So it is that time of the month, time for a wartime wardrobe challenge round-up. This month is the month that I have…..drum-roll please……you guessed it….spent all my coupons! All I can say is wow, I actually didn’t expect to spend all my coupons this year let alone spent them all by September and I certainly didn’t expect to spend the amount on clothing that I have so far this year! I genuinely thought I didn’t spend that much on clothing or do that much shopping, and perhaps I don’t in relation to other consumers but I buy more than I need and I still don’t think my purchases through as much as I should. It is depressing for me to note that had I not spent the money I have on clothes I could afford my funked up single speed (bizarrely I hate fixies, I like free-wheeling me)!
So a quick September round up for you. Well after managing not fall foul of the Joules discount shop or the brilliant choice of jodphurs I found in the Lakes while on holiday I was quite pleased with myself. My jodphurs less pleased as on one pair the zip has gone entirely leading to me having to ensure I always wear long tops with those ones or risk flashing my underwear to my fellow riders. My happiness turned out to be short lived as on the 2nd of September I spent 5 coupons on a pair of adidas hi-tops, barely even pausing to remember the ethical question marks over adidas. Basically my old hi-tops were done, my old converse trainers were done – so badly smelling that Mr Inelegant Horse Rider commented on them during breakfast at the hotel we were staying in. When I found a zebra-print pair it was all i could do to stop myself from jumping up and down with excitement (depressingly I might have actually done this but please don’t judge). So I parted with my cash then paused outside the shop and wondered about what I had done. I love my hi-tops and have worn them a lot but…well come on, I thought I had managed to stop this part of my shopping habits.
So other than that, my eBay habit continues. I reckon unless someone changes my passwords that I am just going to have to go on a detox. So that’s it, I have made my last clothing bid on eBay tonight. (I can’t give up entirely just now – a phase out approach). I got a beautiful blue skirt and great green jumper, pictures are below. I decided I want some colour again as it felt my wardrobe was getting a bit grey and black again.
Now I know that the vintage/second-hand market is not going to solve many, if any, of the sustainability issues surrounding clothing but it is still better than buying new. But the blue skirt was brand new with tags! I didn’t read the listing quite correctly, I think I was blinded by the colour 🙂 So now that’s it! In fact I crept into the black market clearly as I managed to spend 0.5 coupons over.
September and that’s all the coupons gone! No new running trainers for me (not running so not really an issue) and no new underwear, tights or socks! Vintage and second hand shopping may still occur but I am making a deal with myself, no eBaying but I can still go to the charity and vintage shops. Hopefully this will mean that I enjoy wandering the rails and maybe grabbing a bargain. On another note I have managed to spill sauce all over my bright green dress that I wear when I am off somewhere fancy, let’s hope the cleaners manage to get the stains out as just now I’m not sure what I am wearing to a ball in November – do you reckon anyone would judge me if I went in my pyjamas??
WWC Coupons: -0.5! I am on the black market now folks 😦
The Inelegant Horse Rider 
Welcome to the dark side!
It’s hard not to, isn’t it?
Yeah, I feel surprisingly at home here on the dark side 😉
I know exactly how you feel. It is so easy to get carried away with buying new stuff. I would usually consider myself to be quite good but have just managed to buy not 1 but 3 new dresses and 2 new pairs of shoes, of course I have used the excuse that I have just started working in an office and the dresses are by an ethical brand, but I am pretty sure I could have done without if I had to. I suppose the point is that we are making an effort and it is most definitely better than nothing! Love the jumper and skirt BTW.
Thanks, I guess you are right – making an effort is better than doing nothing but I do feel a little disappointed that I didn’t make the year within coupon budget. I think starting work in an office is a good reason to buy some ethical clothing, I wish I had the foresight to keep some of my coupons back for new work clothes but I am sure I actually have enough especially since my new office is more casual! 🙂
Good work on getting so far into the year with your coupons – you’re certainly not the first to fall!! I’m not far off the coupon limit myself, I’ll have to resort to vintage/second hand if I do get there. Good luck with the eBay amnesty!
Love that little green jumper…
Nik x
Thanks Nik. Yeah the green jumper is really cute, chuffed with that random find, I will need all the luck to get through the eBay amnesty – it is already getting tough and it isn’t even a month!
Steph x
Well done for getting 9.5 months into the year. I love your comment about undies & socks. I think that really sums up the reality that our wartime peers lived with. As knickers, socks and shoes are high wear & tear essentials, I reckon you had to allocate at least a third of your coupons to them to make sure you were not caught out. That does not leave many coupons to a/ dress yourself and b/ allow for some frivolity… As my mum kept telling me, “we don’t know we’re born”!
I totally agree with the planning and allocating aspect. It does make me think about doing this challenge again next year purely to give the planning aspect a go. I deliberately wanted to see how I got on just keeping on my “normal” shopping habits with this challenge but it would be fascinating to see if I could succeed by being more thoughtful instead of indulging in my magpie-like tendencies!
So glad you are thinking of doing the challenge again next year. I definitely shall be as I want restraint and an insight into the backstory of items to be part of my way of living in all areas. It does mean I am asking baffled shopkeepers where everything from a bread knife to garden pots are made… 😉