a bargain is ONLY a bargain if you WEAR IT

Susan Wagner — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:38:24 -0600

Amy, you're off to a good start -- resist the sale rack UNLESS you're REALLY going to wear the things you buy. Otherwise, you might as well put your credit card away and walk on, because no matter how discounted the price, the money is wasted if the dress just hangs in the closet.

And Stara, buy the sunglasses. You need them.

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I'm having shopping fast

slynnro — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:39:44 -0600

I'm having shopping fast issues with this very subject right now. Broken sunglasses. I sort of need them. Am I breaking my pledge with this?

Wardrobe Full Of Dresses

amypalko — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:47:19 -0600

I really enjoyed this post, Susan. I seem to have got to the point where if I see a dress which I consider a bargain, I buy it. The 'need' question doesn't even occur to me! However, since the new year, I have taken a long hard look at my wardrobe and realised that no-one really needs that many dresses. Next time I'm at the shops and I find a bargain dress, I'll be asking the 'need' question, and I'm pretty sure what the answer will be! My wardrobe, my wallet and my husband all thank you :-)
http://liveslessordinary.wordpress.com

Distinguishing between WANT and NEED

Susan Wagner — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:26:23 -0600

Are you ready to start a shopping fast? No? Maybe it's because you are unsure that you have everything in your closet that you really NEED to get through the next thirty or sixty or ninety days. I mean, what if you get invited to the White House and all you have to wear are flip flops and shorts?

It could happen. But honestly, it won't.

More likely, you are hesitant to swear off shopping because you're not sure what the difference is between NEED and WANT, and you are good at convincing yourself that you NEED things that fundamentally you do not need. Let's start by distinguishing between need and want.

A need is a void that MUST be filled; water, food, sleep, shelter are all needs. When we're talking about your closet, in one sense NOTHING is a need, beyond pieces that keep you warm; in another sense, though, you need clothes that are appropriate for the things you do every day and that fit both your body and your lifestyle. It's not usually the every day needs that throw us -- we all know that you need a properly fitted bra, for example -- it is typically the dress-up events that leave us feeling like we MUST have something new.

Sometimes you DO need a new dress; sometimes you don't. How do you know? Let's think about two hypothetical situations.

Hypothetical situation #1: You are invited to a wedding. You have, hanging in your closet, a dress that is appropriate for the season and the time of day and the venue. And yet you find yourself saying to people, "I need a dress for Amy's wedding."

No, you don't. Or maybe you do. Let's talk about that dress in the closet.

Get it out. Try it on. Is there some reason you can't wear it to the wedding? If the answer is no, then wear it. Problem solved!

But it's usually not that simple. Maybe the dress is a little bit too big or a little bit too long. Or maybe the neckline is lower than you're comfortable wearing. Or maybe the color isn't great. Or maybe the dress just screams 1986. Any of those things make it legitimately unwearable.

You have a couple of choices, if that is the case. You can have whatever is wrong with the dress fixed (hem taken up, for example) or -- stay with me now -- you can GET RID OF IT. Because if you're not going to WEAR it, there is no reason to KEEP it.

This is the moment of truth, after all. If you really and truly cannot wear THAT (hypothetical) dress to THIS (hypothetical) wedding, then you need to get it out of your closet.

And NOW you need a dress.

Don't hang on to pieces that you are honestly not going to wear. The next time you have an occasion that calls for careful wardrobe planning -- it can be something as big as a formal dinner party or as small as meeting a friend for coffee -- listen to your inner stylist. If you're not willing to walk out the door in a particular piece of clothing, it shouldn't be taking up space in your closet. The end.

Hypothetical situation #2: You are invited to a wedding. Six months ago, you had a baby, and you are not the same size and/or shape that you were before that blessed event. Hanging in your closet is a dress that is appropriate for the season and the time of day and the venue. But it doesn't quite zip all the way, or it can't really accommodate your nursing breasts or it is a style that fights against your post baby shape.

You absolutely need a dress. Pregnancy and childbirth affect the way your clothes fit, and may render some pieces in your closet unwearable, either temporarily or permanently. Don't worry too much about this, but don't squash yourself into clothes that don't fit. Instead, invest in a few basic pieces that DO fit and wear them all the time. In this case, buy a dress, something that makes your new body look terrific and that is versatile enough to wear more than once during this period. It can be hard to adjust to your new life after a baby -- or after ANY sort of drastic change in your body's shape and size -- and having clothes that fit, even if it is just a few pieces, can help ease the transition.

But don't get rid of the dress in the closet, the one from before the baby; just take it OUT of the closet so you don't have to stare at it every day, and store it in a box under the bed. It is entirely possible that it will never fit again, but it is also equally possible that it will, and the only way to find out is to wait out the post-baby window where your body is not one you are familiar with.

How do you know when you need new clothes? When you can honestly say that there is NOTHING in your closet that you can wear to wherever it is you are going. This means that anything that is close but not wearable (and thus not getting worn) needs to go. I am entirely serious. If you DO shop for a dress, choose one that will outlast this event, one that is classic and versatile and can work for a variety of functions and seasons. Because then you will never need a dress again.

Speaking of need, Manolo the Shoeblogger asks how many shoes do you need? Good question.

Jeanne, at The Periodic Elements of Style, has put together a Favorite Things 2007 list; it's up to you to decide what is a want and what is a need.

Finally FabSugar (tagline: "Have. Want. Need.") is chock full of cool stuff. Again, your call about what you really need here. I trust you to do the right thing.

Susan Wagner writes about fashion at Friday Style and The Working Closet and Fashion Find. She's still not shopping! How about you?

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a bargain is ONLY a bargain if you WEAR IT

I'm having shopping fast

Wardrobe Full Of Dresses

Distinguishing between WANT and NEED