you would think that after the ridiculous amount of money that i spent on eating out last month, i would have been able to do some thoughtful self assessment and reigned it in a little. yeah, thoughtful self assessment isn’t exactly my strong suit. although i do spend a lot of time wishing that i was one of those people who got off on self denial. too bad wishing is a statistically poor way to accomplish your goals.
i’ve actually been quite good with the eating out thing lately, but i’ve slid my attentions over to the retail sector. it starts with a perceived need, for example: i’m too fat for all my summer clothes, and it’s starting to get hot out. although regardless of my pants size, i always get hit with the spring shopping fever and buy everything in sight. i think we’ve already established that i’m top notch at making excuses to do things that are self destructive.
ok, so first i get the fever, and then a shopping wormhole opens in the universe, and beckons me to climb in. this weekend, one opened up in the form of the old navy 30% off the entire store sale. hello 30% off INCLUDING CLEARANCE. maybe i would just stop in for a minute. and by a minute, i mean several hours and two different stores. the spoils:
3 cardigan sweaters
1 pair of skinny jeans
1 mini skirt
1 sundress dress
1 wide belt
1 pair of metallic flats
9 pairs of underwear
total $110- excellent deal for all that stuff (which might i add is SUPER CUTE), but do i have $110 in my budget for clothes right now? um, no.
under any other circumstances, i might have been ok to lay off for a bit after the first binge… but this week has been tough. i’ve been crazy busy. not sleeping, overexerting myself, not eating as well as i should. and then today i had a little bummer life blip that took me down hard. if i wasn’t so overtired and stressed out, it might not have bothered me at all. but instead, i spent cinqo de mayo crying into my tequila. oh, and shopping.
fuck you kohls. you are far enough away that i don’t think of you often. there is nothing else at your strip mall that tempts me to your area. but today somehow an underwear shopping pit-stop before dance class turned into mass consumption fest given 30 minutes and 80% off signs all over the store. fuck you one day sale.
my shame:
1 retro dress
1 sexy secretary skirt
1 pair spectator oxfords
1 pair canvas booties
total: $58- once again, not that bad… but didn’t i just buy 5 PAIRS OF SHOES? in an act of momentary insanity, i unhinged from my sadness and disappointment, and hinged onto the goodness that is buying whatever you want whenever you feel like it regardless of the consequences.
it’s not that i can’t afford $168. especially for some clothes that fit me and help me look less like a hobo at work. but how i buy them (indiscriminately throwing things into my cart… um, 3 cardigans? 3 pairs of shoes?) seems like the issue. sure i’m paying my bills on time… but something just feels amiss. i suppose it’s better than drinking (i cut myself off after 1 cinqo de mayo margarita), or stuffing my fat face with butter, or going out and having dirty sexy times with random strangers…. but seriously, what do healthy people do? either way, i’m coming clean.
**UPDATE** feeling slightly better today. probably because these $18.99 spectators are so f-ing CUTE (and entirely not made of meat).
broke 207 
Anymore all my clothes come from the thrift store… and if I do buy something at a mainstream store it is always either on clearance or on sale and I have a coupon or something. I just can’t stomach paying $60 for American Eagle jeans when I can get perfectly good used ones at the thrift store for $3!!! Yesterday I kicked ass at the thrift stores… 2 dresses, a few skirts, a pair of shorts, 3 pairs of shoes… and I’ll give you a hint… one of those items is my awesome deal I need to send you!
i’m usually a hardcore thrifter, but lately i’ve been a crazy clearance ho. i heart 80% off. did i mention that they gave me $10 back in kohls cash? but yeah, i totally agree with the stomach turningness of full price goods (especially JEANS- it’s a fucking conspiracy!!). you gotta send me your entry soon- I’M DYING TO SEE IT.
I also attended the Old Navy 30% off sale (that I heard about through Broke 207) and dropped some cash on new clothes I probably didn’t need. My “healthy” suggestion would be to gather all the summer clothes that don’t fit and bring them to a consignment store. My new favorite is Find on Free St. You can get cash or store credit, and make room in your closet for the cardigans and oxfords.
i love find! although i’ve never consigned there before. i’ve been a material objects girl for so long… i definitely need to do a closet sweep sometime soon. it’s completely packed full, but somehow i still never have anything to wear to work. or i just look like a hobo. there’s actually a new consignment store on fore street that i visited recently. i’ll be writing them a semi-nasty review sometime in the very near future.
those spectators are wicked cute!
2 pairs of shoes, a dress, and a saucy secretary skirt- and still on time for dance class! i dare you to find a better shopper!
Have you ever heard of the Great American Apparrel Diet? I have a friend who is a shopping fool and she is doing it and swears by it. Not that she’s perfect on it, but it’s a big help. Check it out at:
http://www.thegreatamericanappareldiet.com/
what a cool website! i don’t know if i could go completely cold turkey for a whole year, but it’s definitely something to think about. what i’m saying is that i wouldn’t be surprised if it was a post topic sometime in the near future. thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
what an awesome idea. i love that you’re still allowed to buy shoes and accessories- although i tend to get in a lot of trouble in that department as well (spring shoe count is up to 8!). i’m also a big fan of wardrobe refashion– where you can buy things, but they have to be thrifted or made from scratch. although they do give you two “get out of jail free” cards if you fall off the wagon. thanks for the intel. i’ll definitely be featuring this in an upcoming post (prepare to be shouted out!).
Where oh where did you get those spectators? Quite cute.
kohls! and shockingly comfortable.
I never think to look at the adult clothing in Kohl’s, only stuff for the kidlet. I may have to pop into the local one, and take a look at the shoes.
usually i find their regular merch to be overpriced and a little on the dowdy side… but if you dig through the clearance racks, there’s some decent stuff. let me know if you find anything amazing!