Red top + black bottoms

I use to stay away from this particular combination:

red top and black bottoms.

Black trousers - White ruffle tank top Forever 21 - Red short sleeve jacket Best -
 Black suede shoes Moleca - Nicole Lee red bag 

This, because when I was in high school there was a particular 

restaurant where this was the uniform worn by servers.

This restaurant always had an ad in the paper looking for staff,

which would read something like 

" We are hiring waitresses, as all that we had previously hired, 

left with our customers..."

They closed down.

Unsusbscribing

My inbox kept getting more and more emails.

Chanel, Gilt, Groupon, Reebonz, American Airlines..

Blue dress - Nicole Lee red bag - Blue suede flats Zara

All emails that I subscribed for.

However I realise that many of these are just an incentive

to want more things, to shop.

So, I'm unsubscribing.

Not to all of them of course, but I will cut down on the

email offers I receive as they create distractions and

I really need to focus.

November Adquisitions

This month I used gift cards for my purchases...

I had a 21.00 USD gift card from Forever 21

which I used up buying a chunky pearl bracelet

for 11.80 USD, a pair of gold tone earrings for 1.80 USD 

and a white cotton button down shirt for 12.80 USD.

With the 21.00 USD gift card I only paid 7.25 USD.

I had another gift card from Tiffany, here I picked up a simple

L monogram silver pendant and necklace, 

for which I ended up paying 69.55 USD.

-

November total is 76.80 USD.

November editing

Clothes have a lifespan.

The lifespan in your closet and the lifespan 

of the garment construction itself.

In my case, for shoes I basically wear

them until they fall apart.

The same goes for bags.

Now, for garments it's a different story.

I hold on. 

Hold on waiting for the garment to be trendy again.

Waiting for the garment to fit me again.

Waiting to find another garment to pair it with...

The bad part is that in order to justify the existence of 

the garment in my closet I force myself to wear it

and sometimes end up with crappy outfits.

Long story short:

-

The blog helps me edit.

-

This month I have edited items that have in my 

closet for a short time, like this fuchsia sweater from 

New York & Co. which I bought November 2012 for 4.27 USD.

In one year I wore it about 7 times, leaving cost per wear at 0.60 cents.

It was piling and the boatneck was too wide and I had to 

tug on it all the time and my bra strap was showing :(

Another item in the bag: a piling cardigan from American Raglie.

Also in the bag, my white short sleeve jacket from Best Jeans.

I wore few times and aren't short sleeve jackets so passé ?

Another item I got rid of was this pair of beige shorts from Ralph Lauren.

They were a gift from mom from about 6 years or so.

They're stained, a bit high waisted and tight on me.

Another item is this white linen vintage Naf Naf skirt which 

was a hand me down.

It was too tight and had tiny holes I could see.

Tiny holes are a thing I cannot bear to see in an garment,

so I let go.

I also went through my earring drawer and decided to really purge it.

I got rid of earrings I've had and have never worn, of those that are just not my style, of those where the gold tone has faded away.

Many of them were parts of a set, they came with a necklace. 

But it came to my attention that even though I wore the necklaces, 

the earrings I did not really like.

I got rid of vintage pearl earrings, chandeliers and a few necklaces.

A feather hair pin, a Puma pin and a bracelet 

were the last to go in the bag.

At the end it was 13 pairs of earrings, 3 necklaces, 

one bracelet, one pin and hair accessory. 

My orange Franco Sarto loafers. This orange is so very Hèrmes.

They have been in the closet for at least 9 years and get very little wear.

(about 5 times in 5 years..)

Also in the bag a red Tous wallet that was in bad shape.

It's at least 4 years old so I got my money's worth.

(It actually looks quite nice in the picture).

Closet edits: 26 items this month.

The process

There's a process I follow before getting rid of an item

in my monthly closet edits, it's something I always do.

This time around the item being examined:

 an American Raglie cardigan.

I found it in my closet a few posts back 

while doing an inspired by look.

After I wore it that day I noticed that it had

some piling and that it was not very structured

so I had to be pulling on it that day.  

Also the sleeves seemed to have stretched out a bit.

SO, I went back and did the process:

1. Checked the blog to see when I bought it:

Happens I don't know, it's older than the blog, 

so it's estimate is 4 or 5 years.

2. How many times has it been worn ?

Went back and counted: 11 times in 5 years.

3. How did it look when I wore it ?

That's when I go back and look at the posts...

this is what I came up with:

I've worn it mostly over dresses, usually to cover

up sleeveless dresses.

Even though it served its purpose, I don't love any of the looks.

I also learned that I seem to be wearing more color these days and that my

last 3 choices have been a lot better that my previous ones.

While I do not remember how much it  cost, I can 

assume that cost per wear is low.

After doing this process I then decide if it stays or goes.

This time around, I decided it's leaving.

For me, closet editing is a constant process.

How about you ?

How do you do it ?

Home Improvements

Even though it can be done at anytime, 
I usually like to do certain home improvement 
projects at the end of the year.
You know, like a Christmas gift for the home.

DKNY boyfriend jeans - Merona light blue button down shirt - Zara blue flats -
Union Jack earrings Forever 21  -  Nicole Lee Red and black bag 

While it already makes no sense, because the end of the 

year is busy enough...

Adding several hours of "tile watching" to the list is 

beginning to be a burden.

Learning how to shop

We learn many things throughout our lives.
The first we learn from family.
I think that one of them are our shopping habits.

Saltworks jeans - Mint belt H&M - White t shirt St. John's Bay

They depend on many things that vary from 

income to needs and I will not get into that. 

In my case, I do not recall "going shopping"

as a weekend activity, while growing up.

I recall going grocery shopping, shopping for a gift 

for someone's birthday or shopping for school stuff.

Maybe shopping for something nice to wear on Easter.

Nicole Lee red bag - Forever 21 pearl and handcuffs necklace -
Black Kenneth Cole Reaction wedges

I honestly don't remember when this changed.

Probably in my teens, when I wanted to choose

mostly brands I wanted to wear. 

Sure, you hear quality over quantity so much

these days - which is something that makes

all the sense in the world... but, many of us do not

practice it, myself included.

Zoya Godiva nail polish

These days it seems like you are tempted all the time.

Tempted to buy.

Wether it's a coupon code you get on line, a catalogue

through the mail, post on your favourite blog, the super

sale advertised on tv or the huge sale sign at the store-

it all directs you to the same place: the cashier.

Where am I going with this ?

Habits are difficult to change, but not impossible to - 

and there are shopping habits I'd like to change.