Clothes Diet: Jewelry

I am currently in the the third month of my 2013 clothes buying diet and I'm in the process of documenting the items of clothing and jewelry that are getting me through this year. I will be writing a small ebook about my year of not buying clothes, but throughout the year I will be writing a few posts on the actual process. A couple Saturdays ago, I decided to go through my jewelry box and document what I actually have. I don't have a lot of jewelry and most of it has been given to me or I've purchased items from places I've visited around the world, but it's a good, small place to start.

 

I purchased this necklace at Target for a holiday party. It's cool, but I don't know if I will keep it.

 

This is one of my favorite necklaces. It's a beautiful amber teardrop from Copenhagen.

 

I made this necklace from some turquoise and jasper beads.

 

My earrings and rings sit in a small pottery bowl from the Oregon Coast.

 

My typical, every day earrings.

 

More "business-y" earrings.

 

Some more amber from Denmark.

 

An asymmetrical ring from Denmark.

 

The left ring was made in Thailand and I got the wood ring on Easter Island.

 

My watches: a waterproof New Balance watch for traveling and a Skagen watch.

 

The necklace is a rain tree seed that I picked up in Fiji and the wood bracelet is from a local vintage shop.

 

Another vintage shop necklace.

 

A necklace from Denmark with a Viking ship and a fish on an old coin.

 

A few bracelets given to me by friends.

 

My name in Viking runes and a few shells I've picked up from various tropical islands.

 

A shell necklace I picked up on Easter Island.

 

The top earrings were a gift from my mother and the bottom earrings I purchased from New Tribe Textiles on Etsy.

 

A set of  three beaded necklaces I received as a gift at Burning Man 2012.

Preparing to Go on a Clothes Diet

While many people will start the New Year with a new food diet, in 2013 I will be not be buying any more clothes.

I have enough.

For the next two months, I will be scrutinizing my closet, what I wear on a daily basis and will attempt to have enough outfits and practical clothing items to get me through the next 365 days. The goal is to have enough items to keep me stylish and appropriate for work, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I will be purging what no longer works, but I will also purchase one or two things to round out my wardrobe and to make sure I have enough socks and underwear.

The idea behind this challenge is that all of us really have all we need in our closets to stay warm and clothed. The constant wanting for new items has nothing to do with not having anything to wear, but more with being bored with what we already own.

This is what I've been learning about my own clothing purchases and how my habits will affect this challenge:

Get rid of and don't purchase the "just in case" stuff

It's highly unlikely I will ever walk the red carpet, so I am not going to go looking for a pair of black kitten heels to keep "just in case".

Embrace the staples

I reach for the same tank tops and black, long sleeved tops all the time. These will become the staples of my wardrobe and I will make them work with every other item I have. I have struggled over the years to find a "uniform", so I hope this challenge will enable me to find what works best for me.

Take care of what you have

When thinking of not purchasing clothes for a year, I got a little panicky. What if my favorite sweater completely unravels? What if a heel comes off my shoe? I relaxed and realized that I sometimes treat my favorite clothes in a not so nice way. Now I am conscious of taking off my nice shoes when I get home rather than running out into the garden with them. I also will quickly sew up a hole in that sweater before it grows to the size of Minneapolis.

Replace worn out or inferior items…but not right away

If I have an item that I think needs to be replaced, I am going to really think about how I wear that item and if I really do wear it enough to justify purchasing something similar.


Photo by Sue Westergaard