84
days since I began this diet.
49
days until I broke down and bought “something”
875
what that ‘something’ cost. “shh..”
35
days since then
8
items I tried selling on eBay in hopes of M.M.M [making more money]
1
item that actually sold [jeans]
69.99
was the price I sold them for [yay!]
200
was what I paid for them [boo]
281
days left in this challenge!
HAPPY FRIDAY LOVIES :)
All right ladies, thank you for all of your votes on our last poll! It looks like the majority of dieters buy their bra’s at department stores and specialty retailers. Not surprising, how can we resist when Victoria’s Secret sends out those handy coupons every couple months…lesson learned once they get you in, you’re never getting out without a little pink bag in hand and a lot less in the bank account! So now that we’ve established where some of this purchasing is happening, here at TGAAD we’re curious as to how you are making your purchases these days. The terrible question we hear time and time again: ”Will that be debit or credit miss?…umm could it be free? Nope ok, it was worth a shot!” Part of my financial management plan has always been to only purchase clothing on debit as to avoid those impulsive spending sprees prompted by various circumstances such as: the winter blues, a bad day, oh a sunny day in February I should probably buy some shorts to get prepared for all of the upcoming sunny warm days in Seattle, half birthday gift from myself to myself (I’m really so thoughtful), etc… we’ve all been there before
! So we come to our newest poll: What method of payment do you typically use to purchase clothing? Enjoy!
Zero shopping. Hundreds of things I want.
Four weeks seems like a tiny kilometer on the road to recovery when you look at the whole grand scheme of things doesn’t it? I always find that once you put a timer or clock on something, it seems as though time goes slower; creeping along at a snails pace. Then each day, afternoon, hour becomes an accomplishment; a countdown really.
As triumphant as I feel, I can’t help but think about these last four weeks and how I’ve dealt with them. I’ve been alright, I guess. Have I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs in agony?!? Rip out my hair in desperation? Have i wanted to binge, purge, binge and purge once more for good luck?? [clothing wise, of course]. WELL, Im not going to dignify those questions with an answer. A pictures worth a thousand words right?
Oh the agony. It's unbareable.
Okay, okay let’s be honest; it’s been painful!! I miss online window shopping SOOOO MUCH! I use to spend so much time looking at beautiful clothing, shoes and jewelry; daydreaming about endless outfits. Wait..whaaa? “I use to spend so much time looking at clothing, shoes and jewelry; daydreaming about endless outfits.”?
WOW. No wonder I never got anything done. No wonder there was never enough time for laundry, knitting, scrapbooking, cleaning, spending time with the bf, sports, social life and weekends. It was always wasted in front of the computer; all of it taking a back seat to my shopping addiction. I would literally spend hours trying to find the best bang for my buck.
So, I say: It’s time to start doing something a little more proactive with all those extra hours in the day! Get off your computers, stay outta those malls!
Check out my blog for older post: nakedsusie.blogspot.com
I never claimed to be “normal”, that being said I will go into a brief history on my love of books. For the first seven years of my childhood we did not have tv, so I spent hours of my life scanning through pages of the books which brought me worlds away from my boring reality. I don’t want to brag, but I did win an award in elementary school for having read for the most hours than any other kid in my school (granted I did go to a small school). I can often become lost for hours in book stores, perched against shelves reading my way through countless books and magazines (the travel section is a dangerous place for me, thank you Anthony Bourdain). When updating the Reading Club books for TGAAD, I have a difficult time choosing just a couple books at a time because of the countless great books out there about shopping, fashion, and money saving tips. I’ve narrowed it down to just a couple as to not overwhelm anyone out there. The first new book I’ve added to our list is Cinderella Ate my Daughter by Peggy Orenstein, the book is a fascinating discussion of the princess culture our daughters are being brought up in and a questioning of how to best deal with this without rearing a daughter who will become the next participant on You’re Cut Off (VH1 reality show about very spoiled girls). The second book added to our list is Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict by Avis Cardella, which gives us an account of the authors addiction to shopping as well as her emotional connection to purchasing, especially after experiencing the loss of her mother. So read away and enjoy!
My second topic of discussion today is that I realized I have been neglecting our conscious shopping page and thought it was perhaps best to take a moment to think about our male counterparts and give them a little help when it comes to shopping. So I’ve added a new and fabulous clothing company named Longshot Apparel to our list of conscious clothing brands! The brand is made for the tall fit man, fabrics woven in Italy, handmade in the USA! This might be a great help to some of you who still have nothing for your significant other for our upcoming Valentines Day (singles awareness day to some of us), or to pass along to that guy who just can’t ever seem to find a properly fitting shirt, because lets face it Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome is not supposed to be wearing high water jeans or a shirt that it looks like it was borrowed from his old college roommate who’s appears to be a foot shorter than him.
