I may not have told you, but it’s been six months since I’ve been clothes shopping. No JCrack, no Anthro, no sneaky little sale pitstops anywhere. For six months. Can you believe it? It was a personal challenge I gave myself. The goal didn’t start out six months, oh no, that would have been wayyyy too scary. It started with a 30 day challenge. And I did it. Then another 30 days went by, and another. Next thing I knew it was six months! I wanted to minimize materialistic thinking and learn to work with what I’ve got (hello overflowing closet). Oh and save money, ha. My husband loved this little program!!
So I rewarded myself on a recent trip to Atlanta. With a cute little dress! It’s the ikat dress from Anthro. Great price, beautiful silk material, and classic. Let me tell you it is sooooo comfy. I think this style would work well with any body type.
Here I am giving it a whirl inside the dressing room. Waaaa!!!
This exercise really helped me feel more appreciative for what I have and enjoy more non material experiences. Don’t worry, I haven’t gone all granola flower child or anything. I also learned that purchasing one nice thing from time to time is way more fun (and practical) than picking up lots of little things on a regular basis.
I‘m Seleta, a city girl living the beach life with my husband, fabulous four offspring, happy horses and frisky fur babies. A former TV personality turned Designer, I love to share the sparkly side of life. Read more 
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Love the dress – it really suits you – you look gorgeous!
I go through phases of no-spending+saving for classics…and sometimes I’m all about the cheap & chic (old navy, h&m etc).
It’s interesting to see how “cheap & chic” purchases can add up…last year I gave myself a weekly budget – and anything I didn’t spend, I saved toward my dream bag (a balenciaga first) – having a goal made it much easier to avoid useless spending – and I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything – but I was super-happy when I reached my spending goal and got my bag. And even though it was a splurge, I didn’t feel guilty about it since I had saved for it and avoided other purchases to get it.
What a God wink! You can be my inspiration! I just (as in Monday) decided to do the same thing…..put myself on a 30 day hiatus from clothes shopping. I may be knocking at your door for intervention…… ha ha
Can’t believe I just read your blog! I just decided to this last week when I cleaned out my closet and took a truck load of great clothes to the Thrift Store! It’s ridiculous what I hoard in there! Actually, I just couldn’t see it or get to it because of keeping a messy closet so I’m turning over a new leaf! And…trying to save money! My husband will be thrilled as well! Have a great week and I love your dress!
I LOVE the dress!! You’ve inspired me to try to not buy things for myself for a few months and see how much I can save….and also to not buy things for my kids – I think that’s more difficult for me! The little purchases add up quickly though and I know in the end I’d be much happier if I had a larger chunk of money to put towards something nice. Thanks for the challenge! :)
Wow you are great. I love the dress. I am not sure I could last 6 months but you have my admiration.
What an awesome lesson learned. I need to try this ( again) and mean it this time. I love that dress, it looks so beautiful on you! Hope you and your family are well.
Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
Oh, pretty! I love it.
That’s awesome that you made it 6 months. Like someone above said, for me it would be an even bigger challenge to stop buying clothes for the kids. Why are tiny clothes as expensive as big people clothes?
Lovely dress. I’m with you on the shopping diet. I swear the less “stuff” I have, the freer I feel. Now if only I can convince my 15 year-old daughter of that…sigh
I am just now realizing that JCrack is JCrew! So funny (and true!).
You look adorable in the dress. I do this same thing every so often. I went a year without clothes shopping a few years ago, I did buy some shoes though, difficult to resist everything! I am much more creative when I have less.
I keep trying to sell the idea to our daughter who lives in NYC, so far not working. Shopping seems to be a hobby for 20-somethings!
yay for you. i also haven’t bought anything in a while…not six months, but maybe 20 weeks, since I’m pregnant! but my treat after this baby is to wait til i’m down to my weight again, and then seriously edit my closet and buy only things that i want instead of the “oh that’s cute” for a minute kind of shirt.
Good for you Seleta! I made it 4 months! Not easy to do! It’s a good feeling though. Love that dress on you! You look beautiful and that dress looks so comfortable. Blue is a gorgeous color on you with your coloring and blue eyes.
Seleta! You look adorable in the dress! Worth the wait right? It would be cute over white jeans too! Well a Jcrack box arrived today…and I just tried a bunch of items on! Can’t decide on the tweed jacket…help!
I need an intervention for sure. What an inspiration! And I loved the reader who commented about saving for her Balenciaga bag! Nice when you can have a treasure…
don’t tempt me…. ;)
When exchanging gifts for any family celebration, my husband, kids, and I always give experiences. We love this. For instance, a Christmas gift from my son was shift certificate for a car detailing. For our anniversary, they gave us a year’s pass to the local historic theater.
I just read my posted comment and realized you are probably wondering how it fits in with your post on the dress. The point I was making is that if you give experiences, it cuts down on the money you spend on objects you might not need. Congrats on going six months without buying new clothes.
Oh my gosh, we must all be on the same page. I just wrote a post today about my new “fashion diet” and how I’m only allowing myself to shop at the goodwill until 2013. But damn girl this dress is so tempting! For now I will enjoy it vicariously through you. Not to mention I don’t think it would look anything like that on me. Rockin it!
Good for you! It’s amazing what we can do when we set our mind to it…
I love your new dress; it looks so pretty on you! You have inspired me to challenge myself too. Baby steps will be needed.
You look terrific! Perfect for a dinner out with hubby or lunch out with friends!
I think you broke your fast in the most beautiful of ways…this dress is lovely and perfect for so many occasions.
I am your newest email subscriber…!!! Cannot wait to see what is next for you!
I’ve done this before for a month but need to do it again. LOVE Elle’s comment (I think the first commenter) at the top!
Wow, really inspiring! I’m in the middle of an awesome yoga teacher training program, and taking a break from buying clothes fits in with many of the things I’ve been learning. I’m going to try to do the same and also take a break from my silly makeup addiction! Love buying products, but seldom use them!!
Love you and your blog:))