'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH' - clothes acquisition, hysteria and the perfect wardrobe

[b1ahness]

is there a point where you just have too much nice stuff?
like you have more nice things than you have occasions to wear it to?

For me I would have to say yes. I love beautiful silhouttes, fabrics and designs and I am a very impulsive shopper. But Im a student right now and I usually find that I dont have many occasions to wear the nice stuff I have.Ive become smarter about this though because I find that my closet is full of stuff I rarely wear. Since the end of summer i promised myself to stop spending money on impratical purchases at least for now and invest in classic, wearable pieces like sweaters for the fall.

 

[pucci_mama]

I never buy bad quality items though... fabric and quality is everything for me.

 

[CHEAPandCHIC]

I get problems when I get a new 'fashion inspiration'. Like I'll go to a certain place or see a certain person and be like "oh my god, i need to start dressing like this". And I end up with thousands of different styles in my wardrobe and no money left
But the good thing is that often when I pair up the styles I get a great outfit at the end, so It's not all bad.

 

[fash ho']

its easy to have too much cheap stuff from highstreet shops.

i get amazed (jealous!) of how some people can just buy loads of designer stuff on the regular.

i buy lots of vintage (my two best friends have a store here), ebay, highstreet and flea markets.

when i buy designer items, its from ebay, london fashion weekend, sample sales, outlets or regular sales . . .

i guess i am a bargain hunter and less of a "how will this work in my existing wardrobe" or even "what do I need for my lifestyle right now" . . .
its more the thrill of the bargain.

but when i have a mad spending session (or 'mad' by my own standards and income), I can feel a bit crap about it . . . .like how will i fit this into my small closet and rail . . . .

i try and have a "one in, one out" door policy on recent acquisitions and give to charity shops and occasionally do flea markets, but that doesn't always keep balance in my closet.

if i bought sensibly and occasionally, with a stronger sense of what i need and what suits me, then i probably wouldn't have that overspend and self-disgust.
on the other hand, it sounds so very dull . . . . .

 

[MissWednesday]

I guess the thing for me is that my items are just cheap and nasty so I don't really WANT to wear them and end up wearing the same thing every day...jeans, top and jacket. I guess I have no justification to spend so much money on expensive items when nothing feels right on my body anyways.

I really am stuck in a rut.

 

[Autumn]

I've become a quality over quantity girl of late. I weeded many of the cheap buys I'd splurged on. Things that were great for the moment but didn't have the quality or perfect cut, but it was such a great deal that I couldn't pass it up. I rarely wear that stuff and it hangs in my closet or drawers just obstructing my view from the pieces I really do like. The result is I buy less, but what I do purchase is exactly what I want and at the quality to last a while. I have less things, and you'll probably see more repeats in my look on a daily/weekly basis. But I am more pleased with my look overall.

 

[justlooking]

Like pucci_mama, melt977 and others have said, it's all about quality for me.

I feel bad sometimes because it's almost snobbish in a way, but i just can't bring myself to buy something that may be a nice, flattering cut/style but which is made from cheap material/fabric.

It also makes life difficult, because as a student, i can't exactly splurge. So my wardrobe, although consisting of expensive, quality pieces that i know will last the test of time, is quite small. I, like The_Ida, don't have those one-night shimmery party tops that my friends have for clubbing. My beautiful silk DvF camosile will have to do. I'm a little insecure about it because the people around me who do also love fashion (and don't get me wrong, i love watching trends...i just don't necessarily follow them) and are always in something new and 'loud.'

Shopping for me doesn't happen that often. I'm always on the look-out and i'm always wanting something (atm a Cavalli bracelet and my Louboutin pumps) but i either don't go to the next stage and buy or will thoughtlessly, as if in a trance (i kid you not) make an impulse purchase. My last were some gorgeous YSL velvet wedges. I never feel like i 'NEED' new clothes though. The pieces i have are solid ones so while i may be a little repetitious (which is probably extremely WRONG seeing as i am interested in style/fashion) they're never 'unfashionable,' or passe, so-to-speak.

The body image problems i have highly influence the rate at which i buy clothes. Although they are a burden to have, they also work in a positive way i guess in stopping me from buying some fabulous (and fabulously expensive) pieces.

edit: i feel like i just made no sense. lol.

 

[LuxuryLover]

I'm very picky about what I get. I often pass something up in the store even if I like it, and force myself to ponder it for a few days to make sure I really like it and it wasn't just a passing impulse and something I would regret buying or wouldn't wear

 

[quimby]

this is very much on my mind, after the winter sales blowout i just indulged in...

 

[softgrey]

too much is never enough.......

 

[PrinceOfCats]

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful

I now have a budget of approximately £10 a week for living expenses after Selfridges, Browns and Comme des Garcons cleared out my bank account in a sneaky triple action... oh well, I haven't broken into the credit card yet.

 

[mingminglei]

The problem I feel like I have is that I have a closet full of things that while aren't bad I don't really care particularly for but bought for either the sake of buying clothes and having more or because they were cheap. What I am therefore stuck with is a closet full of junk and nothing I really love and thus a craving to buy a lot of new stuff. And repeat. What I need is to buy only a few pieces I do love to death. But it's so hard to limit myself; I always want to buy things on impulse instead of things that represent me and my style. It doesn't help that I see so many cute things and want them all, instead of again things that I love to death. Quantity over quality syndrome Though not in the normal sense, but more of a sense of a lot of cute things but nothing that's ridiculously loved and could never be tossed.
And I never quite can tell what I love versus just like. Although, I do have reccuring dreams of a dress I didn't buy because there were none in my size; of course this could be because I didn't buy it so much as loving it...

