To buy or not to buy - Investment Dressing

It's now 2014... I haven't posted in a long time but as you might expect my fashion esthetic has not changed it's just evolved.

I am now committed after my foray in 2011 of buying nothing for a whole year  to buying High/Low.  That is really thinking about where I will spend my money for maximum impact.  It's what I call investment dressing.

Recently, I stalked a fabulous pair of Vince leather and suede leggings.  They were $1,200 but then they were reduced to $600.

When thinking over a pricey purchase some questions that can help you bring some sanity to a decision  about whether to pay the price marked on the tag include:

1.  Will I still want to wear this in 5 years?
 A Chanel 2.55 bag passes this test.
2.  Does the piece work with at least 3-4 other things in my wardrobe and not  jeans!
3.  Can I dress it up or dress it down?  In other words does it work for a variety of occasions?
A dress that you can wear to work and then out to dinner or a wedding is a wardrobe workhorse!
4.  Is it one of the colours I've chosen to construct my wardrobe around?
If it's yellow and you don't have yellow in your wardrobe then think again!
5.  Do I look fabulous in the item?
You need to know when you put the piece on that you look marvellous. OK is not good enough!
6.  What else to I need this season to update my wardrobe?
This question involves some planning, research and budgeting and may also involve thinking about what else you could spend the money on.

 If you answer yes to these questions, then it may well be that the piece is worth buying at full price unless you think you can get it on sale. If the answer is no you might want to try a cheaper alternative.

As for the Vince pants, I remember that I had this fabulous Kelly Wearstler fabric that I wanted to make into a pillow and the pants looked good but I did not feel utterly marvellous in them.

Second Hand Items

I am very fortunate to have a great friend who loves vintage and knows some great places to find it.  As well I find myself trying to be more fiscally conservative this fall but still wanting to update my wardrobe.
My dear friend brought forward two pieces that I could not resist: a lovely 1940's cape that is right on trend for this season and a fantastic Brioni (yes you read correctly) dress.

Now, the thing with vintage and good second hand is that you might need some help with alterations especially if the item is quite old. A good seamstress is a must and  I have one!

A few rules, you can buy larger but only two sizes max. Any larger and the proportions will not come out right on alteration. You should also make sure that any wear and tear can be dealt with via dry cleaning and alteration.  Ask if you are not sure or take someone with you, like me, who has experience with these things.

I wore the cape out to dinner at La Society and I felt very French in it! I styled it up with black capris, a black tank and Roger Vivier shoes. C'etait magnifique!!!

The dress has been worn on several occasions and I love it!

Fall Closet Clean Up

Thanksgiving weekend is the time of year that we usually and albeit grudginly put away our summer clothes and get our winter clothes.

This year in line with the rules, I plan to use the occasion to do a few things - pair down my summer wardrobe and make some money!  Then I might be able to buy something new or even better keep the money and stretch my spending power when the sales start in December.

I suggest that you start with sorting through your summer wardrobe and put all of the clothes that you did not wear and that are not true classics in one pile.  The next step of course is to sort this this pile into which ones go to Goodwill and which ones you will sell on Kijiji.

The same holds true for shoes and I am afraid that I've got a lot of shoes that I will be saying good bye to... That's going to be the hardest.

Mix and match master class

Not so long ago Vivienne Westwood, doyenne of British fashion and eccentric,  publicly decried the Duchess of Cambridge's bland fashion choices and suggested she should be more adventurous.

I disagree. I fall into that other group that welcomes the Duchesse's fashion choices as intelligent.  When I think back to the BAFTA gala  on the US portion of the Duke and Duchesse's North American tour, I could not help but notice that the Duchess went against the trend. She was so covered up compared to everyone else that you could not help but notice her! Pure genius!

 I am not done yet...  In typical Hollywood fashion most of  the actresses showed up in revealing dresses- lovely to be sure, but they were ultimately outshone by a lovely woman in a lovely dress that was fairly conservative.  Even Nicole Kidman who always dresses beautifully was eclipsed by the Duchesse's low key understated style.

 I'd suggest that the Duchess was being adventurous by dressing against the norm!

PURGING

As part of reforming my habits, I'm making a conscious decision to purge my closets of things I have not worn in over a year.

