April 19, 2010

Shopping Ban Update

    So--this whole shopping ban has been interesting.  I learned very quickly that under no circumstances am I allowed to go into the Target women's section.  I am REALLY bad about going in there, looking at the clearance rack and buying a few things.  Granted, everything I've bought from there in the past is awesome and I love it, but it isn't all 100% necessary. Luckily, Target did not tempt me as I thought it would these past four months.  
    What did tempt me, however, came as sort of a surprise.  The first of these is Talbots.  About a month ago I went in there hoping to find cute accessories.  Instead, I found a beautiful red wool skirt that was on super sale.  The problem was 1. I couldn't afford it and 2. I wouldn't be able to wear it for another 6 months.  Well, I bought it anyway and ended up returning it a week ago.  I KNEW better and yet, I was weak and let myself buy it.  The good news of course is that I returned it after analyzing my behavior.  At the time I just wanted a shopping fix and it left my shopping ban defenses weak.  Despite being a beautiful skirt, knowing that I wouldn't be able to wear it for another few months really convinced me into returning it.  
    The REAL temptation came in the form of the consignment shop.  Since I started making and selling my headbands through etsy, I've also been doing the same at a General Store here in town.  The general store happens to be in an old grain mill in which the consignment store also resides.  So every Saturday for the past month, I've been chilling out in front of the consignment store doing my headband stuff.  This has posed a problem because every time I've gotten bored, I have strolled into the consignment shop and browsed.  I have only bought one thing, the skirt pictured, but I was seriously tempted to buy a dress this past Saturday.  (I'm hoping that the dress will still be there next weekend, but who knows?)  The other problem posed by the Consignment store is a vintage mouton fur coat that I bought a couple of months ago.  I haven't been able to take a picture of it since I don't have a whole lot of occasions to wear a fur coat to, but when it came down to it, paying $60 for an investment piece such as this beautiful coat was well worth it. All in all, I think the shopping ban has been rather successful.  I stumbled a bit, but at the same time I've gotten to the point where I really consider whether the item I am considering purchasing is really worth the money I pay for it.  So yea, that is what I've learned.  Have you ever tried a shopping ban?  What did you take out of it? 


The Details:
Sweater: LOFT
Skirt: Banana Republic (consignment)
Pin: Consignment Store
Heels: Aldo
Necklace: Kathy

4 comments:

Elaine said...

I can NOT do a shopping ban for the life of me. Especially because I find some great deals and I really don't have a lot of clothes and I"m constantly rotating all of them!

Enter to win a vintage button-down shirt!
clothed much, a modest fashion blog

Raquelita said...

As you may recall, I went one one for a couple of months that was even more restrictive than yours has been -- although it was shorter. In the long run it has made me more aware of why I wanted to shop -- a lot of it was to relieve stress or boredom. I don't know if I would ever go on one, as such again, but I will be limiting what comes into my closet over the next couple of months because I don't want to move more this summer than I have to.

Audi said...

I've sort of halfheartedly tried shopping bans and found that they mostly don't work. They're the equivalent of a crash diet -- there might be short term gains (or losses, in the case of the diet), but it's really the habits that need to change in order for there to be any long term benefit. I've found that developing better methods of scrutinizing potential purchases, and making some general 'rules' that I can live by all the time (such as not buying things that are similar to something already in my closet) works far better for me. But I think for some people, a short term ban might be a good way to shock your system a little and get you to rethink your shopping habits. So don't feel bad if you slip up a little; you're putting more thought into shopping, and that's what's important.

Leah said...

That's fabulous... I admire your discipline and self-control. I did a shopping ban too a couple of months ago and I didn't go to any malls. I don't want to be tempted... sometimes I'm just too weak. Hahaha!

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