbers

To refresh your memory, last week’s post covered my basic numbers for January through June 2014, what I still own, my best purchases, and my buying mistakes. Today’s post addresses the rest of the story: those items that are currently in “benchwarmer” territory and why, my first impressions of my July and August purchases, and some conclusions and questions for you. Continue reading →

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.

Project 333 not for you? Try the “Five Piece French Wardrobe”!

Continue reading →

September 3, 2014 by Debbie Roes

My Outfit Journal Two Months In

Back in July, I wrote about the benefits of keeping an outfit journal and shared that I had started keeping one myself. Now that I’ve been maintaining this journal for two months, I thought it would be useful to update you on how it’s going. In today’s post, I outline what I’ve learned about my wardrobe preferences and personal style through logging my daily ensembles.

Keeping an outfit journal has benefitted me in many ways!

My outfit journal has been even more helpful than I ever anticipated it would be. I’ve learned a great deal about what I like, what I dislike, what I need, and what I don’t need through this process. Along the way, I’ve also substantially increased the number of outfits I like. During July, I had one outfit I rated a “6” on a scale of one to ten and five “7” outfits, with the remainder of my ensembles being “8”s or higher. In August, there was still one “6” outfit (mostly a result of getting dressed in too much of a hurry!) but no “7” outfits. Every other look I put together last month I rated as an “8” or above. That’s some excellent progress in a very short period of time! Continue reading →

July 8, 2014 by Debbie Roes

How to Care for Your Summer Knits

The following is a guest post from Deby, a regular reader of this blog, who is sharing some tips and strategies for caring for your summer knits. Fascinated by fashion since early childhood, as the granddaughter of a seamstress, Deby grew up learning about fabrics and sewing techniques. Today Deby works full-time in marketing as a visual communicator/writer, with an active interest in the fashion trends that influence us and how we can enjoy them to our benefit!

Living in a humid Midwestern climate, where the temperatures arrive in the 90’s by June and stay there well through September, I have come to love knits over any other type of fabric for summer. I have a professional position within my company, but I primarily work at home as a telecommuter, with forays out for meetings, lunches, and face time with my coworkers. Although I can dress as casually as I want at home, I always choose to dress professionally on a work day. I’ve come to learn that you never predict what might happen or who you will meet in the course of a day, so you need to look presentable, and knits fit the bill by combining comfort with good looks. Continue reading →

June 26, 2014 by Debbie Roes

Do You Have a Closet Set Point?

On Monday, I shared my most recent closet inventory. I revealed that I have approximately half the number of clothes as I did when I started my blog in January 2013. While that represents amazing progress, I know there are others who have pared down their wardrobes far more rapidly. In truth, I have also purged things from my closet more quickly in the past, but my smaller wardrobe never seemed to last very long.

I’ve come to understand that I have a sort of closet “set point,” a wardrobe size with which I’m comfortable and come back to time and time again. In today’s post, I share my closet set point theory and the insights that have enabled me to reduce the size of my wardrobe over time. I also offer some tips to help you lower your closet set point.