Well, it happened. I totally fell off the new clothes buying ban wagon big-style and went mad in the Lindy Bop sale.
This is the Twiggy shift dress. I absolutely love it.
I knew if a failure of willpower was going to happen in my year of no spending that it would be big, but perhaps not as big as it actually was. I bought six dresses, three cardigans and a top that I’m keeping and I’m sending back five dresses, 2 shrugs and a jacket because of fit issues.
This is the Ariel, it’s got such an amazing shape
Up until now I’ve been SO good for the whole of this year about not browsing in shops that it’s become second nature not to head into the clothes section of supermarkets or just going into town on a Saturday afternoon for a mooch around to see what’s on the rails.
The pattern of this fabric is so beautiful
I’ve been quite unwell since the start of August and have spent nearly three weeks at home off work, mostly in bed. Frustration and boredom has led to a spending spree starting with buying perfume, shoes and boots online along with various dresses from Facebook selling pages. I can’t stop and have gone well over what I should have spent.
This is a lovely dress, really nice thick stretchy cotton
So this spree has ended (I hope) with me raiding the Lindy Bop sale. I feel hugely disappointed with myself, but I also feel that I have picked up some really lovely dresses at bargain prices as the sales at Lindy Bop are known for large discounts – all my dresses were between £12 and £15 and the cardigans were £10 or less.
So there you go, I lasted 226 days of the 366 of 2016, pretty much 2/3 of the year which isn’t all that bad. I’m not going to go back to buying new things though, although I’m giving myself a free pass for theCurve Fashion Festival in Liverpool on 10th September.
Audrey in a 20 – too big so ordered in an 18
Audrey in a 20 – too big so ordered in an 18
I’m hoping that once I feel better and I’m back at work and not frustrated and ill at home that I will be in a better place for both my head and for my wallet. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can scramble back onto the wagon and ride it until the end of the year.
OK, so I haven’t blogged since April, but this doesn’t mean that I’ve given up. I have kept to the letter of my promise not to buy any new clothes this year from shops or Ebay, but perhaps not really to the spirit of it. I’ll explain.
Lady V London dress via Facebook selling community called Horne’s Curvaceous Hunnies
In April I discovered selling communities on Facebook and these have really been a bit of a downfall as I have bought a quite a lot of clothes from several different sites over the past three months. What is really good about them (and also really bad for my willpower) is that it’s mostly people selling lovely dresses in plus sizes. There is such temptation! I have also continued to buy clothes from charity shops as I do enjoy the thrill of the chase.
Dress from Evans via a Facebook page called Plus Size Night Market
The problem is that probably half of the things I’ve bought from the selling communities don’t fit, or don’t suit me. And as they are usually a bit more expensive than buying from charity shops (where at least I can try on the clothes). This has meant that I now find myself with a number of dresses which I can’t wear. So I’m now trying to sell some of these on but not having too much success.
“Tess dress” from Yours via Betty Pamper’s Instagram selling page
I have also decided to sell or give away many of the clothes that I don’t feel comfortable wearing, but have kept because I like the idea of them or that they were expensive. There is one dress in particular that I wore to a really, really horrible meeting, and then later on, on the same day, I got stuck in a lift in it. It brings me no pleasure to look at or wear the dress despite the fact it’s really lovely. So that’s on my for sale list now with a sense of relief. It’s unnerving how much an inanimate object can project so many bad feelings.
Dress from Tu via aforementioned selling page. I altered this a lot to get it to fit, but I think it was worth it as it’s such a fabulous pattern.
So, yes I am still wearing my wardrobe, but it is a wardrobe supplemented by clothes from charity shops and selling communities. Maybe I should have just said I wouldn’t buy any clothes full stop this year.
Another dress from Tu – I love this and have worn it to work a number of times. Best of all it has pockets.
