How not to shop

A reader wrote to me:

‘I think one of the keys to French chic is "fewer, better quality things."  As a result, I've been trying to buy less, but better.  It seems this approach requires actually spending more time shopping with fewer purchases.  Is there a way to execute this without having to spend hours and hours at the mall?  I hate shopping, and don't think spending every weekend shopping matches with my definition of the chic life I'm looking for.’

What a great topic!  I too am not a fan of tromping around shops if I don’t need anything either.  I don’t exactly know when it happened, but these days I’d rather be creating something at home (writing, pottering, cooking, sewing, gardening) or seeing friends.

But you if you have to buy clothes you need to visit shops (unless you are an online clothes shopper, which I’m not.”  Instead of spending hours and hours at the mall, I prefer to take the opposite approach.  The ‘sinking lid’ policy of wardrobe management is my preferred method.

Basically I don’t go shopping until I have literally run out of something.  It’s an easy thing for me to do now, because as I mentioned above, I can’t really be bothered going around the shops.

When I do find myself in dire need of something, whether it’s jeans, a bra or a new pair of summer sandals I go out with that one item in mind.  Maybe I’ve done a bit of online research beforehand or maybe I go out cold with a few stores in mind.  I then purchase my choice and forget about shopping until I next am desperate.

It may sound joyless to those who love to browse for fun, but I get my fun in other ways.  Being a homebody saves you lots of money I think.  And I don’t necessarily only go for high-priced, best-quality items either.  ‘Less but better’ to me means less items but better quality or suitability.  Better suited to my style.

I shop at low and medium price points in clothing mostly, but also view my purchases through a critical eye.  An item might be inexpensive, but it also must be the right colour, cut etc.  I no longer buy ‘just okay’ because it’s cheap.  That’s how I ended up with an uninspiring wardrobe.

The sinking lid policy helps me enjoy past purchases that I otherwise might deem ‘too good’ for normal wear.  If I have had to declutter a few tee-shirts to the rag bin then I’ll use my better tee-shirts.  If I constantly find myself passing up items I’ll evaluate why and then donate them.

This also helps refine your style.  By stopping shopping and wearing or donating your wardrobe to prune it down, you can then fill in with pieces that help build the style you like.

When I shopped more, there was sometimes a disconnect between the dream vision of me in the style file pictures I collected, and my real-life wardrobe.  This was because I was bombarded by many different exciting clothing genres, not all of them me.  Does that make sense?

Browsing and updating my style files on a regular basis helped too.  Doing this kept me focused on the looks I loved and also excited about creating those looks for myself.  Keeping my style icons in mind did the same thing.

I love the way Lily Vander Woodsen (played by Kelly Rutherford) dressed in Gossip Girl, both her rich look Upper East Side look and her Brooklyn look.  I love the way her rich look often incorporated tones of camel and this is something I want to bring into my own wardrobe but never do (because I forget about it until I think of her!)

How would you define less but better?  Do you dislike shopping or could happily browse all day long?  We’re all different, there is no wrong answer!  One time I do like to browse is when I’m on holiday.  There’s something about the relaxed feeling that invites strolling and browsing, not all of the time, just sometimes.

Fiona

PS.  If you have ever thought you’d love to write a book, check out my new program starting next week.  There are already ladies from the US and UK ready to start writing their book.  Could this be you too?