What I Bought & How Often I've Worn It
I was surprised to look back on what I bought in 2021 and see that I bought just 26 items, as I felt I shopped a lot! It does average out to nearly an item every 2 weeks so it's not such a low shopping year. I focused on accessories and more second hand shopping, and with continuing to work from home most of the time and dress casually, I added a lot of denim and tees to my wardrobe.
Opshop and Preloved Buys:
- thrifted Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch in electric violet - 4 wears
- Rebecca Minkoff Love Too in deep teal croc embossed leather - 16 wears
- Chloe small Ethel bag in light khaki (most expensive purchase of the year) 15 wears
- Rebecca Minkoff quilted jumbo Love bag in cobalt - 7 wears
- Chloe small Paddington in 2006 blanc - 6 wears
- thrifted rust ruffle tiered skirt - 4 wears
- Nobody Denim Piper vacation skirt in black distressed denim - 4 wears
- thrifted Target black stretch denim skirt - 2 wears
- Target navy and white striped shift dress with frill sleeves - 3 wears
- thrifted Kmart short sleeve godet skirt linen blend dress fuchsia - 3 wears
- thrifted Jeanswest black cropped butt lifter jeans - 0 wears, December purchase
- vintage Haneli metallic gold knit jumper - 2 wears
- thrifted blue Kmart stich detail knit - 0 wears, December purchase
- thrifted Mix Apparel clover designer inspired necklace - 4 wears
- thrifted gold large double circle necklace - 3 wears
- thrifted orange bead statement necklace - 2 wears
- thrifted purple wooden bead statement necklace - 3 wears
- thrifted Eb&Ive turquoise wooden bead multi strand statement necklace - 1 wear
- checked purple pashmina scarf - 0 wears, December purchase
Things Bought New:
- Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed red clay - 2 wears
- Cotton On The one fitted v tee in eddy stripe white / red terracotta - 3 wears
- Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed summer mango - 4 wears
- Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed poolside blue - 4 wears
- Nobody Denim Cult high rise skinny ankle jeans in charred grey - 2 wears
- Kmart white chunky platform sneakers - 7 wears
- Mimco D-Vine medium wallet in balsa - countless uses!
The most expensive buy was the Chloe small Ethel bag in light khaki, which was $120 preloved, and the cheapest item I bought was $1 - a lot of the thrifted things were just $1 each, even the jeans.
There were some surprises with what I bought this year in terms of how frequently (or infrequently!) things got worn. I was on track to have everything worn at least twice, as I have the "wear things twice in the month I buy them" rule I put in place to make sure I'm actually buying things that work for my wardrobe and life right now. But then I went to the opshops in December with my son to check out their special sale and picked up a couple of things, including winter pieces! There was no chance of me wearing everything before the end of the month. I figured for $1 each though I could break my wear twice when I buy it rule. As you can see above the winter pieces I bought in the middle of summer definitely have no wears, although after Christmas I did squeeze in some wears of the more summery pieces I thrifted in December.
Surprisingly the most expensive buy, the Chloe Ethel, is only the second most worn piece I bought this year, the Rebecca Minkoff Love Too bag was worn one time more for a total of 16 wears.
December Opshop Haul:
Fashion Spend For 2021 - Over Budget!
My spend in 2020 was the lowest it has ever been in the years I started tracking, $483.59. This year despite trying to spend as close to that figure as possible, I spent more than that. It means that for the first year since I've been tracking it, it's the first time I've increased my annual fashion spend on the year before. In 2021 I spent $580.36. That's $96.77 more than last year.
This total includes $235 of gift card spend. So $345.30 minus the gift card spend, but I always include gift card spend in my total each year.
Despite spending almost $100 more this year than last year, I bought fewer items. I think that the high number of bags I bought is the reason for that! While I bought less things, I spent a bit more on the bags I did buy.
Fashion Resolutions For 2022
Spend Less
Much like last year I'm a little unsure what to set my budget for in 2022. Again I'd like to have an under $1,000 fashion spend (which I achieved in 2021) but I'm not sure if I'd be able to spend less than the $580.36 I spent in 2021. It's a good goal to aim for though!
Shop Second Hand More
I really liked the sustainable fashion balance I had this year, with fewer things bought new in retail stores and more preloved finds from eBay and the opshops. I'd like to have a similar or even better balance in 2022, and continue to shop second hand more often. Second hand fashion is the most sustainable way to shop. It's also better for my budget goals, and for the environment!
Buy Less
In terms of items to add to my wardrobe wish list, I don't really have any! I think it will be a varied 2022 with what I buy, whenever I get lucky with preloved finds and make some impulse buys. I don't have a list of things my wardrobe really needs at the moment, so it will hopefully be another year of under $1,000 spending, and a year I buy less than 26 items. I haven't bought anything in the boxing day or January sales either, when I usually buy a lot, so starting off with no spending is a great way to start the year.
What was your spend like in 2021? Do you track your fashion spend and set fashion resolutions?
