I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew. When I decided to give up my dress loving ways, I had no idea of the challenge that lay ahead of me. Estimating that I had a mere 60 dresses, I alarmingly discovered yesterday that I am nowhere near to this number… not even in the ball park.
In the space of one hour, these are the dresses that I cleared…
There are a total of 33 dresses there. The whizz kids amongst us will know that, based on my previous estimate of 60 dresses, I should now be at my magical number of 27 dresses. But I’m not. Problem is, I haven’t even started on my wardrobe yet. I have dresses on hangers, dresses in my ironing basket, dresses hanging on wardrobe doors, dresses in the laundry basket. All the time, this pile stares at me menacingly, menacingly challenging me to eBay them away.
I recently read in Grazia that, ‘Your wardrobe should consist of no more than 30 items that represent who you are in different parts of your life. Give away anything you haven’t worn in a year.’ (Kate Nightingale, Style Psychologist)
30?! No more than 30 items …in total?! Now there’s a challenge and a half! Suddenly, the task of whittling just my dresses down to a magical 27 shouldn’t seem so, well, daunting. But it is! I would love anyone with 30 items in their wardrobe to contact me and tell me how! In fact, I would happily let them chow through my wardrobe if I felt that this would work… Erica, no!
Alarmingly, not having a bank of ‘brand new with tags’ dresses is making me really look deep within the realm of my bulging wardrobe and my mindset. I have made some startling discoveries;
- I own two skirts (I know, two! Over 100 dresses and 2 skirts)
- I wear dresses nearly every day (I hate my thighs, dresses are my friend)
- I single mindedly shop for dresses and disregard everything else.
After a shopping trip with mum today, I’ve began to realise just how good this Lenten promise is for a dress addict like me. Not only is it saving me money, it’s making my wardrobe well-rounded. Today, I’ve really looked for accessories that will compliment the dresses I already own. I also looked for a red a-line skirt, but the skirt Gods were not in my favour. Although I’m still longing for dresses, I’m not indulging. Here’s what I bought:
1. Monsoon blue leather ballet pumps £8
2. An assortment of H&M jewellery (Yes, Susanne, I thought of you!) £8
3. H&M pink cardigan £15
4. TK Maxx jewellery tray £4 (for my new jewellery, of course!)
Total spend: £35
In a couple of days, I’m hoping to be somewhere nearer to the ‘final cut’. It’s been hard work figuring out what should be kept and what to wave goodbye to. For anyone wishing to have a wardrobe detox, I’m planning a blog post on how to have an eBay clear out when clothes tug on your heart strings. Plink, plink, plink!
With my fantastical future eBay pennies, I’ve so far decided to buy a new Cambridge Satchel and donate some money to charity. Yes, I think I’ll need to sell around 500 dresses for the target figure I want.
So, for now, I’m off to drink Guinness and flounce around in my dress collection. Making the most of them, aren’t I?
As always, mucho loving,
Donna (dress addict)