Why I decided to stop shopping this year
Whenever the new year rolls around, there are always resolutions to be made. Wanting to eat better, dress better, or take better care of yourself are often on people’s lists. As I rang in the new year in 2024, I made the resolution to not buy any new clothes or shoes in 2024.
As a personal stylist, that might seem a bit odd. I mean, I LOVE shopping - that’s why I do it for a living. I love all things clothes, acessories, shoes, etc, so why would I make this kind of a commitment if shopping is something I love SO much?!
The answer is simple - I have a wardrobe that I love and I don’t think adding anything new will make me love it any more. It’s diminishing returns at this point.
How many people can honestly say that they LOVE their closets? And how did I possibly arrive at this point?
I have spent the last 3 years really deep diving into my personal style and defining and refining it. There were a few key things that I did to arrive at this point, which I’ll list here
1. The first was discovering my seasonal color analysis palette. I’m a true spring and while I already had many of those colors in my wardrobe, confirming the qualities (warm, light, and bright) or the colors that look good on me was a game changer. I identified my best neutrals (camel, cognac, navy, and ivory) and found some pop colors that add interest and joy to my wardrobe (hello, coral and red!) Now everything in my wardrobe mixes and matches seamlessly. I can literally create thousands of outfit combinations with the clothes I currently own and they all look great on me.
2. Next, I embraced my style essence. A style essence is a mixture of a few different styles (classic, natural, gamine, dramatic, romantic, ethereal, or ingenue). It’s based on your body type, facial structure, and coloring. It’s a very subjective thing that it’s not easy to nail down at first, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it. I came to realize that my style is predominantly classic, with some natural and a hint of gamine. That means that my clothes need to have clean lines and gentle tailoring and be fairly simple, no loud prints or lots of detail. Those things distract from my features and make it so that the clothes wear me. Everything within an outfit should feel balanced because my features are so balanced. The natural comes in in the shapes, nothing too tight or overly formal. And the gamine comes in with some pops of fun colors or boyish details (one reason why I love pairing sneakers with more formal looks).
3. I embraced my body type and learned how to best dress it. I have a subtle hourglass figure, and because of that, there are some shapes that simply don’t flatter me (I’m looking at you, wide leg jeans). I also learned about Kibbe body types and identified myself as a soft classic, meaning all of my clothing should be symmetrical and balanced in soft fabrics and always, ALWAYS some sort of waist emphasis, even if it’s only a French tuck. Defining the shapes and fabrics that flatter me best allowed me to cut through all the noise and find the shapes and styles that will always make me look my best and look the most like “myself.”
4. I invested in quality pieces. I focused on quality fabrics (linen, cotton, cashmere, wool, silk, etc) and versatility in the clothes and shoes I purchased. Some of the purchases were things I felt were a stretch (I paid full price for a Solani dress that has ALL of my true spring colors in it that I LOVE) and some were second hand purchases, like cashmere sweaters that I got off of poshmark or Gucci loafers I bought off the Real Real. It didn’t matter the amount of money I paid, but I made sure that they were all constructed well and would last.
5. I tailored my clothes. Tailoring is a fact of life if you want to look good - it’s that simple. I tailored jeans, dresses, even t-shirts the last few years so that everything fit perfectly. It didn’t matter how much I paid for the piece, if I saw the potential in it, I tailored it. For example, I bought a Banana republic factory linen dress for less than $40, and I paid about that much to have it tailored to fit me perfectly. Now it fits perfectly and is a perfect, classic summer dress.
6. I took good care of my clothing. I mended things that needed it. I took shoes and purses to the cobbler and conditioned the leather. I washed items less often and in cold water. I line dried everything. I dry cleaned when appropriate. I developed a lot of respect for my clothes and accessories so that they last and continue looking beautiful.
7. I made a list of items that were holes in my wardrobe and actively shopped for those items. This was based off of items I was pinning over and over again on my Pinterest board and items that I kept thinking over and over again, “I wish i had a ___ to go with this outfit.”
8. I came up with style words to describe my personal style personality. My words are “classic, feminine, easy, chic” - if something I’m shopping for doesn’t fit into those style words, then I don’t buy it or hold onto it if it’s already in my closet. I also made a list of items that exemplify this based on my Pinterest board. Some items off this list are shirt dresses, a camel trench, classic loafers, white sneakers, lace trim camis, etc. This helped to keep me focused and make everything cohesive.
9. Finally, I put outfits together in a look book for those days when I don’t feel like getting dressed. It helps to add a little inspiration to my closet and it’s fun to see just how many outfits I can make with what I own.
And after three years of investing and defining my personal style, I have a closet that I am literally SO excited to get dressed in the morning. I have things to wear for every aspect of my life (except maybe a gala dress, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!)
I am allowing myself a few loopholes - if I’m heading out of the country, I’m allowed to buy 1 thing per trip, but I have to absolutely love it. I can also purchase something second hand, but only if I get rid of 1 thing that I currently have in my closet (and I literally love everything I own, so I can’t see myself doing that). Finally, I want to get back into making my own clothes again, so if I feel inspired to do that, I can buy fabric, patterns, buttons, etc, but I have to finish a project before I buy the supplies for a new one.
Not shopping will allow me to focus my energy on other things, like growing my styling business (and shopping for all of you!), pursuing my hobbies, and reading. Style does take work, but if you invest the time and energy into you style, then you make it so much easier after that.