Now Or Never

It's been nearly one whole month since I completed my wardrobe challenge...and coincidentally, almost one whole month since my last post.  It's due to a combination of writer's block and yep, you guessed it...PROCRASTINATION.  I was also feeling like I had nothing exciting to report and I don't think many people have read/been reading my blog so I kind of felt like..hey, I can procrastinate all I want...no one will even notice!  Until a friend asked me about my blog the other day and commented on how he noticed that I hadn't posted anything recently.  Busted. 

So here I am, blogging for the first time since I completed my wardrobe challenge...which was a success by the way!  I am proud to say I made it through 4 whole months without spending a single dime of my money on new clothes, shoes or accessories.  See shopaholics?  It can be done.  My shopping freedom began on a weekend so I had 2 whole days to shop til I dropped.  But I didn't want to throw 4 months of hard work out the window and blow my dinheiro on any random item just for the sake of saying "I bought something."  So I played it cool all weekend and waited until Sunday afternoon before enjoying some hard earned retail therapy.  My first post-wardrobe challenge purchase?  My very first pant suit.  It's nothing fancy or Law and Order-ish.  It's black, only cost $85! (fortunately for me Banana Republic was having a sale) and fits me pretty perfectly.  And it was an outlet store, which sometimes means sizes are slim pickings but I lucked out.  It was almost as if the suit was sitting there waiting for my wardrobe challenge to be over so I could come and claim it. 

Since that first pant suit purchase, I've shopped quite a bit...dare I say at least once every weekend?  But who's keeping track?  Also coinciding with the end of my wardrobe challenge? The opening of one of my favorite stores to buy shoes and purses at right around the corner from my work...Ross.  I picked up a fabulous pair of Carlos Santana black shoebooties (is this word in the Websters dictionary yet?) and much more throughout the month.  I finally used up my Gilt Groupe credit, and then some, on some new knee high boots...so glad I waited to use my credit!  My birthday has also come and gone which also brought with it a surprise birthday visit from my sister, who flew all the way from Toronto, Canada to California to surprise me and some birthday money which means the shopping will continue until all that birthday money is spent.

The lesson I learned from doing this wardrobe challenge?  Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator.  Well aside from that...that not only is patience a virture, but self control is too.



My fabulous new bag!

 Well, I'm back from my vay-cay...a little tanner and a lot closer to the end of my journey, which is now only days away!  My last post was me bragging about how I was going to take myself shopping at Target with the $50 gift card I recently received...absolutely nothing exciting to report there.  I was thinking that I'd find all kinds of stuff and that I'd have such a hard time deciding on something...yeah, no...not the case. I guess I had forgotten that the end of summer isn't always the best time to shop for summer stuff.  I walked away with a new top and a new dress.  Didn't exactly scratch the shopping itch since A) it was just Target and B) I didn't have much to choose from.  But it did give me a temporary jolt of excitement as I waited in line to pay for my things...knowing I was soon going to be wearing a brand new article of clothing for the first time in almost 4 months.

I vacationed in the Azores, Portugal for 2 weeks but on my way there, I had a layover in Toronto for 2 days.  It wasn't until my second day in Toronto, while in the middle of doing something mundane and uneventful, it hit me like a ton of bricks...I forgot to pack my bathing suits!  My stomach literally dropped....because I realized I was going to have to go out and buy myself a brand new bikini...and cheat on my challenge just weeks before reaching victory.  So I dragged my sister to the nearest mall and began operation "Ruin my 4 month wardrobe challenge."  Luckily, I was able to find 3 pieces, 2 bikini bottoms and 1 top, so I could mix and match it up with the bikini my sister (thankfully) ended up giving me before we left for the mall.  Then, while getting ready to throw 3 and a half months of sacrifice out the window, my sister graciously whipped out her wallet and bought the swimwear for me...saying it was an early birthday present, but really, we both know she did it to keep me from challenge cheating.  I tried to protest, of course, but she talked me into it.

I also got a new crossbody purse from one of my girlfriends (thanks again!) just hours before leaving for the airport. Yet another early birthday present.  Ahhh, thank heavens my birthday was only a month away...well not really because who likes turning 30?

I'm So Excited...And I Just Can't Hide It!

My prayers have been answered.  Well, I didn't actually pray for this but it just seems like the appropriate thing to say to describe how I'm feeling right now.  Yesterday I received a $50 gift certificate to Target.  No big deal, right? Wrong!  Now this means I can shop for myself before my vacation!  Remember people, it's not cheating because it's not my money...it was given to me.  Hey, my game...my rules! 

Target may not be the ideal shopping choice for shoes, clothes and accessories...but when it's your only option, nothing could sound more appealing.  And Target does kick ass for having cute stuff at totally affordable prices.  The only question is....what on earth do I buy???  For weeks now I've been thinking about what my first purchase was going to be when this challenge was finally over.  And now that I have a bit of a head start with that, I'm stumped.  I definitely want to get something I can make good use of while on vacation in Portugal, where it'll still be nice and warm. And lucky for me, this is the time of year where all the summer stuff is on sale, sale sale! 

I think I should combine the $50 gift card with the $26 I still have on the visa gift card that's been hibernating in my wallet...waiting to be used for a "fashion emergency."  The only time I dug it out was earlier in the challenge when my aviator sunglasses broke and I had to replace them.  I've been saving the visa gift card in case another "fashion emergency" arose, but luckily...I've managed to remain emergency-free.  And since I only have 4 weeks left of the challenge, I don't see any reason to hold off on spending this left over gift card money now. 

