It’s been 2 months since my fashion no-buy started. After failing my initial attempt at a no-buy at the beginning of the year, I knew I needed to approach it differently and that’s exactly what I set out to do. Good news, it’s been a lot easier this time around and I’ve also had some “ah-ha!” moments over the past few weeks.
Behind the paywall I’m diving into:
How it’s been going and have I bought anything?
How my consumption habits have changed in other areas of my life.
The podcast, books, youtube video I’ve been listening to/watching that have helped me change my perspective on consumption.
All the garments I’ve made myself so far!
Overall, the no-buy has been going fairly smooth this time. I honestly think what set me up for failure last time was not committing to a full no-buy and instead shifted to a “low buy” where I’d allow myself one new purchase and I could still shop secondhand.
Now, that I’m just not buying new clothes, I’m honestly shocked at home much extra time I have. I didn’t realize how often I was online browsing or thrifting IRL until I stopped. Sometimes I’ll be scrolling online and stop myself thinking why am I even looking at stuff I know I’m not going to buy. Then, close the app and do something else.
I’ve also taken a bit of an unintentional break from instagram because I realized how often that lead me down a rabbit hole of online browsing. It’s been nice. I’ll still pop into instagram, but I’ve mostly replaced it with reading my substack articles and scrolling pinterest for online activities (or something offline like knitting or painting). Both apps give me more of a sense of inspiration and mini boosts of creativity, whereas instagram often takes away from my well of creativity.
At the start of the year during my initial no-buy I also deleted the Amazon app. I was liberating! I had gotten too reliant and was shopping to impulsively on their, especially during the last two years a new mom of three. I was buying stuff I didn’t need or didn’t know where it was and wanted to shift my shopping habits. It worked so well. Just deleting the app for a few months completely changed me.
With the extra time I developed from not browsing or buying, along with consuming more no-buy/minimalism content, I was inspired to give my house a good declutter. My house was due for a sweeping declutter as my youngest isn’t a baby anymore and I needed to let go a bunch of things that weren’t being used anymore. I posted a few bits online for sale/gifting and then made several trips of the donation center. My house feels sooooo much better. This is when I had on oof those “ah-ha!” moments.
I think I’ve always been someone who’s good a decluttering, but often find myself in the same situation with more stuff to declutter in a few months. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who strives to live a more minimalist lifestyle, but I think I realized I’ve just been good at decluttering and not so good and stopping the inflow of things. Not that I need to stop all inflow, but I was actively contributing to my own chaos by constantly cycling new items into it. This fashion no-buy has really snowballed into being more mindful with all my purchases and realizing how often I was purchasing away my time. When I was thrifting frequently, I’d find pieces that were almost what I wanted, but I’d just need to make a few alterations. The truth is I often didn’t get to those tasks and these items would live in a pile or sit in my closet unworn.
Now, when I look at buying anything new I really take the time to think if it will simplify my life or add more to my to-do list. If it’s the later, I have to really be committed to it and having the time to do it within that week. If I don’t, that thing or supplies or whatnot will sit in a pile staring at me as a daily reminder. I don’t need that. I’m deciding not to overstock my life with things needed for future projects or tasks and wait to purchase when I’m ready.
I realize this might sound like a duh!, but I can’t tell you how often I’d buy stuff for future tasks, but not be able to get to them for weeks. It could be a dress from the thrift store that needs to be hemmed or a cool thrifted frame I need to replace the art inside and find a place to hang it. Having one of those things lingering around your home isn’t bad, but I would have several at a time. Being surrounded by all my unfinished tasks filled me with a constant state of feeling behind on my to-do list.
In the past I’d justify the thrifted purchases, because you’d likely not “find it again” or it was a “good deal” or I just thought it was “cool.” Now, those justifications aren’t good enough to sacrifice the mental load they created into my daily life. If I don’t need it right now or don’t have the time to put into changing it how I need to, then I don’t buy it.
I’m realizing if I want to maintain this sense of calm in my house, life, and wardrobe I need to setup some rules for myself. A few of my growing list of minimalism rules are:
No piles - Laundry mountain is still a thing every so often in my house, but I’m talking more about a stack of thrifted frames sitting in limbo in my bedroom for months or a pile of bags I don’t often wear but don’t have space for in my closet. Things like that. Which leads me to my next rule.
Everything needs a designated home in my house. Giving everything a true home for items makes it easier to put them away and creates a physical limit to home much I can own. I’m currently working on pairing down my handbag collections to comfortably be able to live in a small bookshelf in my closet.
No duplicates - While I’m not buying clothes at the moment, an example would be if I really like a specific stripe top I don’t need a bunch more variations. I’ve learned when I do that I still wear the first stripe top I love that inspired the dupes, which I end up rarely wearing.
I need to have the time for the new item - I talked about this before, but I’m a gal who loves a project, but I can’t buy too far in advance or things get too overwhelming. Example would be, I’m only allowing myself to buy yarn one project ahead for my knitted garments.