I’ll do a rundown of all the amazing things I’ve got from charity shops in another post and also update on how I’m getting on wearing my unworn and unloved clothes – a sneak peek below of something I bought last year and didn’t wear. I have now worn this gorgeous dress several times already this year.
Joe Browns dress via Depop last year – worn today for an outing to an exhibition of pottery art.
So, my resolution not to buy clothes this year was not buying clothes anywhere apart from in charity shops. This means I have now become an avid charity shopper, popping into the shops in Kendal most weeks and whenever I visit a different town, I look out for the charity shops. This website http://www.charityretail.org.uk/find-a-charity-shop/ is a wonderful tool for finding charity shops and I discovered three new ones in Penrith that I hadn’t come across before as they are in a back street.
Laura Ashley shrug
M+S jumper
These are two of my first three buys this year a Laura Ashley shrug and a purple sweater from M+S. The third is a 100% cashmere jumper which is not at all smart but very warm so is great for slobbing out at home. All of these three came from the Salvation Army shop in Kendal.
Kendal has an Oxfam, British Heart Foundation, Scope, Salvation Army, Barnardos, a tiny Age Concern, RSPCA shop and a tiny Age Concern. I have had the most success in Oxfam, Scope and Salvation Army and have yet to ever buy clothing in Barnardos as the choice there is truly awful (although they do have a good range of books and DVDs).
Per Una brown cord coat
This coat is fab. It’s a little small for me, but as I’m wanting to wear it in the spring, I won’t necessarily need to do it up and it fits well everywhere else. I altered the button position and also took the top button off and sewed up the button hole as it just wouldn’t fit across my bust. Also took up the sleeves, but I have to do this on every single coat I ever buy.
So far, Penrith has afforded the most spoils at the lowest prices, the charity shops in Kendal do seem to be more expensive – they are happy to charge £10 for a dress which I do think is a bit over the top to be honest. I went to a number of charity shops in Islington when I was in London a couple of weeks ago and was horrified at the prices, and even more horrified that the largest item of clothing was a size 16 (and that there was only one of them). Obviously charity shopping is not for the poor or fat in the capital.
Last weeks spoils from Penrith
George red bodycon dress
A lovely wool and angora dress from CC, a label that I’d not tried before
Some of my Penrith charity shop finds
Monsoon dress
Tu dress
I paid too much for these too dresses (£10 for the Monsoon dress and £8 for the Tu dress), although I do like them both
This cardigan isn’t necessarily my style, but it’s lambswool and has the most amazing decorative cuffs!
One of the things I have made sure I do is actually wear the clothes I purchase from the charity shops as I have in the past been known to buy items and then not wear them, so I have really been trying hard to get them all worn.
Brand New AXParis Curve dress – I love this the most of everything I’ve bought so far
One of the things I love the most about charity shop shopping is the thrill of the chase, will I find something amazing that someone else has discarded that I can take and make my own, and love and give a new lease of life to. I really have had some successes this year, and I’m hugely enjoying the challenge as it’s making shopping exciting for me, and it also means that I’m not buying new, I’m helping to reuse clothes that are still very wearable, and that I’m donating to charity at the same time. There is nothing not to like about this!
So my top tips for charity shopping are:
Try on things that aren’t in your size. My finds above include a size 14 dress and a size 20 dress, both of which fit really well
Look for good quality fabrics – I’ve had real luck finding woolly jumpers and cardigans. I rarely buy acrylic/polyester jumpers though unless they look brand new as they are generally bobbly
Be prepared to take things up or take them in. I will need to take in the Monsoon dress as it’s a bit too big on me, but should be able to do this with no problem
There are almost always fantastic coats available
Dresses are hit and miss, you really have to look carefully to find anything nice and often there isn’t anything appealing
Go into your local charity shops every week or so as new things come in all the time
I’ve had no luck finding shoes, but I do hear of people who have scored pretty much brand new pairs for not much money
Take stuff to donate to charity shops if you’re not wearing it
Wearing my wardrobe 