I did it!
From May 1 to May 31 I didn't buy anything stylish.
I'm so proud of myself!
As promised here's the post experiment analysis.
I can't say I didn't acquire anything stylish over that period. There was some swapping along the way but no money changed hands during the experiment. Also I did pay £10 for the top from the jumble sale which the seller let me have in advance and yesterday I went down to Shoreditch to pick up a £5 pair of chinos which were put aside for me. I'm not so happy about having done that one.
Some may wonder what all the fuss is about but you only realise you have a problem with something when you have to give it up.
This was all about finances not about how many clothes I have. I wanted to change my way of thinking. I hoped I might be able to turn down the desire to have stylish things and maybe not necessarily act on the desire without thinking about the financial consequences.
I wanted to create the Pinterest board as a substitute for actually having the things. As a photographer I hoped to gain satisfaction from the visual display of my taste - a kind of visual therapy. Like writing a diary I hoped to pour out my visual thoughts onto a page.
Looking back at the board I can reflect on what might have been. Of course I now own some of the things - the 70s handmade top, blue brocade belt and I've since bought the swimming costume (perfect for London Fields Lido days and beach holidays).
I had wondered if I would be really sad about some of the pieces I didn't buy. There's just one clear winner I'm definitely coveting...
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| Neon check print dress from Pelicans & Parrots |
I went to the shop yesterday and clearly someone loved it as much as I do - it's gone :-(
Clearly if you snooze you loose when it comes to vintage. This is why I tend to buy things when I see them as there's every chance they won't be there when I go back.
At the end of it all I was better off in the pennies department. I wasn't so short of cash as I normally would be and best of all it definitely changed the way I think about buying.
If I want to take a leaf out of some of my friends' books who live in London and have saved enough money for deposits for houses in London then I'll need to change my way of thinking.
There's no doubt I'm not completely cured. I'll never be minimal and variety will always be the spice of life for me. There are things I won't be able to get out of my head until I have them but I've made a good start and it's a work in progress.
I'm thinking I might do this every three months as a kind of regular detox. It should help keep me in check.
Thanks all for following me while I do this. Hopefully it will inspire you to give it a go if you think you might benefit from this kind of purchasing abstinence.
I shall be ebaying some old bits so watch this space and I'll link to them if you want to grab some bargains of your own.
Peace out people, HO xx