 

[Princess Coco]

^ Yeah, I am like this as well, although I have told myself this year will be different. Now, if I buy something, im keeping the tags on for a couple of days to decide before I keep them, so I can try it with other things in my wardrobe. Seems to be working so far.... But I agree, the temptation to buy something just to cheer myself up is really strong, although I know I would appreciate it more If I wait and get something of higher quality that I love.

 

[tangiblelove]

Like pucci_mama, melt977 and others have said, it's all about quality for me.

I feel bad sometimes because it's almost snobbish in a way, but i just can't bring myself to buy something that may be a nice, flattering cut/style but which is made from cheap material/fabric.

It also makes life difficult, because as a student, i can't exactly splurge. So my wardrobe, although consisting of expensive, quality pieces that i know will last the test of time, is quite small. I, like The_Ida, don't have those one-night shimmery party tops that my friends have for clubbing. My beautiful silk DvF camosile will have to do. I'm a little insecure about it because the people around me who do also love fashion (and don't get me wrong, i love watching trends...i just don't necessarily follow them) and are always in something new and 'loud.'

Shopping for me doesn't happen that often. I'm always on the look-out and i'm always wanting something (atm a Cavalli bracelet and my Louboutin pumps) but i either don't go to the next stage and buy or will thoughtlessly, as if in a trance (i kid you not) make an impulse purchase. My last were some gorgeous YSL velvet wedges. I never feel like i 'NEED' new clothes though. The pieces i have are solid ones so while i may be a little repetitious (which is probably extremely WRONG seeing as i am interested in style/fashion) they're never 'unfashionable,' or passe, so-to-speak.

The body image problems i have highly influence the rate at which i buy clothes. Although they are a burden to have, they also work in a positive way i guess in stopping me from buying some fabulous (and fabulously expensive) pieces.

edit: i feel like i just made no sense. lol.

admire your self control. sounds like a good outlook.

 

[Bel]

Self control... I need that.
I never find any clothes I like in stores, I buy everything online. And I always have a long list of things I want bookmarked. The problem is by the time the last thing I ordered arrives I'm not that excited, I'm just waiting until I get the money to buy the next thing. It's no fun.

 

[StrokesFan210]

this is a good thread, I'm sure lots of us suffer from this delusion that there is such a thing as the perfect wardrobe. A few things that I've done since admitting to overbuying in the last months are to

1)buy more classic and high quality items even if they are a lot more expensive and may seem boring at times (those burberry prorsum purple suede gloves for men from last season had its appeal but I'm not too interested in them anymore, I did purchase a nice black and brown leather pair though). In addition, I tend to justify high quality and expensive purchases in knowing that I will not look for "slightly better" items that are very similar. this will save time and closet space

2)stick to a more minimalist wardrobe. I think I read somewhere that Tom Ford has only white cotton dress shirts, jeans and black blazers in his wardrobe. I think they even had a picture of it and surprisingly it looked CLOSE to a perfect wardrobe. Too many choices can definitely be confusing when deciding what to wear, and when trying to find your own style as well.

3)lastly, I sell everything of any value $10 or more on eBay. It is really easy and I have no problem trading 3 items that I may have bought 2-3 years ago for $50 each for a TOTAL of $25-$50 today that I can spend on a new item.

good luck to everyone and I realize that being addicted to retail is definitely not a joke!

 

[Whitelinen]

^ I think you just said the first positive thing about Ford I have heard. I think "his idea" is brilliant ... I think I will try that out.

 

[Priestess]

I'm past my shopping frenzy now. I acquired that many clothes that the bar in my cupboard actually broke. So over the past few months I have been weeding out all the clothes I don't wear, don't want and don't suit me. Turns out, I'm left with very little.

So now, instead of shopping in a frenzy, I'm focusing on quality rather that striving for that little buzz I get when I make a new purchase. As well as avoiding buying something simply because it so "in" right now. I go by what suits me and how I can work it with what I already have at home.

And now, suddenly, I seem to have more to wear simply because everything in there actually works.

 

[jennifer~]

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful

This is true, which is why you should always take common sayings and idioms with a grain of salt (and never look a gift horse in the mouth).

An actress, who I think was Christina Ricci, stated in an interview (which I think was for W), that her goal was to reach a point of never needing to buy again, once she had acquired enough clothes for every occasion/mood... I wouldn't quit shopping if I still enjoyed it, but her philosophy and mine are similar: neither requires a lot of willpower, except in terms of holding onto things that are just taking up space...

 

[solg]

first of all, great topic!

1) buy more classic and high quality items even if they are a lot more expensive and may seem boring at times.

2) stick to a more minimalist wardrobe.

i think these two items are the key to manage one's shopping habits.

few times a year, i encounter myself looking at my closet, being late for school, and not knowing what the hell i'm going to wear. as a result, i end up wearing outfits that i'm not comfortable in, or wearing the same thing everyday.
my problem it's not that i buy too much, but i buy stuff that i end up wearing only once or twice (or never, i have a black dress that's hanging in my closet for three months now). i try to clean my closet once a year, and get rid of everything i think i'm not going to wear anymore.

i think the biggest problem for me is that when i happen to be in those situations, i need to change the direction my style's taking. and not having figured that out makes everything 10 times harder.