I bought a lot this year. About double my usual. I also edited out a significant number of items that were around a decade old in some cases. This makes sense. It has been a full decade since I built my wardrobe from scratch ...and I was due for a real style refresh.
Almost all my purchases, I'm pleased to say, have been hugely successful. I'm wearing all the things and enjoying them! Thanks to Angie and the forum for helping me refine my style to the point where I make fewer errors and even my "experiments" tend to work out well.
Having said that...there were mistakes!
1. The EOS sneakers. I am not beating myself up about this. They were so comfy in the store! I spent a good 20 minutes walking around in them to be sure. But IRL, they were torture, and no amount of playing around with insoles, socks, bandages, or moleskins would help. Sigh.
2. Aritzia shell, bought on consignment. I have an identical top in ecru (no pattern) that I have worn a lot. So you would think this would be a no-brainer, right? Umm. Not so much. The cut under the arms is ever so slightly different (just enough to bother me because it shows many of my bras) and every time I reached for it, I reached for something else instead. Not an expensive fail or one that is so bad for the climate, since it was second hand. But still.
3. Cole Haan Zero grand penny loafer. This was a case of jumping on board too far, too fast and wearing sales goggles. I loved the Cole Haan stitchlight oxfords so much and I loved my last year's Sarto at-home loafers so much that I thought -- hello, this on-sale loafer could be the perfect at home shoe this winter! But no. It is nowhere near as comfy as the oxford, to start, it slides off my foot (as most loafers do), it looks cheap (as the oxfords do. not) and I feel unstylish when I wear it. Passing it on.
4. BR cotton top. This was not a complete fail. I wore it at least 10 times during the summer. But although it looks good on me (I think) I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had anticipated. LisaP commented on her own version of this that it just didn't feel like "her" in the end. It doesn't feel not me, if that makes sense, but neither does it fill me with joy. I think -- maybe -- it's the thickness of the stripes and the stripes going in different directions on the same piece and the piece being quite short and square. But I'm not 100% sure. Anyway, it's in good condition but I'm passing it along.
5. Sandwich top. This was actually a massive success -- to the point that it failed. I wore it so much, I literally wore holes in it! don't think these holes can be easily or invisibly repaired since it is a modal knit. I'm going to try, though. This was on repeat all summer -- I must have worn it at least 3 times a week for 4 months. And I purchased it for $30. So it worked out to more than 30 wears in one summer and less than $1 per wear. But I'll be sad to dispose of it, since it was so incredibly useful.
I'm not sure I have any smart takeaways from this except don't purchase just because you're making another purchase or you want free shipping. The Aritzia top purchase was made at the same time I bought the Dries van Noten pants. Why not just the pants? There was no reason to add to the bag with something that might have seemed more "practical." And I bought the loafers to get free shipping on another pair of shoes (that worked out much better.) The shipping costs would have been much cheaper than the shoes!
