Day 24

I think when all is said and done, I'd like to break my shopping fast here: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=7. Hello? A Jimmy Choo OUTLET? Whoever heard of such a thing? I google-mapped it. It will take me four hours to get there, so maybe I'll make a weekend of it: take a friend, visit the bro in Manhattan (he'll probably be up for a shopping excursion), maybe Bed, Bath and Beyond... I don't know, I don't know if we'll have time.

Day 22

For all you J.Crew lovers out there, check out this blog: http://jcrewaholics.com/. I tend to shop at J.Crew a LOT, mainly because their reductions on sale items are positively dizzying. However, JCrewaholic had an entry asking readers what was their favorite ever J.Crew purchase. The question gave me pause. Out of all the money I've spent at J.Crew, I can really only think of one t-shirt and one cardigan from there that I've LOVED. I WANT to love my J.Crew ballet flats and cashmere sweaters and headbands, but the ballet flats aren't that comfortable, the sweaters don't fit me that well and the headbands give me headaches! Don't even get me started on the pants; I don't think I own one pair because they NEVER work for me.

I've always had this general feeling that J.Crew (like so many other clothing companies) only designs clothes for people who are basically fashion models anyway: TALL and slim to the point of boyishness. Their clothes are definitely not designed for my short, curvy figure. And no, I'm not using "curvy" the way magazines do, as a euphemism for "fat," I just have hips, a bust and a butt... as I'm sure many other women do!

Well, it turns out that Jenna Lyons, J.Crew's senior VP of design, is six-foot tall and has no boobs. Go figure! Maybe I need to scrap my career path, go to design school and take the helm of one these companies, just to have clothes that fit me well! Or, J.Crew's CEO Mickey Drexler got his MBA from Boston U, my Alma mater; maybe I can track him down through our alumni network and tell him my woes.

One thing I'll give J.Crew: their swimsuits. I do like their swimsuits. And right now, they have a TON on sale, many pieces for $9.99. You can get a whole suit for $20!! Argh, I'd usually be all over that. The only balm for my sting is to know that next year at this time I can go hog wild. Couldn't I just abandon The Challenge this one little time?

Day 21

Sex and the City: The Movie comes out on DVD today. I can't decide whether or not to buy it. I wasn't really blown away by it when I saw it in the theater, but I would like to see it again, and I do have every season of the TV show on DVD... do I need to round out my collection with the movie?

I think I will hold off for now. For some reason those four characters are a very bad influence on me. They make me want to toss reason and foresight aside, maxing out my credit cards buying Jimmy Choos, Manolos and Christian Dior handbags. And then they make me want to create drama in my relationship, thinking "Who needs men!? We have each other!" Luckily, I haven't ever followed through on either of these urges. Yet.

Day 20

...yes, 20! I think it's getting easier to be less preoccupied with shopping. As long as I don't think about it. I stumbled across this blog, all about shopping: http://blog.cleveland.com/shopaholic/ The writers are based in Cleveland, but they mainly talk about mainstream stores, so everyone who's been to an American mall can relate.

Day 17

Got to thinking about my Christmas list. I figure that since this is more of a personal-finance challenge, I can still RECEIVE new clothes, I just can't BUY them. So BF, if you're reading this, make note: a Christmas shopping spree would be well received.

Day 14

Those marketers are hella smart. Yes, I see those people walking around with the orange Banana shopping bags, which means only one thing - SALE. Yes, I'd normally hightail it over there to check out the racks. NO, I'm not going to fall for it this time. HA!

Switching gears, here's one of my favorite blogs: http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

I find it so inspirational. Like maybe one day, I could be walking down the street, and someone noticing the tiniest detail of my outfit will fall so in love with it that he'll have to photograph it and share it with the world. It's like that part in Confessions of a Shopaholic when Becky Bloomwood reveals her secret wish that someone will put her in a magazine as a "girl on the street" and identify the label of every item of clothing she's wearing. Highly unlikely, but motivation to leave the house looking put together!

Day 13

Just realized that the pants I'm wearing today are forming a small hole on the knee. While I do feel validated in my purchases when I actually hold onto them long enough to wear them out, I'm a little nervous. What if all of my clothes are worn out in a year... I will have nothing appropriate to wear to work and will subsequently be fired. And broke. Do all paths of this experiment lead to me being poor?

Yesterday, I talked about how many clothing-related emails tempt me on a daily basis. You know what else I think is problematic? Store credit cards. I think my mom has one for every store she's ever shopped in. I have four: Banana Republic, Express, Gap and Nordstrom. Is four a lot or not? I can't even gauge because I'm not sure what shopping habits are normal, and when I reflect on my shopping role model (my mother), I'm pretty sure her habits are a bit extreme. Sorry mom!

Day 12

Voicemail from my mom: "Hi, I'm sorting through this stuff and found a coupon for 20% off at Ann Taylor. Do you want me to save it for you? Call me back."

I am bombarded like this all the time. The stores that send me emails are Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Intermix and South Moon Under, and I also get updates from Shop it to Me. Every email exclaims "One Day Only!" "Fall Must-Haves!" "Free Shipping!"

Side note: today I carried a new suede bag from Anthropologie - purchased pre-Challenge. Apparently I will never run out of new things, and now you know why I started this experiment.

Day 11

I wore a new cardigan on Wednesday night (bought pre-Challenge, of course!) and, within an hour of my putting it on, my bf noticed there was a good-sized hole in the sleeve.  Grrr!  So today, I took the cardigan and the shirt to return at Gap and headed to the mall.  

