There are three days left. I know I will unquestionably make it through the cleanse, because passing up on those $159 Cole Haan ankle booties with Nike Air technology -- can you image how comfortable they would be at work?! -- was the hardest test yet and I made it through with flying colors (although in all fairness, the only reason I probably succeeded was because I couldn't find them in the Nordstrom shoe department!). The past week has been exceptionally difficult and I haven't cheated but I have made gratuitous use of my "gifts are allowed" loophole. Chris owed me money from our camping trip, so he has been repaying me in the clothes that I want. Not really allowed, but I was smart about what I "received"! Short sleeve button-down work shirt: $14, LBD tube dress $5, sky blue cropped tee (which I've already worn TWICE) $5, and a gauzy, sharkbite style gray burnout tee with acid green details $6. Not bad if you ask me, and not extravagant -- I didn't even use up my full ChrisCredit! Only the things I really wanted that I thought were a good bargain.
I have also been milking the freebies for all they are worth. Free panty coupon from Vicky's -- USED! (ANOTHER) Free $15 gift at Express -- I swear, I haven't put anything on my Express card in ages and they are sending me these coupons to tempt me into the store; little do they know they are dealing with an expert and I can spend exactly $15 with my eyes closed! -- spent on an adorable cropped flyaway cardi with lace trim.
Because I presented to some territory leaders at my job, I was sent a $100 gift card. Everyone, and I mean everyone in my office has told me to spend it on the things that I want in the store -- which may or may not be hanging on a hook next to my desk, I plead the fifth -- but I have resisted! Because the gift card has no expiration date, it is not within the rules of spending. Big self-pat on the back for me.
On a different note, a friend of mine sent me this link in the New York times about women who have embarked on their own versions of shopping diets. On Sixitemsorless.com, they conducted an experiment that started June 21, 2010. The participants had to choose six items of clothing and wear only those six items for one month.
"There are exceptions that don’t count towards the six: undergarments, swim wear, work-out clothes, work uniforms, outer jackets (rain slicker, outdoor jacket), shoes and accessories. You can get multiples of the same item for laundry purposes, but different colors count as separate items. Or you can tell us to stuff it and make your own rules."Then there is the juiced-up, beefed-out, turbo-charged version of my own measly cleanse: The Great American Apparel Diet. For one year -- one whole year -- participants cannot buy any clothes. Shoes, accessories, undies, all fine. No clothes. One year! Even with the shoes and accessories clause, I don't know if I could make that kind of commitment. I got jitters when I signed my apartment lease and apartment-renting isn't even on my list of favorite pastimes. Let me reiterate: no buying clothes for one year! My stomach is in knots just thinking about it. Although, upon reflecting, I have made it through my own birthday, a corporate presentation, many nights out, vacations, and lazy days of all kinds without caving in to the pressures of wardobe updates. Maybe, just maybe, I could make it through a year. But why would I want to?
I think the most interesting part of the Six Items & Apparel Diet cleanses is the fact that they are out there. I read the article about the woman on Yahoo who didn't shop for five months and thought, "Hey I can do that!" and I went for it because clearly I have an addiction and I would buy a toilet-scented-candle if it was on sale. I made my own rules, my own timeline, and went for it. I had no idea that this was a nation-wide phenomenon, and while I knew Recessionista was a cute tag-line for the type of clearance shopping that I lovingly call "dumpster diving", I didn't realize it was becoming so mainstream. Some women are doing it for philosophical reasons: anti-consumerism, separating oneself from ones possessions, etc. Some are doing it like me, to break to the vicious cycle of retail addiction and get back to normal shopping for what we want or need rather than ending up in the mall during a retail craving blackout and having no memory until you walk out of the building $500 poorer and 8 bags heavier. It seems most are doing it for the savings: despite all the reports of economic up-turn, the economy we actually live in and experience still sucks. People are still getting laid off, and the dollar still isn't worth much. Add up all those and then look at what you spend in shopping and it starts to make you nervous. If you got laid off, how much of your wardrobe would you try to pawn off on Plato's Closet for pennies on the dollar of the price that you paid? My reasons certainly aren't political, but I must agree: if I took a dollar amount inventory of my closet, what kind of investment are we talking here? $5,000? $10,000? That's a lot of money to be staring you in the face if you are out there applying for jobs without luck. Just saying...
No comments:
Post a Comment