I’m always keeping my eyes open for articles on our changing spending habits. There’s been a recent poll on TGAAD on whether dieters out there really consider this recession over. Well turns out there have been changes amongst spending habits even for those who many assumed were to be above the financial woes of middle to lower class America. Highlighted is a link to the Wall Street Journal article posted today that gives a little light consumers spending on luxury goods!
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.
Tonight I was with my friend Portia who has been contemplating going on this diet for 11 months now. I told her that I have decided to extend the diet for one more year, in light of the fact that there have been so many people interested in joining the effort in the past few weeks (here we go again). When I told Portia it wasn’t too late to realize the benefits of clothing deprivation she hooped and hollered “That’s what I need, a closet colonic.” The visual made me gag. She went on to claim, “Deep within my big, fat, bloated walk-in closet there is a skinny one begging to be free.” Portia, warming to the idea, is going to “think about it,” before she commits. Let me be clear…I am not doing this for another year myself but I will moderate, facilitate, contemplate and write about life post diet.
Alright already Portia—stop the squawkin’ and start walkin’ give your closet the future it deserves with a purge, a cleanse a regular down home colonic. We’re here my dear and waiting to hear how it all “flushes out.”
O.K., I am not proud. I have told nearly every woman I know that I am simply starving on this @#$%^& diet. The good news, my incessant complaints and whines have been rewarded with hand-me-downs from friends and family (maybe they just want me to shut up). Now, these aren’t Oliver Twist castoffs. Remember, birds of a feather flock together. My friends and family have hand-me-downs with tags still on them or barely worn items that they “bought on a whim,” and shouldn’t have (you know the story). I am sorry for their mistakes, but not really. I’m glad to be the one who can take these items off their hands. Most importantly their gifts are going to good use. Just last week I received a beautiful wrap from my mother, a white knit item, just like Meryl Streep wore in the movie It’s Complicated. I am now wearing a pair of pewter Donald Pliner slides and a great pair of lulu lemon tights my yoga friend gave me (she has three of the same pair). So my point? Tell people you will gladly take their shopping mistakes off their hands. They will fell great about it, especially if you wear them again and again. Now go forth and tell the world, “I am hungry, feed me your scraps!”
According to an article posted in The Sun, a UK newspaper you can save yourself over 100 hours (or about 1 week) of your time by not shopping for clothes this year! Apparently the average woman spends nearly three years over their lifetime just shopping. While you obviously can’t give up shopping for food and household necessities, you can choose not to shop for clothing this year and save yourself a full week’s time for vacation and use the money that you didn’t spend to fund your new trip; wow! I suspected this might be the case, but this is the first written evidence (outside of my own entry) that seems to confirm it. So spend a bit of the time that you won’t use to shop this week and start planning for your next winter ski trip or Carribean cruise!
O.K. I’m wrapping up the latest poll. And the results are in…more people think this diet is easy than hard. That said, it’s easier by a thin margin. 58% of you said it is relatively easy and 42% said it was hard. For me it all depends on the day. Today it’s hard, tomorrow it might be easier. I think about the pre diet era. There were days when I wasn’t feeling all that good e.g., bad hair day, ridiculous work meeting, argument with my seven year old. My immediate reaction, conscious or subconscious, was to go buy something for myself. Often times it was something completely wrong and poorly made and probably on sale (hence my closet full of crap). It was an emotional impulse.
But the fact is life has its peaks and valleys, but for every valley there is a peak whether you’re wearing new clothes or not. I hope for all of you this is an easy day but remember we will be here when its not. 5 mos. and 15 days. Your fearless leader. 
OK, in the past week I have heard from two women who have asked to be removed from the diet. “No longer on the bandwagon they say.” Boy, I sure do want to know what that means. What does that look like? Shopping frenzy? Pulling an online shopping all-nighter? Daily meetings with the UPS guy?
Many of you have admitted to falling off the diet wagon which is brave (shit I fell off when I discovered I was pantless at the gym and it took me two weeks to confess). Some of you have come forward spilling your guts and begging forgiveness while others have couched their foibles in a more matter-of-fact way. Regardless—it’s all open kimono around here. The truth is what makes this whole effort interesting and authentic. Right?
