no buy year

Mindful Consumption of Clothing

I’ve been conducting an experiment for myself this year, analyzing my relationship with shopping and clothing consumption. My spending on clothes is not extreme compared to others, but I felt the inner stirrings at the beginning of the year to look closer at my habits around shopping because, for me, it felt as though the clothes purchases had gotten out of hand. I had every intention not to purchase any clothes in 2022, but as I took daily outfit pictures on Instagram, I wasn’t liking what I saw reflected back to me on my grid.

Examples of outfits I don’t feel represent me as my best self.

As a yoga studio owner and someone who teaches yoga almost daily, it’s hard not to fall into the habit of wearing yoga pants and flowy cardigan-style wraps, along with the studio-branded t-shirt. I realized my clothing didn’t really represent who I wanted to present to the world. Yes, I teach yoga classes and have private personal training clients, but I also coach people throughout the week, and many of those folks are managing directors and division heads within a company. I had the hope of cultivating a more elevated fashion style for myself.

Examples of outfits that I want to continue cultivating.

It seems superficial to even think about all of this because bigger problems beyond what I wear are happening in the world. I know that. But how we present ourselves does matter, especially when you are running your own business. People make a decision about you in seven seconds. And though we like to believe that we aren’t judging a book by its cover, you and I both know we totally are! First impressions for most people are visual, and in those seven seconds, are you representing the best version of yourself?

All this is to say; I bought some clothes throughout the year. I don’t consider this a failure. But rather an adjustment to my own goal. The shift that took place for me with clothes shopping was that I was more mindful. I was intentional about what I purchased, keeping items only if I saw a need in my wardrobe or if they filled a gap that was missing. For example, I purchased several summer dresses. I didn’t have any and being the age I am, pre-menopause, I felt the need to have looser clothes during the humid Maryland summer weather.

In the past, I would only shop the sales rack, which would mean that I wouldn’t purchase what I truly wanted but would make a purchase because it was a great deal, or I’d save even more money if I bought two. I have learned through this experiment to let go of that shopping habit. Instead, I thoughtfully considered colors vs. patterns, brands I wanted to support, how often I’d wear the item and if I could sneak it into other seasons by adding leggings or a sweater.

As I became more mindful about my purchases, I saw how the same behavior around clothes shopping was trickling out into other aspects of my life. I did the same thing at the grocery store. I was a sucker for deals, coerced towards the Buy One Get One sign. This would result in a pantry stocked with food that either no one in the house wants to eat or it takes too long to get through, and folks get bored with eating it.

So I’ve allowed the new habit of being more mindful with clothes shopping to influence my grocery store behaviors by buying what we need, not necessarily buying only on sale. Asking myself what we will use the ingredient for in this week’s meal plan.

I’m not sure yet if I will continue this experiment into 2023. I don’t think I will set out to complete a “no buy year,” but maybe limit the number of items coming into my closet so that I can continue the practice of being intentional about my purchases. I enjoy the reflection and the growth that pushing my personal boundaries exposes me to. What about you? Are you contemplating changing your shopping habits in the new year?

Saving Money on Clothes but at What Cost to Your Mental Health?

Minimalism

This sweater. I bought it three times to save money. I wish I were kidding.

Gretchen Schock wearing sweater standing next to barstool

Here’s how it started: I purchased several new outfits for a photo shoot scheduled for this coaching website. I wanted the colors I wore in the outfits to be “on brand” with my yoga studio, Bee Yoga Fusion. Many of my yoga students become coaching clients and vice versa. So I want the two places that I show up on the internet to reflect each other in the same color scheme.

I paid full price for this sweater (#1) in the store. I rarely do that, but when I saw it, I had to have it because it is the same color as one of the walls in my yoga studio. So, it’s obviously on-brand. Then online, a week later, I saw that the sweater was on sale. I called the company, and they wouldn’t make a price adjustment even though I hadn’t worn the sweater yet or taken the tags off because I hadn’t had the photoshoot.

So I purchased the sweater online (#2) for $20 cheaper and returned the original full-price sweater in person at the store. Then, I kid you not, two days later the sweater has a lower price tag! I hadn’t even gotten sweater #2 in the mail, but yes, I purchased #3 to get the lower price. When this was all said and done, I saved $50. But did I really? I spent time traveling to and from the store to make the returns and then so much of my time scouring the website, looking for something else to purchase for myself or to give as a gift so that I could get free shipping. And then the time it took to check credit card statements to be positively sure that I was, in fact, refunded for the previous purchases.

