I’ve always LOVED clothes. I think my obsession started because I wore uniforms up until my senior year in high school. I went HAM buying clothes in college (it didn’t help that Roosevelt Field mall was mere MINUTES away from my college dorm at Hofstra) and in turn also went HAM on my credit card limits. I learned after having to work a job post-college that I didn’t love that I needed to really chill with my buying habits. I did a DEEP purge that almost made me want to shadow box myself. Like, DUDE—every single piece of clothing I wound up giving away was indicative of all the debt I had racked up. (Yeah, I could have had a big yard sale or posted everything up on eBay, but I was in a place where I just really needed to get rid of everything and donating was the fastest route). It took a while, but I finally learned my lesson about my clothing buying habits which brought me to a few rules I imposed on myself.
Now this doesn’t mean I don’t buy ANYTHING any more, (because hello last haul video), but I have taken a turn for the better when it comes to buying clothes. My first year blogging full-time also really helped cement that foundation, too.
Rule #1: If I can’t wear it a gazillion times, I don’t need it.
I’m the QUEEN of re-wearing something. Since I work from home and often in my pajamas all day, when I do go out to run errands, I often wear the same thing on multiple days of the same week. WHO GONE CHECK ME, BOO?
Rule #2: I purge my closet regularly.
I feel like when I have too much clothing, I also feel like I have nothing to wear. Sounds odd, but it’s true. When I have too much in my closet, I can’t really see what I have and I immediately think I need to buy something new for special occasions. But when I have fewer things in my closet, I’m forced to get creative with outfits which ties right back into Rule #1.
Rule #3: Keep cool accessories on hand.
Accessories can do so much to change up a look, so I’m always on the lookout for cool accessories. I often find very inexpensive pieces, but I also have a few statement pieces like designer sunglasses (see my sunglasses stash here) that give my wardrobe more mileage. Some of my fave pieces to have on hand include hats (I get mine from the men’s section since I have a pretty big head—weave or no weave, my dome is ILL yo), shoes (I get my trendy shoes that I know I won’t wear all the time from places like JustFab and ShoeDazzle), sunglasses, and when the weather gets colder out: scarves and cool gloves. Another accessory for me is my hair—changing my hairstyle also allows me to play around with how I style my wardrobe.
Now this brings me to the title piece of this post: my $20 J. Crew skirt I bought back in 2014. My homey Felicia from ThisThatBeauty had it in grey and wore it when we were out having rooftop drinks on a weirdly mild October day back in 2014 and told me it was J. Crew and on-sale. I wasted no time and got the skirt in this navy color and SO happy I did because I freaking love this type of silhouette on me. It’s flirty, it’s fun, and the skirt is well-made. There’s no fuss with cleaning it—I wash it in cold water and let it hang to dry. If we were to factor in cost-per-wear with this skirt (where you divide the price of an item by the number of times you wear it), this skirt would be in the negative cost…lol.
I have some other pieces in my closet that I love and wear ALL THE TIME just like I wear this J. Crew skirt. I LIVE for pieces like that—and wear them all year-round when I can. This way I wind up never having to buy anything once winter comes around—I just layer up my other clothes and add a winter coat on top…lol.