That’s why I was surprised and sorry to hear that these two women completely threw in the towel, wiped their hands and said “abstain no more.” I want to know what made them decide to give it all up? Was it a sexy night gown? A kelly green, lulu lemon hoodie? Or was it simply a classic white t-shirt. Whatever the case I need to know… we need to know. This is what makes this diet compelling. The buttons that get pushed in our lives that scream…”buy it?” It’s like the chocolate bar that begins speaking from the pantry in tongues….”eat me, eat me!.” You know the one. I understand the concept of simply pretending this diet idea never happened. It has crossed my mind a few times in the past several months. But after years of talking myself into the perfect t-shirt, pair of jeans, white blouse…you fill in the blank, I want to understand this thing we call “retail therapy.”
Anyway, if any of you have thrown in the towel for good I hope you will tell the rest of us that you have done so and why. What was the tipping point that made you give up, give in or simply hand over your debit card. This is the stuff of sociologists. Come clean if you can! And for the rest of you, keep on keepin’ on.
Sally, your fearless leader.
WHAT do these cats have against this most-awesome silk vintage coat? I admit: I neglected this coat and left it hanging on a rack in the basement for about three years. But since TGAAD, I thought it was time to get it cleaned and give it another chance for spring. No dice: DeeDee ravaged it with her claws and (not evident from the pic) Joey peed on the sleeve! What did I expect naming my cats after two dead Ramones? But before sounding “Taps” for this beauty, I’m salvaging the three bitchin’ buttons to sew on something else.
Green silk vintage coat, torn and peed on. Tsk.
I love, love, love clothing swap’s! Fortunately for me, my friends who own the bar in my neighborhood biannually agree to open up for the ladies to conduct a “squaw swap” and what a great one we had this past Sunday. While the turnout wasn’t large, the group of ladies (about 10) had enough clothes, shoes, accesories, and housewares to really make it fun. We swapped stories of our favorite items while enjoying a glass of wine or a Guiness and poked through each other’s cast-offs. We made goofy costumes, we were amused at another ladies delight over our silly hand-me-downs and we had a blast. Guilt-free shopping is always fun. I am in between sizes so I swapped out for a few new items in both smaller and larger sizes so I’ll be sure to have space to move up and down over the next few months. I got clothes that fit perfect, some that I can refashion or alter and some that I plan to simply cut apart for the fabric and figure it out later. My favorite find was a brown cashmere knit poncho, like an all-business snuggie; I love it. I also found a beautiful Banana Republic blazer, sweaters galore and an awesome cowgirl shirt. It was fun, it was refreshing and I can’t wait to do it again! If you live in the Baltimore City area and are intersted in future clothing swaps, you can follow my personal blog or twitter feed for updates, or sign up for the Parkside’s newsletter where they’ll send you emails of their upcoming events, including clothing swaps. The more ladies we get, the more choices we’ll have so bring your used clothes and get ready to have have a liberating, guilt-free, swapping party!
What are you wishing for for Christmas?
My husband told me yesterday he “went off the tracks” on my Christmas gift. “You will love it but you don’t even know you want it,” he bragged. I think that’s a bad sign. I have visions of a fancy new technological mega ram bam thank you ma’am kind of something-or-other under the Christmas tree. This is the same guy who practically ruined my computer by upgrading it to the point that I couldn’t even log-in because of the tight security system. “There are dangerous viruses out there,” he warned. “I just wanted to protect you.”
His new brainstorm seems to have nothing to do with the hints I have been dropping all fall. “When Christmas rolls around remember…I want clothes.” Subtle I know. How could he have misinterpreted that to mean I wanted something I didn’t know I wanted? Hmmm.
The other day the UPS guy brought a package to our porch. My husband made a fuss about intercepting it. He likes to do this, it’s kind of a game for him. “Hey don’t look at the box, turn your head,” that kinda thing. Well of course I peeked. If he hadn’t fallen all over himself on the way to the door I might not have noticed.
The box, from Amazon, was about 8 x 10 and one inch thick. So, unless he’s bought me some thong bikini underwear there are no new clothes from my husband in my future. In fact, on reflection the box looked like it contained a computing device. Argggghhhh. And I was so hoping for a wardrobe pick-me-up. Oh well, maybe my seven year old will come through with a school logo sweat shirt.
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