No New Clothes for One Year?

Guest Grit by Amanda Gilbert

{Amanda Gilbert has accepted a challenge: NOT to buy clothes for an entire year. This is the first of four posts that track her endeavor. The Virginia native moved to Charleston in 2007, and currently lives with her husband in Mount Pleasant. A speech-language pathologist and board certified behavior analyst, she's the co-owner of Aspire, LLC, a clinic in the Goose Creek area that provides therapy to children with autism.}

After a whirlwind 10 months preparing for my January 2012 wedding, I found myself with some extra time on my hands. I've always been interested in fashion—particularly finding inexpensive ways to be on trend—so I decided to start a blog to share all of my thrifty finds (http://www.chiccentsibility.com/). Two months later, my dear friend told me she was challenging herself to not buy clothes for a whole year, and asked if I wanted to participate as well. I had visited her a few weekends before, and after a little shopping spree, we both admitted we had been buying new things frequently when we really didn’t need anything. We wondered what else we could find time for if we didn’t spend so much time (and money) shopping. 

We are now five months in, and I have to admit, I am enjoying finding creative ways to wear pieces I already have. I know I’m not the only one who gets in a habit of wearing the same things together: you go to your closet, decide you’re going to wear a certain shirt, and you automatically grab the skirt you always pair with it.

My go-to strategy so far: In order to maximize the amount of outfits I could make with a certain piece, I started finding inspiration on Pinterest. I choose one item of clothing and search for it on my Pinterest account, and then make a mental note of all the all the options I already have in my closet to make multiple outfits. I also look on polyvore.com to get ideas for new ways to wear things I already have. 

Here are three of outfits I put together after scouring Pinterest. I searched "patterned shorts," "mixing prints," and "yellow skirt" from the main page on my Pinterest account.

Yellow skirt

Patterned shorts

Mixing prints

As I approach the halfway mark: the transition to fall has made things a little more bearable. The change of season means I have a whole “new” section of my closet with which to make outfits. Sharing the challenge with my friend has definitely been a big help—I have someone to hold me accountable. She’s actually coming to visit this weekend, so I’ve been thinking about what we might do. One thing not on the potential activities list? Shopping.