Yes, I’m frugal and I love to save a buck. But at what cost to my mental energy? This isn’t the first time I found myself in this situation, repurchasing items and returning items to save money, but not to the extent I have done with this sweater. Instead, it became an obsession to get the lowest price possible. I’m so glad that this behavior is behind me in 2022 as I am participating in a No Buy Year, a personal challenge that is allowing me to investigate my relationship with consuming clothes.

Ironically, as I write this post, the sweater is still sold at Chico’s and for even less than what I paid after purchasing it three times. Seeing this change in pricing on one piece of clothing in a two-month time frame was a huge wake-up call for me in stopping my consumption of fast fashion because of the time and money I have wasted on the hunt for the best deal. I love the color and style of this sweater, and I will wear it for a long time, but every time I pull it out of my closet, I think about the amount of time I spent shopping for this one piece of clothing. And that seems ridiculous to me now.

How have you wasted time hunting for the best deal only to realize that you don’t actually like the item or barely wear it? Let’s try to change our perception of a great clothing deal, and instead of looking for a bargain, first, think about the purchase. How many different environments or events will you possibly wear it to? Then look to see if it coordinates with several items already in your closet rather than having to purchase shoes or additional tops or pants to match. The money saved needs to outweigh the amount of time you spend searching, driving, and repurchasing for your mental health to remain intact.

Just in case…

Minimalism

How often have you said those words before making a purchase?

In preparing for my personal challenge to not purchase any clothing, shoes, or handbags for an entire year, I found myself days before the January 1 start date frantically buying clothes.

I made a list of all the significant events that will be taking place in 2022 that I might need a new outfit to attend. For example, I know I’ll be going on a vacation to the beach in June, so I purchased a new bathing suit. My sister-in-law is getting married, and the events during the weekend are cocktail and business attire, so I bought a few separate clothing pieces that would work for those events and that I could mix and match to wear again for less formal occasions. And I bought a backup of one of my favorite shirts just in case something happened to the original.

I felt a bit manic leading up to and preparing for this challenge. And then, on day one, I took a sigh of relief. It felt refreshing to be done with the “just in case” mindset.

For the last two years of this pandemic, haven’t we all been living in that “just in case” mindset? Take a covid test before traveling, just in case. Bring extra masks, just in case. Pack a mini hand sanitizer with you at all times, just in case you don’t have access to a bathroom before lunch. And it’s not like thinking this way is new or only during the pandemic. How many times have you thought to bring an umbrella just in case it rains, a shawl just in case it’s cool in the air-conditioned room. And then these things live in the random spaces where we once left them because we didn’t need them. As a result, the back of the car is cluttered with umbrellas, the closet stuffed with various sizes of clothes just in case you gain or lose weight again, the bookshelves overflowing with books that you plan to read someday but purchased because of a great deal.

For me, reducing one “just in case” mindset feels a bit refreshing right now. Maybe the challenge of not buying clothes for a year isn’t for you. Instead, try shopping in your closet first before putting a new outfit in a virtual shopping cart or only purchasing one item at the store rather than buying two. Try reducing the number of napkins you grab after your food purchase, just in case you spill, even though the glove compartment is already overflowing with napkins. All of these “just in case” moments can cause undue stress in our bodies and result in cluttering up our lives and filling our homes with unneeded stuff. Is there anything you can let go of thinking about or planning to make room in your body?

Rather than focusing on what would happen on the rare occasion that you didn’t bring the “just in case” item you thought you needed instead, let’s focus on the goal of having a clutter-free home, more time and space to make other decisions, more energy to move our bodies.

The Minimalists have a theory that if it costs less than $20 and takes less than 20 minutes to replace, then you don’t need to hold on to it, just in case. Behind the “just in case” mindset is fear. But for most of us, we already live with enough. So begin today, let go of the need to fill your space with anything. See if you can stop yourself from purchasing any new physical items for just today, whether clothes, makeup, shoes, etc. Notice how it feels to be this version of you.