Happy New Year everyone, and welcome to the first blog post of 2019!
I know, I know. A fashion blogger who can’t shop? What is even the point of me?!
Yes, my sordid little secret is out – I’m not a person who buys things on a whim or has a new outfit for every occasion.
I’m a saver, not a spender
I like to think I am good with my money. I’m not the savviest, or the thriftiest, but mostly I live within my means, and I save money pretty much every month.
I very rarely splurge, what can I say. I can think of maybe one time where I spent about £200 on clothes in one go.
I’m not even very good at doing the food shop because I underestimate how much food we need. Mark has to do it now because we always run out of food if I do it.
Outfit: Hat – Restyle | Starchild Batwing Blouse – Killstar | Halter top (underneath) – Pretty Little Thing | Nightshade Bell Bottom Leggings – Killstar | Boots – Jeffrey Campbell (old) | Necklace – Dr Faust Clothing (gifted)
I’m a deliberative person
Any idea that is put to me, I have to think over first. I pick it apart and put it back together, and then I can decide whether I like it or not. This is why you could never call me effusive, because I’m not that over-excitable, scream-at-exciting-news type. I’m quiet, I’m reserved, I’m the sit-back-and-observe-until-I’ve-figured-it-out type.
So if someone says “this would look nice on you” or I decide I need a new pair of jeans, I don’t commit to anything for probably at least a month
(I have actually needed a new pair of jeans for about 6 months if not longer).
I think part of the problem is that I want very specific things, and if I don’t find it, I won’t buy anything.
I think this is also the reason that i’m a chronic under-packer. Other people take options. I take exactly what I think I need, and it almost always ends with me not wanting to wear the things that I’ve brought with me – or it turns out the outfit I envisioned doesn’t work out at all.
Having said that, I do have my impulsive moments. I once bought a pair of boots when I was 17 or 18 (black leather, wooden heel, Topshop) even though I had no idea how to style them. I saw them, thought about them all day and then went back to buy them (even my impulsive buys are considered).
I think I wore them once, and then they were put in the back of my wardrobe. My mum stole them for a bit, and now, 10 years later I still have them and I have finally figured out how to wear them!
I’m concerned about fast fashion
There’s also the fast fashion issue. And it’s a big one. I don’t want to be contributing to damage to the environment, or to the detriment of the people (i.e. most likely women or children) making my clothes.
However, I am still a person whose personal expression of style is very important to her. And a lot of the time budget is an issue too. And I obviously need to be clothed, so I need to buy clothes at some point.
Part of the reason I went vegan was because I don’t want my existence to harm people or the earth, so there’s definitely some thinking (some research, some decision-making) to be done around how I can balance the two.
What I want this blog to be
This blog isn’t just a fashion blog, even though that is what I talk about predominantly. I want it to be somewhere you come when you need inspiration for living life alternatively.
That’s not just style, it’s interiors, it’s a bit of food, and dare I say it, a kinder, more open outlook on life and the people around you.
Even so, I don’t think anyone comes to me for the latest trends or things to buy, because I like to think of myself of more of a “style” blogger than a fashion one…
Yes, I love clothes. I love haute couture and the incredible messages and artwork that people can create with clothes. I love how you can communicate your personality; how you can express yourself through what you wear.
I love feeling awesome about myself in a particular outfit, or finding a way to style something I wouldn’t have normally worn.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to buy loads of stuff all the time, or encourage people who might read this blog (hi!) to either. It means working with the wardrobe I already have to do all those things.
Are you a bit of a shopaholic or are you like me, a bit rubbish at it?
