C'est fini

My one year of not buying clothes is officially over today.  How do I feel?  A little sad.  I already miss it.  It simplified my life and made it better in so many ways.  I learned to be content with what I have.  Without the option to buy something new, I really appreciated what I already have.  I grew to like my clothes better and never once said, "I have nothing to wear."  I wore more of my clothes and stopped saving my nice things for a special occasion.  It never felt like a hardship.  I was actually happier getting dressed in the morning.

Did it have to be a whole year?  For me - yes.  I needed that long to gain the right perspective.  During the first few months, I was very conscious of not buying clothes.  It didn't bother me, but occasionally I would think, "I wish I could buy that."  After a few more months, I stopped thinking about it, and it was only when other people mentioned it that I would look forward to buying certain things (new jeans, a certain necklace).  But just in the last month I noticed that clothes have became slightly less important to me.  I don't really care about having anything new.  I'm fine with what I have.

I'm still a believer in looking nice when you leave the house, but I've noticed that the people who consistently dress well have a sort of uniform that works for them.  And you don't need a lot clothes to do that.  I could really wear dresses most of the time.  A dress is an instant outfit.  I may become known as the "wrap dress girl".  These days I like anything that simplifies my life.  I am determined to buy fewer items of better quality.  And I am going to get rid of everything that I "might wear someday".

I honestly considered not buying clothes for another year, but most of my socks have holes, my pajamas are falling apart, and my tennis shoes are wearing thin.  There are some things that I need to buy just so I don't look like a hobo to my own family.  However, I hope to buy more wisely and not very often.

If you are considering giving up something for a while, my biggest tip for you is to move toward something else.  I was so distracted by planning my kitchen, working on art projects, and learning how to sew better that didn't have time to shop even if I had wanted to.  Fill your time and your thoughts and your passion with good things and the non-beneficial things will be pushed out of your life.  (And it does help if you blog about it.)