For me some clothes have a history so it is hard to let go. I have  lovely rose coloured boiled wool jacket that I picked up in Paris at Monoprix about 9 years ago. I was on a 4 month sabbatical from work, hanging out in Paris in early October without enough warm clothes.  I wore that jacket almost non stop for the next two months. It travelled to Bordeaux, San Sebastian, London, Whaley Bridge and finally back home to Canada!

For quite a few years after that  it was also a work wardrobe staple.  I wore it with a  pair of grey plaid Tahari pants that have some pink in them. It also travelled to Amsterdam and back with me. A lot of memories to be sure. 

As I write this post it's already in the pile of clothes to give away and I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. Should I go and retrieve it?  Will I ever wear it again? Can I down grade it and wear it with my Lulu's on the weekend? Questions abound. But I must stay firm.  My closets are bursting so I must be strong!

I wrote the first part of this blog about 3 months ago and I have to say, I am not feeling any regrets in fact I feel liberation!!  I am actually looking forward to some more purging at the end of the summer!  My dream now is a tightly edited wardrobe of great peices. I want to buy and wear only those things that I truly love.  The wool jacket was a long term relationship but clearly not a marriage!

FALLING OFF THE WAGON

It has been a while since I've posted something and a lot has happened since March! Most importantly I fell off the wagon when visiting San Francisco and Palm Springs in late April.

We already know I love shopping! And when you go to another country, one that supports 350 million plus consumers it is pretty hard to dismiss the selection and choice that is available! So I shopped! I bought!

The purchases were focused.  One of my rules is that you must plan for those key pieces which means having a list.   I do, even if it is not written down.  At the top of the list for some time has been a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress.  There aren't that many places in Canada that have them and the selection is pretty meager.  In San Francisco I went looking for one, found one and bought one.  It's a classic and can be worn all year round! So kudos to me!

 I've also been looking for something to wear with a  Hugo Boss black skirt that has a double row of buttons down the front that was purchased in Amsterdam about 3 years ago.   I was on my way to Union Square by way of Upper Filmore Street when my heart leaped in my chest...  I saw a store sign that said JIGSAW and it called out to me:  "Stop the cab and come in!"

  Jigsaw is one of my all time favourite stores.  It is a UK high street shop and a favourite of the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge ( the former Kate Middleton).  It's become a key destination whenever I go to the UK.

About an hour later I'd purchased a lovely linen sweater vest and an interesting poncho sweater!

In Palm Springs I discovered the joys of Marshalls - discount shopping at its very best.  I bought a beach cover up and a T-shirt.

The one impulse buy was a Banana Republic dress- nothing at Banana except maybe the white jeans, is worth full price and the dress was on sale. It will do perfectly for an August Wedding I am to attend. Even this was not entirely impulse.

 I haven't been in a store since December so some retail therapy was  hard to resist. I also learned something - trying things on is another way to way to assess your level of fitness.  Last August I suffered  a running injury one that left me pretty much unable to exercise for about 8 months. Although I didn't gain any weight things had shifted around.  Retail therapy let me know that some exercise was needed.

The take away?  Retail therapy or retail  exercise as I now call it, is a good way to keep your waistline and your fitness goals on track.  Isn't it great to be able to look in the mirror and know you look great in something even if you don't buy it!

Planning ahead has its rewards...

Last weekend I went skiing for the first time in 25 years!

As you may imagine my wardrobe was a little outdated if  not non existent.  What to do? Well my rules have an exception for sports clothes so of course I used it.

The result several hundred dollars later was a ski suit (Spyder) with hot pink snow pants and a black ski jacket.  The outfit is conservative and represents an investments in the future. All of my nieces and my nephew will be able to beat me down the hill soon but I am looking forward to many years of being able to ski with them and their parents.  So I'm really doing this for reasons other than fashion- family and exercise. 

Happily, after spending at least 12-14 years taking lessons and skiing on weekends the moves came back very quickly.  Just like riding a bike.

And.. I am thinking this might be a whole new way to see Europe!  What could be better than spending a sunny winter's day on the slopes with good friends and family.

The fact that I have not spent any money on clothes this year means I actually had the money to make the investment with no debt.  Did I mention pretty much everything I bought was on sale? This is the other advantage of my rules... Planning ahead means that you save money or set aside funds for the things you need rather than buying on impulse and coming up short handed when you are trying to put an outfit together.

It's March now so the end of ski season is in view, but if I get out next year I may treat myself to a pair of ski boots. Can hardly wait!