The Completely Crazy 2012 Clothes Challenge

kerri_gt

Adela31 wrote: »

At least you love all your clothes! And you recognise your problem, its a big start!
I buy clothes because I was always called ugly. Sadly, because of this, I feel even the nicest clothes make me look like a "sack of spuds tied in the middle" (my mums name for me) , so i spend more and more and still don't look any better. I need to spend less but buy things that properly fit and suit me. (When I have had a clean out, which could happen, honest!)

Oh that's horrible, how awful for even your mum to say such a thing (though I think sometimes parents say things when they don't mean them without realising they stick in our minds) Have you worked out what things suit you for your shape now? x

chloo

so went for a lovely lunch with my mum today had a potter around the shops and saw la senza 'ooohh ill just have a little look as there bikinis are fab' i thought to myself 'ooohhh lasenza maybe shutting down' omg brain starts shouting stock up stock up stock up!!!

so i have to admit to £10 on a fitter coral bikini in 2 sizes smaller than what i currently am.........but i have lost 7lbs in the last ten days!!! so im more like a size 15 and the bikini is a 12!!

and then i went to monsoon saw the most beautiful colbot blue high waisted shorts for £12.20 so they accidently flew to the till and before i could do anything my card was in the slot and the pin had been pressed :rotfl:

anyway had a couple of pounds left on a tescos giftvoucher from my lovely grandma so i went in and accidently bought myself a very lush jumper dress now my argument here is that i still have one from tescos that is from 2009 and it is still going strong and gets worn and washed at least every two weeks so for £12 i cant fall out with that i dont think?!

£34.20 spent so just over 10% of my budget now dont left me spend anything until june!!!


hope you are all doing a little better

Adela31

kerri_gt wrote: »

(though I think sometimes parents say things when they don't mean them without realising they stick in our minds) Have you worked out what things suit you for your shape now? x

I am sure she doesnt realise how her comments hurt me, because it was considered "ok" that I was ugly because I had my books. I have quite an hourglass figure (hence the tied in the middle comments) but its less defined since the twins. And I lost a lot of weight two years ago, then hurt my leg badly (achilles tendon) and have put 75% back on. So at the minute all I know is...

HAVE to stop buying trackie bottoms that are too short. Yes I need them for work/gym but if I don't get long ones I look daft.

HAVE to stop buying primark clothes because they are only a couple of pounds, because I have a ton of them and I cant wear them all!

I also feel sorry for my sister, the pretty one... because I am not all that ugly and not all that clever, (sarcastic and witty more like) and although she is petite and blonde and likeable... she's not all that thick as she was made out!

Kerfuffle

SuziQ1962 wrote: »

Hi Kerfuffle-nope not heavy handed just sensible!

I have this printed out and stuck in my diary!


The other thing I like about shopping in charity shops is that the money you spend is used for a good reason or purpose,rather than lining shareholders pockets,plus the fact I get things that are more or less new for a fraction of the price as I wouldn't be able to afford them new anyway! Win win !

Hi SuziQ1962, I agree totally. Here in Canada whenever you make a purchase, tax is added on top of the ticket price, except in charity shops which are tax exempt. So by buying in charity shops, not only is my money going to better use, I'm also avoiding paying tax, so it's a win win.

PS Tax avoidance is totally legal, unlike tax evasion which is totally illegal :rotfl:

kerri_gt wrote: »

Oh that's horrible, how awful for even your mum to say such a thing (though I think sometimes parents say things when they don't mean them without realising they stick in our minds) Have you worked out what things suit you for your shape now? x

As a child I was often told that I looked like a sack of spuds, or my hair looked like rat's tails. I think parents say things in jest, but don't realise that the child doesn't take the comment as a joke and can take it to heart. As an adult I recognize that they weren't perfect but I still love my parents to bits and wouldn't swap them for anything

Kerfuffle

Ophelia-Jane wrote: »

I would love to be able to spend only £100 but I seem to spend that weekly on clothes which are completely unnecessary.....I convince myself that I need things, despite the fact I Have a whole wardrobe of clothes lying dormant and unloved! My rationale will vary depending on the purchase, I deplore my mindless spending yet dont stop! I do wonder if I am filling a void somewher.....?!

Hi Ophelia-Jane,

I'm not sure what to say really, are you doing this challenge because you have debts you want to get rid of, or are you doing this challenge just because you want to spend less money on clothes?

Have you read through the whole thread yet? There are lots of tips and suggestions, and some will be relevant to the reason for doing this challenge.

Tips on where to buy clothes cheaper, suggestions about making the most of what you've already got.

Stick around and hopefully the tips and chat will rub off onto you and not spending will be more attractive than spending un-necessarily.

Lula-Hula

Hey guys,

sorry for tkaing so long to update members list, I've been very busy the last week.

So, hello & a warm welcome back to keys ( please empty your pm box missus ) :j & hello & a warm welcome :hello: to [STRIKE]fresh victim[/STRIKE]s new members : scotmumof3, trying_2_b_good, Dedicated DFW, freshair, Brassic Park, actually 2006, & jess1011

I've not spent a single thing so far; mainly, I think, due to not going to shopping town & most of all very strict avoidance of ebay :rotfl:I received a £100 gift cheque from relatives, so have put this into a separate account & will use that for my Challenge throughout the year. This account actually already had £5 in it ( can't remember where from , but possibly paypal payment) so I my use that, but fully intend to come in under budget.

I did end up spending a few £100s on me last year & while some of my ebay wins are very bargainous, fab & I LOVE them, I also recognise that it almost became a form of entertainment for me. As in searching for something to buy & then trying to win it, rather than actually needing something

I had never kept a record of what I bought for my DD, so last year I did & it was quite a revelation. She did need a complete new school uniform which I think came to about £200 but I then spent about another £250 on her, but the high costing items were all shoes. Clarks are about £40 a pair, so are the trainers & converse she tends to wear out of school.

I think my total for both us for the year was about £800ish which was £200 more than I'd aimed for as I'd eventually like to be able to keep within a budget of £50 a month for us both.

One day ... :rotfl:

Be good
xx

DedicatedDFW

Adela31 wrote: »

I am sure she doesnt realise how her comments hurt me, because it was considered "ok" that I was ugly because I had my books. I have quite an hourglass figure (hence the tied in the middle comments) but its less defined since the twins. And I lost a lot of weight two years ago, then hurt my leg badly (achilles tendon) and have put 75% back on. So at the minute all I know is...

HAVE to stop buying trackie bottoms that are too short. Yes I need them for work/gym but if I don't get long ones I look daft.

HAVE to stop buying primark clothes because they are only a couple of pounds, because I have a ton of them and I cant wear them all!

I also feel sorry for my sister, the pretty one... because I am not all that ugly and not all that clever, (sarcastic and witty more like) and although she is petite and blonde and likeable... she's not all that thick as she was made out!

Hi Adela - your comments struck a chord with me - the pretty sister and the bookish one - i know in the past i have spent alot of money on clothes, make-up etc. due to my poor self-esteem

This year, along with the help of this challenge i'm trying to rein in the spending and by making considered purchases buy things that do suit me And also not massively overspend as i have many times in the past

The silly thing is with me that although i have lots of clothes they are trapped in an over-full wardrobe so i very rarely make the effort to wear nice things :eek::eek::eek:

Thats why the freedom outfits sound great to me too :T

So this year i'm aiming

• to spend less on clothes - with the help of you lovely people on here :cool:
• to wear more of the clothes that i already own
• to lose the weight i've gained (mostly through illness so its hard) - but this will boost my self-esteem
• to try and do new things again to boost my self esteem - currently looking into dance classes :eek: :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

back to the challenge

I went shopping at one of my fave shops yesterday with OH - didn't buy the leggins as they weren't reduced - bought pants £8 reduced from £35 and they look great :T and then came home and ordered the cardi that i really need / want (i live in cardis but have struggled for a standard cardi i.e waist length, long sleeve and fastens up - reduced from £40 to £10 - had to order as the shop has sold out - off to update sig

black_cat

medsdemon wrote: »

Nipped into M&S before work today as I'd been keeping my eye on the undies in the sale and patiently waiting till they reduced them right down. Woohoo managed to get 2 new bras for £3 each instead of the original £22. Was desperate as losing weight recently has meant all my bras are miles tooo big for me so they were a necessity. No more spending this month now though- I think the run up to my holiday may be difficult as I don't own many summer clothes.

I'm in this situation too - bras are definitely a no-no from the chariity shop! I've had a quick look at your blog. Are you going to post more this year?! I'd be interested in seeing how you grow your summer wardrobe.

SuziQ1962

Black cat

-I agree with you about buying underwear from a charity shop unless it is new and has tags on! But everything else is fair game!

Adela 31

-I managed to get my hands on the Trinny and Suzanna books from a charity shop and either love them or loathe them they are really good for putting you in the right direction for what looks good on your body shape.I have recently come out of wearing trackies all the time and with a little effort in the morning have been complemented quite a bit which makes me feel better about myself
Get all your clothes out and put together some outfits on hangers and sort out jewellery to go with them so that they are ready to put on even on a manically busy morning! Knowing in advance that you have something sorted to wear makes life a little easier! As a parent it is very easy to let a remark slip and I still smart at some of the things that were said to me and so try not to do the same to my kids.

Giraffeseeker

I got the Joe Brown's sale catalogue yesterday and I LOVE Joe Browns and eagerly went through it mentally making a list.... and then, because of this challenge I put it in the recycling bin and ordered NOTHING :A

So I'm still on £0. But it took ALOT of willpower!