2021 Clothing Purchases: A Summary
Jungmaven cropped tee, Decade Studio jeans, Noskin Boots
Wow! I can’t believe it’s been another whole year. If you’ve been around for a while, you know that I kept track of my purchases in 2020 and posted a blog quarterly with updates.
While I did not do that for 2021 nor did I make any concrete clothing purchase goals or restrictions, I did set a budget and kept track of what I was buying with the hope of cutting my shopping down.
In 2020, I purchased 33 items (new and secondhand combined). While that’s still below the national average of shopping, I felt like it was more than I needed.
So the grand total for this year (2021) is……
12 New Items +
4 Secondhand Items
= 16 Items Total.
This includes shoes, but does not include underwear or socks (although, I did not buy much of those this year).
Pyne and Smith dress, Will’s Vegan Shoes boots
I feel really good about that number to be honest - it allowed me to keep my closet feeling fresh while still keeping a fairly small closet. And it’s almost exactly half of what I bought the year prior!
A summary of what I bought:
4 Dresses
5 Top
2 Pants
2 Shorts
1 Jacket
2 Shoes
Some thoughts about my approach
I do find that setting actual restricting numbers around purchases (e.g. no more than X purchases in a year) does not work well for me, so I really liked my approach this year of prioritizing my budget over the actual numbers. I found that this approach let me think about shopping less - when I wanted to buy something, I just checked my budget and either had to wait another month or two, or purchased the item. Or if I knew there was a launch coming up, I would just hold off on buying other things that month or two prior.
For some reason, setting actual numbered restrictions or goals on anything is really difficult for me as someone who had struggled with an ED. If I set exact metrics, I tend to either feel guilty if I don’t meet them or I obsess over them to try and meet them. In this stage in my life, it feels better to approach things with an intuitive and intentional mindset, versus exact numbers.
Another thing that helped was to buy one item at a time. I feel like Fast Fashion got me in the habit of wanting to get at least 3 to 4 items with every order. However, this adds up fast. For example, if you order 4 items once every other month, that’s still 24 items for the year. So with each purchase this year, I only ordered one item at a time, with the exception of the Decade Studio spring release - I bought two pairs because I knew they were going to sell out quickly; and I previously had a pair from 2019, so I knew I was going to love them!
Another example is Pyne and Smith - I purchased one dress on Fall launch day, received it, loved it so much, and then bought a second dress from the collection of the same style type. While I did spend a little more in shipping, I feel like it’s worth it for me to really know I will love something before committing to multiples.
I am in a unique position with my Instagram account allowing me to receive items periodically on a gifting basis! So I do acknowledge that this allows me to receive some new clothing without having to purchase it and that can help to satisfy some shopping cravings. In terms of gifted items for this year, I received a total of 15 items! Last year, I received 12 for comparison. I hope to stay somewhere in the 10-15 item/year range going forward!
Beaton Linen dress (purchased secondhand), Vintage button-up (purchased at an estate sale), Small Lot Co shoes
Going Forward for 2022
In 2022, I will probably take a similar approach as I did in 2021. I still want to prioritize my budget and mindful buying. I also keep track of all my purchases (clothes and otherwise), which is a helpful way to keep myself accountable. I don’t have any specific number goal in mind - I think it’s hard to set them because it’s hard to know what’s going to happen. Size fluctuations happen (and led to a lot of my 2020 purchase needs!) and life happens, so I hope we can all be mindful in a way that doesn’t bring in feelings of guilt and shame. It’s been a rough couple of years and I am proud of everyone who’s tried the best they can.