First stop was Gap, and I just headed straight to the checkout counter with my return.  The girl in front of me was buying a really cute cardi, but I did my transaction and left.  The key for me is definitely to put my blinders on and ignore all clothes as much as possible.  Anthropologie next with the cardigan; I exchanged it for a non-holey one and jetted.  When I walked past J.Crew, I looked at the window displays and thought, Ha!  You're not going to get me with your over-priced clothes with stylish-sounding names.  "Jackie Cardigan" my butt!  I did buy a few things at the mall: a shower gift at Crate & Barrel and wrapping paper and blank cards at Hallmark.  Then went to Trader Joe's before heading home.  

I should confess now that there is one VERY BAD consequence of The Challenge, and that is that I feel justified in giving in to non-clothing temptations.  Starbucks, lunches out, junk food... Yuck.  At the end of this year, not only will I be poorly-dressed and out of date, but I will also be fat and STILL poor!  What to do??  I need some kind of joy in my life.  Any suggestions for something that feels like a treat but doesn't affect my wallet or waistline in a negative way? 

Day 9

I am starting to think that The Challenge is going to be even harder than I anticipated. I mean, it's only been a little over a week, and I'm already starting to covet things. Today, I watched the new Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo, and even though her style is not my aesthetic, I was envious of all the shopping and oooohhing and aaaaahhing over beautiful clothes, jewelry, shoes and handbags. (Actually, she doesn't say "oooh" or "aaahhh," she says "die," whatever that's supposed to mean.) I did admire Zoe's wide-leg-jeans-and-platform-shoes combos. SIGH.

Day 7

3:30 pm
My bargain-shopping-extraordinaire colleague brought her Ann Taylor purchase out to show me. It is a super-cute skirt, orange with white rings printed on it - very mod. And she got it for under $13! Yowsa. The one downside, she said, was that she didn't try it on and isn't sure it will fit exactly right. Also, it's a size 6, and she's usually a 4. Now that I think about it, maybe The Challenge will rid me of the sense that I need to buy things because they are "a bargain" when I really don't need them. How many of the things I own did I only want when I saw how much money I'd "save?" Hm.

2:18 pm
One of my colleagues apparently just returned from a shopping-filled lunch break, and I can overhear her showing off her final-sale skirt from Ann Taylor. I envy her the thrill of the hunt.

9:02 am
Yesterday was the first time I faced my demons and walked into a clothing store. Along with my Banana Republic credit card bill, I received a $10 reward card. I think I earn one every time I spend $200 on my BR card. Anyway, I also received an email from BR for 30% off any purchase for that day only! Before you start thinking I'm so weak as to be lured into a store for any old special, know that I actually needed to buy a gift and 30% + $10 off at BR was perfectly timed. I went during my lunch break, and I was a woman on a mission. I made a beeline for the accessories, picked up the gift item and went straight to the cash register. At that point, I was held up a little bit because there was another customer ahead of me, and of course the sale jewelry was within arm's reach of where I stood waiting. Major temptation. A pretty cocktail ring, in a small enough size, on sale, and would be 30% off?? Looking back, I kinda wish I'd just bought it - but I didn't! Go me. Successful and selfless shopping excursion.

P.S. They wouldn't let me combine my coupon and reward card... I guess a follow-up trip to spend the $10 will be forthcoming.

Day 6

Horror! I found a shirt purchased in June that still had the tags on it! I totally forgot about it after I bought it. The saving grace is that I found the receipt (sometimes I'm actually more organized than I think), and there's a 90 day return policy. Of course, my first instinct was to return it ASAP, but then I started thinking, "Hmm, well maybe I should try it on... see if it looks good with anything I own..." And then the angel perched on my other shoulder said, "Absolutely not. It's very much a summer shirt, summer's over, and you completely forgot about it anyway! You'll have to save it until next summer, and you probably won't remember to wear it then either!" Consensus: I'm returning the shirt. But I may try it on first, just to make sure.

Day 3

I am wearing a new t-shirt today. And I wore a new tank to the gym this morning. But don't worry; I bought them over the weekend, before I began The Challenge. I think I will miss the feeling of a never-worn-before item, so I'm trying to savor every moment today. Wow, this t-shirt feels gooood. Ok, lame.

Day 2

5:56 pm

Phew, made it through day 2!  So far, not painful at all.  The worst part of The Challenge right now is anticipating the withdrawal symptoms.  Looking forward and thinking about when the seasons change, I know I will be tempted by the new clothes in stores.  And the end-of-season sales... I'm a total sucker for those!

If you're curious about the article that inspired The Challenge, it can be found here:  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/12NewNeedsThatDrainYourCash_Slides.aspx

9:15 am

Last night, I had a vision of myself a year from now. I was wearing the palest blue jeans, all-white cross trainers and a long-sleeved pastel floral shirt. And I had a frizzy perm. Yikes! Then I realized that to dress like that, I'd have to actually go buy those clothes, which isn't happening. At the end of this, will I find myself nominated for What Not to Wear?

Day 1

I read an article today about the 12 modern day "needs" that drain our bank accounts.  One of them was clothes!  Aren't clothes one of the basic necessities?  You know... food, water, shelter, all that?  But the author pointed out that we mostly own and buy clothes that we don't NEED, and how often do you wear out your clothes anyway?  The article also quoted a financial expert saying that most Americans could last a year without buying any new clothes.

Hm.  That bit got me thinking.  How long could I last without buying clothes?  Could I last a YEAR??  I keep pretty close tabs on my finances, so I went back and did some calculating.  In a year, I spent almost $2,500 on clothes, shoes and accessories.  That doesn't seem THAT bad, but think of what I could do with an extra $2,500: pad my retirement savings, upgrade my cell phone, buy an actual sofa and throw out this God-awful futon...  So, I am accepting the challenge.  No new clothes, no new shoes, no new handbags, jewelry or sunglasses.

Sigh... I am already fantasizing about the wardrobe updates I had been planning.