Content I’ve been consuming that keeping me motivated in this no-buy challenge:
The idea of creating minimalism rules came from binge listening to The Minimalist Podcast. I especially liked the episode about closet clutter. I can’t remember which episode this quote is from, but it really resonated with me, “Minimalist isn’t about counting things but about having only the things that count.” This is how I want to live in all aspects of my life from my closet and home to my life experiences and relationships.
I also listened to several episodes of Sustain This! Podcast and found so many nuggets of wisdom and boosts of motivation. After listening to their podcast, I also did a deep dive into their youtube channels - Alyssa Beltempo and Christina Mychas. Both channels dive into getting the most out of your wardrobe, but both with their own aesthetics and life experiences. Highly recommend both channels!
I listened to the book “Effortless” by Greg McKeown and whoa! It’s one of those books that hit me at the right time and shifted my perspective on so many things in life. I read his “Essentialism” book a few years ago and would highly recommend reading that as well. Here are a few quotes from the “Effortless” book that will now live rent free in my head:
“When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have. When you focus on what you have, you get what you lack.” by Greg McKeown
“Do not do more today than you can completely recover from today. Do not do more this week than you can completely recover from this week.” by Greg McKeown
Have I bought anything?
My favorite pair of wide leg Levi’s jeans have been fraying a ton at the bottom and I wanted to replace them. I bought 2 sizes from Madewell because they have petites and I was hoping then I wouldn’t need to alter them at all. I wanted a pair that I didn’t need to cut shorter to avoid the frayed hem issue I’m having. Also, when I purchased the Levi’s jeans I cut them shorter myself and then added anti-fabric fray to the cuts in hopes of avoiding this issue, but it only held up for a few washes and then started unraveling like crazy. The Madewell pants didn’t fit me so I returned them. I’ll probably end up repurchasing the original Levi’s pair and see if I can hem them instead of just cut them with a raw hem.
At the beginning of the summer I unpacked my summer pieces stored away during the winter months. A few of my linen pants didn’t fit well and were kind of uncomfortable to wear. Along with the Madewell denim I bought a pair of petite green trousers, but they didn’t fit well either. This purchase seems to fall into the gray of my no-buy rules. The old linen trousers technically fit me, but were uncomfortable in a few areas, especially since I’m used to wearing more loose fitting clothes. Since they didn’t fit I returned them, but I am missing wearing green trousers this summer. Maybe I’ll add it to my sewing to-do list.
Clothes I’ve made myself so far:
I’ve been busy in my sewing studio and made several pieces since starting my challenge. It’s been so fun and I can tell my sewing skills have really improved since the beginning of the year.
I didn’t intend to have matchy-matchy pieces (except for the floral numbers - that was wholly intended!) it just happened without me noticing until I made this graphic lol. So, far I’ve made:
Floral block print Amy Tank Top by TOTOshopUA etsy
Ivory eyelet Amy Tank Top by TOTOshopUA etsy
Navy linen Amy Tank Top by TOTOshopUA etsy
Plum linen Amy Tank Top by TOTOshopUA etsy
Floral block print Saundra Skirt by Sydney Graham
Ivory linen Saundra Skirt by Sydney Graham
Chambray Saundra Skirt by Sydney Graham
Striped shorts self drafted pattern
Brown knit Sabai top pattern by Susanne Muller
I like making a pattern multiple times, clearly! The proceeding garments usually comes together quicker and a bit better. I’ve made four of these Amy Tank Tops and they have become a wardrobe staple for me. So comfortable and cropped fit that suits my petite frame perfectly. I want to play around with hacking the neckline on a future version!
Saundra skirt was another fairly simple pattern. I started with the chambray fabric, which was quick to come together, but the linen one was more difficult with the addition of the lining. I think that’s because I had too heavy of materials and had a lot of trouble with the waistband construction. I ended up just making a channel for the elastic instead of the construction method she has in the pattern and it worked out great! The floral block print version of this skirt is my favorite! It’s super lightweight and was my third make so I feel like I really nailed the construction of this one. I prefer the unlined version of the Saundra skirt personally. It’s easier to make and more comfortable and lighter weight on my body.
As for knitting I was about a third of the way through the Sabai top, but then frogged it when I realized it was knitting too loose despite meeting gauge (I feel like such an expert knitter when I use knitting terms lol but I’m still very much a beginner). I started over with a smaller needle and it was honestly painful to start over. It felt like it took forever to finish, but at last I did and I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s a super comfortable top. I want to make a cream version before the end of summer and will likely modify the pattern a bit to take out some length in the chest area so the armholes are too low for me.
There are still a few pieces I want to make myself before summer is over, but I’m trying to keep it realistic as we have to trips in August and the kids will be home for two weeks between the end of camp and start of school. I’m really having so much fun sewing and knitting my own clothes. Not only is it great practice for improving my skills, but the fit is a million times better than off the rack for this petite gal. I also just cherish the pieces more and feel like I take better care of them since I made them!
Hope your summer is going well! Let me know if you have any specific questions about my no-buy challenge, me-made wardrobe or anything else you’d like me to share here this fall.
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