7 Mar 2011

capsule wardrobe: mission accomplished

After analysing the contents of my new formed capsule wardrobe (from existing items of clothing only), I decided to calculate the value (in terms of how much I paid for each article of clothing) of this wardrobe. Many of these items were bought in sales from before my shopping ban started. For some reason, my brain is very good at remembering useless pieces of information, including how much I paid for that pair of trousers and whatnot so this exercise became a fairly accurate estimate of the cost of this wardrobe.

Anyway, I shocked myself with the final figure. I estimated that it may be a few hundred pounds (including bags and shoes), however, that figure was a massive underestimation. Because of this, I'm definitely committing myself to a shopping ban that I will stick to. I won't disclose the figure, but I can tell you, it was large enough to shock me and is big enough to buy a car with. I won't say what type of car but you get the idea. The figure was huge. And for a student, I shouldn't have a wardrobe costing that much!

This is one ban I am pretty sure I won't break - even with the temptation of Westfield Shopping Centre, High Street Kensington, Kings Road and Knightsbridge nearby! All I have to do is remind myself of that figure if ever I felt the compulsive need to break the ban. Obviously, this goes without saying that I will be flogging a few items of clothing and shoes (that haven't been worn in a good while) on eBay and the like. Hopefully I can get a fair bit back as I'm now thinking about my finances for post graduate study. Graduate medicine is still on my mind as is the possibility of doing a MBA or an MSc. Either way, you need money for that - money that does not come in the form of that investment piece of Net-A-Porter or Matches.com!

If you fear that you, yourself are a shopaholic or even if you open your wardrobe every morning and say 'I have nothing to wear', all I can say is, seriously, sit down with a pad of paper and a pen/pencil and do a database of your wardrobe at the moment. Then, cross off the pieces you haven't touched for six months or more and now, figure out what pieces you need to complete the wardrobe - note, I said complete. This does not mean rushing out to buy another skirt when you already have five! This means buying that classic white shirt if you don't have that or a pair of skinny/flattering jeans if you don't have a pair. Now, work out how much your complete wardrobe has cost you and if that figure scares you; well, you know what you have to do. Stop shopping until you can justify that you really don't have any clothes to wear (due to holes and whatnot). Trust me, working out how much my clothes have cost has shocked me enough to attend my own controlled 'rehab' of being a shopaholic and I urge you to try this method - even if it seems unconventional.

Bear in mind that I did not get this idea from anywhere else; I was just curious about how much all my clothes have cost me and from there, I was shocked into not shopping!

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