Saving this for future reference! I participate in Tiffanie Darke's "Rule of Five" campaign last year (basically only buying 5 new items the whole year) and it forced me to create buffer time between coveting something and actually purchasing it. I had to analyze each individual clothing purchase in detail...because my next purchase wouldn't be for another 2 months! Now I feel like I'm in a really good place of noticing gaps in my wardrobe and prioritizing filling those before I buy a wish item that might not get as much wear. I also REALLY enjoyed Haley Nahman's essay this past Sunday about personal style (https://substack.com/inbox/post/143545653). Her observations that a well-curated wardrobe is one that's acquired OVER time and that our style might actually suffer if we rush to buy things are so spot-on.
Also looking at your 2 "regret" purchases--have you looked into listing on Noihsaf for money or on the lucky sweater app, which is for "slow fashion" swaps?? Obviously the most ideal purchase is one that we never regret, but recouping some of the loss by passing an item on to another slow fashion enthusiast in exchange for most of your money back or a different item is exciting and Lucky Sweater in particular feels like it has a wonderful community around it. Thought I'd mention these in case they're not on your radar :)
i've heard of the rule of five, and it 's something i'd actually love to do next year! i've gone past that this year, which is fine, but the goal is to slowly decrease my yearly number, year by year. :) what have you purchased so far this year?
also, thanks for sharing that essay! i'll check it out right now!! i haven't heard of noihsaf or lucky sweater, but i'll look into it!! i didn't realize there were slow fashion-focused reselling sites, but i LOVE that these exist.
This year (so far) I purchased 3 secondhand items (corduroy utility jeans from Rudy Jude via poshmark, a button down from The Great, and some loafers to replace some fast fashion ones I bought 4 years ago that are falling apart) and one new item (utility pants from Beaton Linen during their closing sale, which I had my eye on for a couple years!). I'd say 2 of those were "impulse" purchases (the shirt and the corduroys) but both fulfilled gaps in my wardrobe that I identified last year when I was pretty strict with Rule of Five. I bought 12 items last year, but 9 were secondhand and the 3 new items were matching Christmas pajamas from Target so my sisters and I could surprise my mom lol. I consider that a partial win haha, since I only bought 3 new things, but there's definitely room for improvement. I do feel like I learned SO much, because the first 10 months I only bought 4 items! Then when I bought stuff in November and December it was only from my list of wardrobe gaps (plus the pj's) so I felt really good about those purchases.
My goal for this year is to continue to buy from the list of wardrobe gaps I made LAST year, so basically creating a 6-month to a year buffer, which feels crazy, but is not as difficult as I thought it would be! I think my ultimate goal is to buy only secondhand and limit myself to "one out, one in" because I think I have enough items at this point!! Long rant haha, but just wanted to say I'm super invested in your journey and you have people rooting for you and trying their best alongside you <3
Saving this for future reference! I participate in Tiffanie Darke's "Rule of Five" campaign last year (basically only buying 5 new items the whole year) and it forced me to create buffer time between coveting something and actually purchasing it. I had to analyze each individual clothing purchase in detail...because my next purchase wouldn't be for another 2 months! Now I feel like I'm in a really good place of noticing gaps in my wardrobe and prioritizing filling those before I buy a wish item that might not get as much wear. I also REALLY enjoyed Haley Nahman's essay this past Sunday about personal style (https://substack.com/inbox/post/143545653). Her observations that a well-curated wardrobe is one that's acquired OVER time and that our style might actually suffer if we rush to buy things are so spot-on.
Also looking at your 2 "regret" purchases--have you looked into listing on Noihsaf for money or on the lucky sweater app, which is for "slow fashion" swaps?? Obviously the most ideal purchase is one that we never regret, but recouping some of the loss by passing an item on to another slow fashion enthusiast in exchange for most of your money back or a different item is exciting and Lucky Sweater in particular feels like it has a wonderful community around it. Thought I'd mention these in case they're not on your radar :)
i've heard of the rule of five, and it 's something i'd actually love to do next year! i've gone past that this year, which is fine, but the goal is to slowly decrease my yearly number, year by year. :) what have you purchased so far this year?
also, thanks for sharing that essay! i'll check it out right now!! i haven't heard of noihsaf or lucky sweater, but i'll look into it!! i didn't realize there were slow fashion-focused reselling sites, but i LOVE that these exist.
This year (so far) I purchased 3 secondhand items (corduroy utility jeans from Rudy Jude via poshmark, a button down from The Great, and some loafers to replace some fast fashion ones I bought 4 years ago that are falling apart) and one new item (utility pants from Beaton Linen during their closing sale, which I had my eye on for a couple years!). I'd say 2 of those were "impulse" purchases (the shirt and the corduroys) but both fulfilled gaps in my wardrobe that I identified last year when I was pretty strict with Rule of Five. I bought 12 items last year, but 9 were secondhand and the 3 new items were matching Christmas pajamas from Target so my sisters and I could surprise my mom lol. I consider that a partial win haha, since I only bought 3 new things, but there's definitely room for improvement. I do feel like I learned SO much, because the first 10 months I only bought 4 items! Then when I bought stuff in November and December it was only from my list of wardrobe gaps (plus the pj's) so I felt really good about those purchases.
My goal for this year is to continue to buy from the list of wardrobe gaps I made LAST year, so basically creating a 6-month to a year buffer, which feels crazy, but is not as difficult as I thought it would be! I think my ultimate goal is to buy only secondhand and limit myself to "one out, one in" because I think I have enough items at this point!! Long rant haha, but just wanted to say I'm super invested in your journey and you have people rooting for you and trying their best alongside you <3
Stumbled here and wow! This was an incredible post and brings a lot of perspective into purchases!
thank you so much!!!
this is an INCREDIBLE resource!!!! very honored to be mentioned 💗💗💗 thanks beans 🥰✨
absolutely!!! your content has TRULY inspired me to go on a low buy/live more intentionally 🥺