the case for trusting your style instincts
a one-year check-in on the clothes I almost talked myself out of buying
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Last year, after putting a lot of thought into my budget and clothes spending and how I was overthinking purchases due to scarcity, I decided to (attempt to) buy anything that struck my fancy for one month.
what would happen if you allowed yourself to buy anything you wanted?
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Since I still overthink and stress over every purchase, I was curious for my own information to see how those purchases from last April worked out. I just looked at that post, having no memory of what I’d actually bought, and I’m pleasantly surprised!
Here is a moment when I wish I were more diligent about tracking my wears (my motivation for doing so ebbs and flows). I did actually track from January 2025 through May 2025, but fell off after that, when most of the wearing of these items would have happened. Even still, between the tracking and my outfit photos, I have a decent record. I also just have a sense for what's in the regular rotation.
what I bought in april: sandals with arch support and a vintage clare v dupe
I won’t take too much time before getting into my purchases since I talked about my experience of allowing myself permission to buy in last week’s post.
Of the eleven items I bought and kept that month, nine (!) of them are in that regular rotation. Of the two that aren’t, one I can probably let go of, and one is an item that I like but doesn’t get a ton of wear, and I probably wouldn’t miss it too much either. Four of the items were purchased new and seven were secondhand.
Ok, here they are: