The Completely Crazy 2012 Clothes Challenge

rosemary54 · 17 January 2012 at 10:11AM

DH actually moaned and said I buy a lot of clothes yesterday....I pointed out I paid £230 for a suit and tie for him in December and that I set a limit to my spends(ok went over it last year:rotfl:)and had shown him very expensive stuff in a mag and pointed out what good value I was:rotfl:(e.g £300 for a scarf:eek::eek:)

Everhopeful09 · 17 January 2012 at 10:51AM

Everyone's doing so well! Everytime I think of clothes I come on here just to remind me! Definately not buying clothes for the rest of this month! Our jobs are under threat, due to a major client going belly up so its a wait & see game at mo

And normally I would go shopping to cheer myself up but not this time, have more sense now! lol x

his_missus · 17 January 2012 at 2:50PM

Had to buy some socks at lunchtime as my boot socks have all developed holes in the soles, my boot insole has worn away and there is a nail or summat rubbing on my socks. Also bought some insoles to prevent this happening again! £3 for 4 pairs of knee socks, not a bad deal I thought.

trying_2_b_good · 17 January 2012 at 4:08PM

Everhopeful - got my fingers crossed for you that your job is safe!

rosemary54 · 17 January 2012 at 5:03PM

went to town BUT did not buy any clothes:A
plus got several freebies of toiletries:j

DedicatedDFW · 17 January 2012 at 8:38PM

rosemary - well done on the freebies :j:T:j:T

I wonder if any of you lovely ladies (and any guys too of course :cool:) can help me with some much needed advice please?

I have a pair of shoes which i bought new and in a bit of a rush last year - i know, i know serves me right - well when i got them home and took out of box they are a different shade of brown :eek::eek::eek: As in one shoe is lighter than the other

The codes on the shoes match each other and match the code on the box - can only assume one had been in daylight or something ? Anyways i got them for £7 reduced from £50 and i've not been able to wear them because of this

I have tried putting a shoe in the window to catch the sun but this hasn't helped

:o:o Not sure on if they can be dyed, type of dye to use etc. but i really want to rescue that precious £7 i spent if possible

Ooh and on another note - been listing a few bits on eb*y this week - lifting everything out of the wardrobe and really thinking about a) what suits me, b) is there anything similar that i'd choose to wear as a preference to this one - so get rid of item A, c) How often do i really wear this sort of item so do i need x number - all this has helped :T:T:T But OH was horrified that i was selling a top i got for an absolute bargain on hols last year - thing was i got 2 - and i prefer the other one so would always choose to wear this one instead - so i've listed my less favoured one on eb*y for the same price i paid so i'm not losing out

But OH was like 'no, no keep it, its great' 'Yes dear' i replied 'but there's all those clothes that don't fit in the wardrobe and will if i get rid of things like this' Bless him he was more upset than me. Did say i won't let it go for less than i paid though as its worth quite a lot more than that and i could always take it on hols where its ok if it gets sucream on etc. as i'll get my moneys worth out of wearing it whilst not ruining my favourite item

LianneH · 17 January 2012 at 9:00PM

debbiedeejay wrote: »

I suppose we don't know the true history of new clothes either -in the sense of who has handled them anyway -lots of people will have handled your new knickers before you wear them - from the person operating the cutting/sewing machinery in the factory to the person putting them out on the shop floor- and don't forget the other customers that have "swished" through them on the hangers.
Think of all those other people who have tried on that skirt/top/trousers you might buy before you do in any shop. :cool:What about the smell of some of the changing rooms in some of these shops too? There is always a stash of air fresheners in many changing rooms these days and that's just from ladies trying new things on!
Someone else put about the "smell" of some certain CS - yep there are a few like that in my town too - but there are others that don't have that smell either. They tend to be the ones that are larger and for a more of a national charity - but beware the prices can be a bit more higher in my experience.

The thing is to try one of these "larger national " CS and go in with an open mind - yes there will be the old ladies gear amongst the primarni & supermarket fashions - but you will also find gems (in the past I have found Ja*ger cashmere jumpers at less than a fiver,Mo*soon,Eas*,Per U*a & plenty more).

If worried go for the more modern brands, as chances are they haven't been sat in someones wardrobe/shop for donkeys.(usually on the tag the shop sometimes put a date it goes out on the shop floor/arrived in store) Give yourself a budget of a couple of pounds to start with, once home, give said item a good wash straight away if you are that worried. Wear it - but don't say a word to anyone and the first time you get a compliment for wearing that item, smile and pat yourself on the back because you are not just helping yourself save money you will be helping a charity too.:T(Plus many CS shops round my way even do normal return policies within a cetain time like any other shop)

Also sometimes you will find stuff still with the original shop labels on - so that might help the history worry-at least it has never been worn,just sat unloved in a wardrobe -until you free it!

HTH

thanks for you post and to others that discussed the CS shopping. I hadn't thought about the how many people handle "new" clothes either so that puts a different slant on things or maybe just put me off buying all clothes altogher!! :rotfl:

Ive never been bothered wearing second hand clothes, as I often get hand-me downs from friends, so maybe I am just a bit of a snob (no real reason why though!!) and just never thought of CS shopping before.

I'm going to do a search on my nearest big national ones and maybe start there.

thanks ladies, you are all great for advice and doing fanstatic with the challenge! :T

medsdemon · 17 January 2012 at 9:24PM

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

rosemary - well done on the freebies :j:T:j:T

I wonder if any of you lovely ladies (and any guys too of course :cool:) can help me with some much needed advice please? I have a pair of shoes which i bought new and in a bit of a rush last year - i know, i know serves me right - well when i got them home and took out of box they are a different shade of brown :eek::eek::eek: As in one shoe is lighter than the other The codes on the shoes match each other and match the code on the box - can only assume one had been in daylight or something ? Anyways i got them for £7 reduced from £50 and i've not been able to wear them because of this I have tried putting a shoe in the window to catch the sun but this hasn't helped :o:o Not sure on if they can be dyed, type of dye to use etc. but i really want to rescue that precious £7 i spent if possible

Ooh and on another note - been listing a few bits on eb*y this week - lifting everything out of the wardrobe and really thinking about a) what suits me, b) is there anything similar that i'd choose to wear as a preference to this one - so get rid of item A, c) How often do i really wear this sort of item so do i need x number - all this has helped :T:T:T But OH was horrified that i was selling a top i got for an absolute bargain on hols last year - thing was i got 2 - and i prefer the other one so would always choose to wear this one instead - so i've listed my less favoured one on eb*y for the same price i paid so i'm not losing out But OH was like 'no, no keep it, its great' 'Yes dear' i replied 'but there's all those clothes that don't fit in the wardrobe and will if i get rid of things like this' Bless him he was more upset than me. Did say i won't let it go for less than i paid though as its worth quite a lot more than that and i could always take it on hols where its ok if it gets sucream on etc. as i'll get my moneys worth out of wearing it whilst not ruining my favourite item

If you look on Eb*y Schuh sell shoes that have one pair faded all the time from being on display. It depends what fabric the shoes are made from if you could die them. I would give it a go or take it to a dance shoe store who dye shoes professionally for costumes, but not sure how much this would cost.

I am taking £1 spend back off my budget as 2 of the pairs of knickers I bought for myself were claimed by my DD.

oldestgnome · 17 January 2012 at 9:28PM

Charity shops are a great way of finding some gems - it becomes addictive though! I can't walk past one without popping in for a quick look!:o

I'm still resisting buying anything and I've been "freeing" some clothes I haven't worn for ages and getting complimented on my new clothes :rotfl:so thank you for all the ideas and encouragement to spend less and maximise what I have

kerri_gt · 17 January 2012 at 9:32PM

Just popping in to declare a freedom day today, wore some black knee high boots which I bought about 10yrs ago from TK Maxx. No real reason why I don't wear them more than I do - they used to be my good 'going out' boots until I got my 'puss in boot' style ones from Dune a while back. Always have to turn the jeans I was wearing up with my normal boots so thought I'd go for something with a heel today (and a fleecy lining too). Been making good use of my 'new' Fatface jacket too - so glad I kept that!