So, with all that being said....on your mark, get set, SHOP!

I am sooo over this challenge! I'm thinking...no, I'm certain that 4 months was way too long to do this. What the hell was I thinking? I know, I know...I wasn't. I don't think I've ever gone this long in my adult life without buying myself something. Not even as a teen working for minimum wage in retail did I go this long with shopping.  Every time I look in my closet now a days, all I see are items that are worn out and tired...tired of being worn and tired of being looked at. 

 I have to start packing for my trip soon and I'm already thinking that I don't have anything in my wardrobe worth taking.  I know for certain that I need a new purse because even though I just dug up 4 of them the other day from storage, none of them are appropriate for a vacation in Portugal, where I'll be doing a lot of walking...so a hands free bag would be ideal and it's still summer time so it needs to be...summer-y. And nothing I have meets those requirements. 

I stopped by a Kohls after work today to buy a bra...ahem, my 3rd one in the last month and a half (yes, I'm allowed...it's a need not a want, remember?) and I almost...ALMOST stopped and bought a new purse but miraculously, I was able to practice some self control and walked out of there with a bra and only a bra.

I Went Shopping Yesterday...

...in my garage.  Let me explain.  I have a collection of about about 28 (slight exaggeration) purses stored in my garage.  Why so many purses?  Well, it's partly because I take after my dad a little bit with his I-can't-throw-anything-away syndrome.  And it's also because I seem to get bored with my purses quickly.  And clothes and shoes for that matter...hence the 4 month wardrobe challenge.  So, the 2 purses I've been going back and forth between for last few months were nearing their expiration date and since I can't buy myself a new one until October...I decided to rummage through my existing collection for the first time since way before my challenge began.  Surprisingly, I pulled out 4 purses that got me excited enough to move them up the wardrobe chain to my hall closet from garage storage.  One of them, I realized, I had never even used before (a fabulous royal blue cross body purse given to me by a friend about a year ago). So I've changed up my purse rotation...a small but easy and effective way to propel myself through the remaining weeks of this neverending challenge. 

I've also been thinking a lot about what my first purchase should be when this challenge is over.  Surprisingly, I haven't really given this that much thought until recently.  I guess it's because I've just been so preoccupied with trying to 'reinvent' my outfits for the last few months.  But now that this thought has entered my head, it's what my focus has shifted to.  The excitement (well, kinda) of trying to put together outfits every day with the same old tired stuff I've been looking at for what seems like a lifetime now, is slowly wearing off. Ok, more like quickly.  It's a good thing I'll be spending 2 of the last 4 weeks of my challenge on vacation in Portugal...where (hopefully) I'll be so wrapped up with other things that I won't even notice I hate each and every single article of clothing I currently own. 

I Almost Cracked

I had a girlfriend visiting from Canada recently and upon her request while here, I took her to Kohls...which can't be found in Canada.  I've been to Kohls (one of my favorite stores) a few times during my wardrobe challenge but always steered clear of the departments that normally drain my bank account; shoes clothes and accessories...the very things I've banned myself from indulging in during this 4 month challenge.  But shopping with my girlfriend there put me directly into the lion's den as I found myself roaming through racks of clothes I've been avoiding for the last 2 and a half months.  I'm proud to say that I did pretty well despite the fact that I almost cracked and got myself the cutest LC by Lauren Conrad blush pink polka dot top that was just screaming to come home with me.  I didn't think of this at the time but maybe I should have asked them if they would hold it for me until October 1st, which is the day my challenge is officially over.  Oh yes, I would have risked getting looked at as if I were a crazy person if it meant getting this top. 

Ahhh, but every cloud has a silver lining and mine for the day was when my friend surprised me by buying me a beautiful antique looking silver bracelet.  She was very sneaky about it...showing it to me while browsing through the accessories and asking me to try it on, which I did of course, and like an idiot, raved about how pretty it was. Next thing I know, we're driving away from the store and she presents me with the bracelet and says it's mine. After I scolded her for being sneaky and told her I was going to return it...she scolded me right back and says I didn't break the rules since I'm not the one who bought it.  I quickly realized I had better shut my mouth and be thankful I have something new to wear...and for my wonderful friend who took pity on me and my foolish idea.

I'm going away this weekend again and while packing last night I realized something...I hate my wardrobe. No, correction...I hate this wardrobe challenge. I am so tired of everything I have but there's nothing I can do about it for another month and a half. How am I going to get through these last weeks??  I was singing a different tune earlier this week however; when I went to visit a friend in the hospital, I had about 7 different women tell me they loved my shoes and 2 other women tell me they loved my outfit. Just random people...ok, they were mostly nurses who wear dowdy scrubs every day and only look at other nurses in their dowdy scrubs and white reebok sneakers all day long so I'm sure anyone in a pair of cute shoes would have been a nice change of pace for them. Oh yes, I was loving my wardrobe challenged life that day. And now I've hit a brick wall.  My mind is swirling with thoughts of purging everything I own when this dumb challenge is over and starting from scratch with a completely new wardrobe.  Probably not the greatest idea though because that would cost beacoup bucks and would totally defeat the purpose of all this sacrifice.