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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 →

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January through June 2014 Purchase Analysis – Part One

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I’m big on tracking.  I believe that tracking can be highly beneficial for recovering shopaholics, as well as anyone who wants to shop smarter and better utilize the wardrobe pieces they own.   I’ve been tracking how much I spend, what I wear, and how often I wear it since the beginning of 2011, and this year I added photos and an outfit journal to the mix.  I also decided to look at what I’ve bought and whether my new items have become wardrobe workhorses or closet “benchwarmers.”  All of these types of analysis can help us make fewer buying mistakes in the future.

Purchase Analysis

Do you review your purchases later to see if they were good or bad?

It’s been four months since I last did a purchase analysis, so it’s high time for another one!  Last time, I reviewed the purchases I’d made from January through April, but it was probably a bit premature to analyze my most recent acquisitions at that time.  In truth, since I did my post on May 5th, the jury was probably still out on everything I had bought during April – and perhaps for the March buys as well. Continue reading →

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August 2014 Accountability Update

Before I dive into today’s topic, I want to thank all those who answered the question I asked at the end of my August useful links post.  It seems that most of you like the current format of one large links post at the end of each month, so that’s what I’m going to continue doing.  I may also post some links on a specific topic once in a while (I’m planning one on accessorizing soon), but for the most part, I’ll compile articles I think you might like and send them to you on a monthly basis.

Now it’s time for my August accountability update.  Most of you are familiar with my monthly accountability reports, but here’s the drill for the newcomers:  I’ve committed to posting monthly accountability updates to keep myself honest and on track with my wardrobe and shopping goals.  These posts include what came into and left my closet during a given month, what I wore, and how I did with my shopping budget and rules.

Shopping Accountability Updates Continue reading →

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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.

Five Piece French Wardrobe Challenge

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

Continue reading →

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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.

Style journal

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 →