It is post -holiday blues time for me. But that is no excuse for my poor showing in this important endeavor. I joined the GAAD right before Christmas and since then I have had 3 slip-ups. They all occured at the same place and under similar conditions. Maybe I can learn something by examining what led to breaking my commitment. The place: my favorite discount store. A place where designer clothes are discounted 70 to 90%. A hodge-podge of exquisite things marked down so much as to be a “steal”, and ugly, out-of-date, or slightly (or mightily) damaged monstrosities that no one would be caught dead in. I love “the hunt” – the excitement I feel looking through racks and racks of clothes looking for “the deal”. During the dead of winter there is still a line outside the store of avid shoppers waiting to get in. When I get near I feel my heart beating faster. I even got in a car accident months ago right in front of the store. I was driving recklessly while trying to find a parking spot. Every shopper knows the pitfalls of this kind of shopping. Overly excited, I have purchased clothes I have never worn, or things that do not work with my lifestyle. Designer labels(especially French and Italian) can make me choose an ill-fitting or unbecoming garment just because I think it must be fabulous. When I see that I have saved $1,259.00 (they print this out on my receipt) I feel vindicated. 90% off! No bargain if it sits in my closet and is never worn. I always tell myself that I can sell it on eBay if I don’t wear it, but I always end up losing time and money. It’ a self-defeating habit that I must break. Yet whenever I am in the vicinity of this particular store I find myself on auto-pilot and before I can talk myself down I am inside. Once in, I feel I have to purchase something or the trip was “a waste”. The rationalizations and excuses I make are legendary.
So, in one month I have spent $120 despite the fact that I do not need anything except a savings account. I have purchased 2 sweaters (one of which I will never wear), 2 t-shirt dresses (practical), and a summer dress(cute but impractical).
I am a psychologist and supposedly a mature woman. I should understand an addictive behavior when I engage in one, and be able to do something about it. Alas, I have not been successful. Any ideas?
Hello Everyone!
After reading about TGAAD in October of 2010 I decided to take the plunge in November, and officially joined the website this month. I have been spreading the word to friends & on FB as well.
I have been trying to cut down my consuming for some time- for ‘green’ reasons and personal reasons as well…because I have a HUGE closet! Why? Well, I AM a clotheshorse, been following fashion since I was 11 (I’ve read EVERY issue of Vogue since the 7o’s- that’s a lot of issues!) but the reason my closet is so huge is that I am an Actor & Costume Designer; I run my own small theater company and we never throw anything away! So, whenever I wanted to rationalize new clothing purchases, I would just move some old clothes into the costume stock and voila! now I ‘needed’ something new.
So I have a lot more resources than most to keep wearing my own things, plus I can sew and re-configure old things in new styles- I think I am much luckier (and therefore need TGAAD more) than most.
Here’s my big question: Does buying clothing from Secondhand stores or thrift stores count? I ask because, yes, these things would be ‘new’ to ME, but are not new clothing, and not adding new items into circulation. Also, many of the secondhand items that don’t get bought get thrown away eventually (wasted).
I ask because it has been fairly easy for me to stop buying new clothes- running a theater company is already an exercise in negative income ( add in this economy and there isn’t much money for clothes anyway!). But resisting temptation in the Thrift store has been HARD! I must shop there when I am costuming a show, and its really difficult to resist buying something that is: A) very cheap, and B) is now being used instead of winding up in a landfill.
So, what do you all think? Is buying Secondhand cheating on TGAAD?
So it’s official:
I’M FREAKING OUT MAN!!!!!
As i get closer to to my start date, I’m getting more and more nervous, anxious, doubtful… that I will be able to actually start and finish this challenge.
So nervous that I bought a pair if True Religion jeans yesterday morning… Blarrrgg. I’m doomed!
My friend and a fellow dieter mentioned taking an inventory of my clothes. So I did, and I’m disappointed with the choices I am left with. I cant help but think this diet could have been a whole lot easier if I had made rational, thought out purchases when buying my current wardrobe. Instead of the “Oohh! This is pretty, Oohh this I cute” approach I inevitably ended up taking. Double Blarrg.
Another thing that bothers me is the fact that it’s not a really great wardrobe as a whole. Sure I have some fantastic individual pieces, but most of it is just, well, blahhh..uninspiring, really. Which is rapidly decreasing my confidence.
Update* I had another meltdown last night and ended up purchasing 2 button down shirts, a lovely striped hoodie, and two pairs of jeans [one for me and one for the bf..] from Abercrombie.
