Spoils of the ban

Dress: Donna Ricco, vintage, thrifted;

Sandals: Tayla platforms, Target;

Belt: Ann Taylor Loft.
Photos by me.

I'll admit, I cheated and broke the ban last week. I bought this vintage dress and an Anthro skirt (my first ever item from the store) at the Salvation Army. I felt bad at first for not holding myself more accountable, for breaking willpower and spending money when I was not supposed to.

And then I came to this realization: I'll be moving in a couple of weeks, away from this town of thrift stores that are full of hidden and often-reasonably priced vintage pieces, to Athens, which has vintage stores, but they are often picked over and can be overpriced. 

So my question is this: do I discontinue the ban while I am still here, and pick up some items while I still can; or do I remain resolute with my goal while I move and just begin my (occasional) thrifting in Athens? Decisions, decisions.

I'll tell you what I love about this dress, though: it's season-less. It works well here in the midst of summer heat, but I can imagine it being layered with tights, boots and a sweater for the colder months. I like the dark colors, and I've noticed before that I seem to gravitate to combinations of red, white and blue.

What's been really drawing me into thrifting lately is that I am a sucker for the perfect fit. Whenever I try things on and they fit perfectly and have the right proportions, I feel the absolute need to have the item, even if its doppelganger already exists in my closet. I've been really lucky in being able to find a lot of these items recently. Maybe it's an urge I need to quell a bit, but I think I've finally come to terms with the way my body is shaped, and am comfortable in knowing how to finally style it.

Anyways, these are probably some of my favorite images on the blog. I went in the morning on Friday before work to take these after running errands, and I like how different the lighting was on that day.

I apologize for the lack of posting around here. I'm in the throes of transition: moving, tying up loose ends at work and hanging out with friends. I should have some free time coming up soon before the move so I'll be able to post more and comment more frequently on your blogs.

Love, and happy Monday,

Shopping ban, part deux

Dress: Laundry by Shelli Segal;

Shirt: H&M;

Shoes: from Philippines, gift;

Bag: Thrifted.

Photos by me.

Here's what I wore on my day off Wednesday. It's been so oppressively hot that I would love to walk around in just underthings, but since society dictates clothing, I chose this instead. I think the outfit is more suited for spring weather because of the layering, but I like the color combination.

I've been having a tough time with wearing my dresses lately -- I feel like they're more fun to wear in winter/spring because they can be remixed and layered endlessly. In the summer, it's so hard to be creative with them when it's more than 100 degrees outside.

Because of this lack of creativity due to rising temperatures (and the buyer culture I work in), I've become a bit of a shopping glutton the last couple of weeks. It's hard not to fall into the persuasiveness of retail when working at a department store. All the phrases we sales associates tell customers ("You'll use it forever"/"It's a really good deal"/"It goes with everything") suddenly were working their charms on me. For the first six weeks of my job I was resolute and didn't buy anything; during the one-day sale, I bought some tights because they were only $2/pair. And pretty soon, the purchases climbed and got bigger in size: a clutch, dresses here, a sweater there. 

After realizing I have several items never been worn yet (which I'll have to spread out their debuts on the blog soon), I've decided I want to curb my spending habits by imposing a shopping ban on myself. I did one during The Dress Project which lasted almost two months. I think I'm just going to do this one for a month as an experiment, and see how much remixing I can do with what I have. One month of no clothing/accessories shopping. 

I think I can do it again. Wish me luck?