For example, last year I noticed that most of the items that I purchased and never really wore/lost interest in quickly were items I ordered online from J. Crew and Banana Republic. That helped me curb mindless online sale shopping at both of those places, and remind me that if I am going to shop at either store, I need to do it in person.
This year, just to give you a flavoring, 31% of the clothes I bought were dresses, 42% of the items I bought were used or second-hand, and I saved, on average, 79% off of the retail price of all of the clothing I bought. That last number is heavily weighted by the secondhand shopping, and some key Nordstrom Rack and RealReal.com clearance item finds.
1. Best Sport: Rag & Bone Varsity Jacket
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| Jacket Rag & Bone Pants | Joe's Jeans |
I really adore it and wear it all the time, even though sometimes I think it makes me look like a local high school student. Go Bulldogs?
2. Most Unflattering: Caslon Pants
These pants, on the other hand, feel like they were made for me. Both the top and bottom here were actually random second-hand finds that I did not initially intend to try on. In both instances, I was in the dressing room and needed a top/a bottom, because I was wearing a dress that day and trying on a top/a bottom, so I randomly grabbed these from the rack to assist me in the dressing room. I'm so glad I did because I now wear this top once a week (who knew a metallic could be so versatile....probably Stacey London actually...), and I have worn these jeans multiple times a week, to be frank.
Long live the skinny jean!
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| Top | Calvin Klein Pants | Citizens of Humanity |
4. Worst No-Returns Purchase
Gah. The downside of the occasional online clearance blow-out is the no-returns policy. I don't have a photo of me in this dress because I got it and sold it to a consignment store like a week later. I'm not sure what I was thinking - it is cool, and I like plaid, but a midriff bearing, school-girl inspired dress isn't practical for my life. Also the fit was off and caused strange gaping around the cutout.
5. Employee of the Month
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| Top | Ted Baker Pants | DvF |
I've featured this outfit before here - both the top and bottom were new 2016 purchases and, together, they helped me put together a cool, comfortable, appropriate work outfit.
6. Worst Impulse Buy
I really did not like these Banana Republic shoes, but they kept discounting them further and further, and I ended up buying them, in store, in the pink suede color. They had a lot of toe cleavage, and to get them to stop slipping around on your foot, you had to make the ankle strap way too tight.
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| Banana Republic |
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| Tory Burch | J. Crew |
I think my clothing goals for 2017 include (a) trying to get the used/second-hand percentage up to or over 50% of my total purchases, (b) stop buying shoes but buy more jewelry (I only bought 5 pieces of jewelry this year and almost all of them were super minimalist tiny earring) and, (c) stop buying jackets and blazers - I keep buying blazers and work jackets even though, if we are being honest, I only wear the same 3 Theory blazers to work over and over.
Overall, I am really happy with my purchases from 2016, continue to learn about my personal style and tastes everyday, and I hope to continue to share them with you in the coming year!
xoxo,
D
In 2016 I started pinning my clothes purchase on a Pinterest board, but your spreadsheet idea sounds a lot of productive. I do love gleaning overall trends. Would you mind sharing what data you keep track of? I think nature of purchase (pre-meditated/impulse) is one I'll put on my spreadsheet.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Mine is somewhat limited by my own excel skills, but I do the month I purchased, type of item, brand, size, price (retail), price (what I paid - so you can calculate overall discount), and online vs. in-store. I've heard of some people tracking their wears so you can figure out cost-per-wear, but I haven't gotten that far yet/I think it would take more work.
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