I KNOW!!! I’M A HORRIBLE PERSON, 100% HORRIBLE!!!
… on the bright side, I haven’t bought anything today! Baby steps…baby steps.
A little background, I am a child of retail–father, grandfather both in the retail business. My childhood was spent in department stores (closed on Sunday) hiding behind the rounders and racks, befriending mannequins and overly made up sales clerks. I tell you this because I do love retail, it’s in my bones. But that said it has gotten nutty and has lost its luster for me. Why you ask?
Retailers used to be closed on Sundays and holidays—lest they encroach on the consumer’s chance to relax, reflect and to spend time with family and friends. In those days consumerism was just one small part of our lives. Today retailers are open until six o clock on Sundays. Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day are fair game. On the news today I saw that many retailers are opening their doors at 3am on black Friday (tomorrow). Really? Who is shopping at 3am? When did getting the best deal become more important than getting a good night’s sleep? And what is a deal if you have to spend the night on concrete in a tent outside a big box retailer. I ask, what is your time worth and is it really a deal?
It’s moments like this that I am embarrassed to be an American. Is our cultural identity wrapped up in consumerism, intertwined with Best Buy and Nordstrom ? When I think of the Italians I think pasta, the French cigarettes and beautiful women. The Greeks remind me of olives and the Olympics. Brazil, soccer. Is America Apple Pie and Target? I certainly hope not.
I say back off, enjoy the holidays. You have a whole month before Christmas, no need to sleep in a parking lot on Thanksgiving night. There will always be more to buy and retailers willing to give you a deal. Let’s take back our culture and find something else to go nuts about.
We just wrapped up the last poll. It sounds like we mostly feel, compulsive, impulsive and erratic when we shop. Hey, I thought this shopping thing was supposed to be fun and not make our hearts race. Many of us said we were also strategic but that definitely fell down the list from the more poignant adjectives above. When did shopping go from being something that fulfills a need to something that gives us a rush? I guess this is what happens when humans no longer hunt their prey—now it’s just hunting for bargains. Is it the fight or flight instinct that is carried over from our ancestors that gives us the urge to go out and forage at Marshalls? Slaying the dragon at Macy’s? I don’t know but I think it’s something to examine and consider. I say, take a deep breath and ask yourself when you are tempted on impulse to buy something you cannot afford or do not need… “can I live without this.” Only you know the answer.
Although I have completed my year of the diet, it has still continued to influence my purchasing. In the last year I have purchased only 3 new items, all after I completed my diet. I have since purchased a pair of running shorts and a top for my upcoming Komen Maryland Race for the Cure. I had been running in cotton shorts and a tshirt, and in the muggy Baltimore, MD it left me soaked and uncomfortable. The only other purchase that I made was a comfortable pair of foldover waistband lounge pants. They were half price and fit like a glove; I couldn’t resist.
Some of the permanent life changes as a result of the “The Diet” are that I continue to read “look books” and fashion articles to discover the trend items and then use what I have in my closet to restyle what I already have. Over the last year I have purchased a a few accessories including this gorgeous belt and a brand new purse. A few pieces of jewelry like this leather cuff, tattoo necklace, and some very chic recycled mixed media pendants. The final and most important purchases were these great brooches that I use to accent my staple pieces like cardigans and jackets. It allows me to wear the same items each week, but feel like I’m wearing something new. I never had enough in the budget to buy clothing and accessories, even back when I purchased cheap clothing on clearance. I have two more planned purchases this year, a black cardigan and one in brown, to replace the ones that I wore so often and for so long that I wore out the elbows and then through the patches.
What I will continue to do is to always buy vintage, refashioned or recycled clothing first and whenever possible. Etsy, Ebay and local thrift stores are great ways to shop for eco-friendly, inexpensive clothing. If that isn’t possible then I’ll buy handmade to support artisans and crafters who still value quality and creativity. I do love a good one of a kind piece that I know I can wear for many, many years to come.
The most important lesson that I learned though, is that you can be really stylish without constantly updating your wardrobe with throw-away fashion. Don’t be a fashion victim caught in the cycle of constantly having to buy the newest, trendiest clothes. Buy a few well-made, perfectly fitted items and keep them. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise can help you fit into those pieces longer and you’ll be happier and healthier in the end. I spend so little time shopping now that I’m free to pursue all of the interests that I always wanted, but couldn’t find the time, money or energy to devote before. I’ve taken up cooking, running, knitting, crocheting, sewing, downhill mountain bike racing and spending much more time with my family and friends and I couldn’t be happier.
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