I’m writing two companion posts on my favorite and least favorite purchases of the first half of 2016.

 

The main purpose of this exercise is to review my purchasing habits more comprehensively. I have some bad shopping habits I’m learning to curb. My goals include 1) to completely quit shopping fast fashion, and 2) stop buying things that are final sale/cannot be returned. The biggest fail of 2016 is undoubtedly my shopping spree at ModCloth.

 

So, I hadn’t visited the site in a long, long time, and had remembered it as a quirky-retro favorite from my late teen years. It was just a disaster in the making to revisit for the first time in years and find 70+% off final sales that could be stacked with a 20% off introductory coupon. A combination of the overwhelming force of nostalgia and “sales goggles” made this one of my most regrettable shopping trips in memory! On that note, let’s have a look at all the duds of 2016.

 

(Logo TV/via lipsyncforyourlife.tumblr.com)

 

Ann Taylor – pullover sweaters

replaced sweaters
replaced sweaters

Y’all remember these puppies? The embarrassing thing is, these were only a few months old when I purchased their replacements. I had my reasons, but I nonetheless made a bad call in the first place. Given the amount of time passed, returning wasn’t an option. Yet as I had only worn each of them 2 or 3 times, they can still make great additions to someone else’s closet for a fraction of the retail price! Status: to be resold.

 

ASOS – ASOS Striped Tunic Dress

image ASOS
image ASOS

The lines were all askew where they are joined at the shoulders, which was a really sloppy look. Not only that, the dress was see-through in person! 🙁 Status: returned.

 

ASOS – Vila Ditsy Print V Neck Dress

image ASOS
image ASOS

The material was scratchy, and instead of being fully lined, there was just a flap of black fabric across the chest area. Status: returned.

 

Gap – Flannel Joggers

image Gap
image Gap

Remember back when I was thinking of acquiring some linen joggers? Well, the weather here was persistently colder than the time of year would dictate, so I thought of testing the jogger silhouette in a more cold weather appropriate fabric. These turned out to be quite a bit more heavily knit than I was expecting, and slunk unattractively on my body. Status: returned.

 

ModCloth – So, SO many non-returnable items that looked far better on the website than on me 🙁

 

dear fiery dress in bloom
dear fiery dress in bloom

 

Let’s respond to how bad these buys were with Drag Race gifs so at least we’re not as sad (Logo TV/via hmspoofta.tumblr.com)

 

fiore your entertainment dress in flora
Fiore Your Entertainment dress in flora

 

my reaction when I tried this one on (Logo TV/via bexteroony.tumblr.com)

 

have your breeze met top
Have Your Breeze Met top

 

(Logo TV/via bexteroony.tumblr.com)

 

Tag You're Glitz Clutch
Tag You’re Glitz Clutch

 

(Logo TV/via bexteroony.tumblr.com)

 

Unfettered Abundance Necklace
Unfettered Abundance Necklace

 

yes at this point now I’m just showing teeth (Logo TV/via adoredelanolove.tumblr.com)

 

Art and Sass Dress
Art and Sass Dress

 

this dress and the rest I’m still on the fence about keeping (Logo TV/via bexteroony.tumblr.com)

 

Lady Love Song Dress in Olive Velvet
Lady Love Song Dress in Olive Velvet

 

Overseas the Day Scarf (I wonder a little bit if I didn't buy some of these because of the puns)
Overseas the Day Scarf (I wondered a little bit if I didn’t buy some of these because of the puns)

 

Spot on Styling Dress
Spot on Styling Dress

 

Tranquil Teachings Sweater (PSA again don't hang your sweaters like this! This was only for the photo!)
Tranquil Teachings Sweater (PSA again don’t hang your sweaters like this! This was only for the photo!)

 

So I dang lost my mind for a bit, and came away with nothing I truly loved on me, though some pieces fared better than others. Overall, I’m disappointed in myself for falling into the final sales (read: 70%+ off!!) trap. I’m glad I kept the tag on these at least. Status: to be resold

 

Nordstrom Rack – Max Studio Striped Tube Skirt

NR return
NR return

 

I couldn’t find the product page on the site anymore, but the ecru stripe is actually a flat braid, which I failed to notice from the pictures online. It gave the skirt a more nautical feel, which to me reads casual. I wanted a stripe pencil skirt that could be dressed up or down, and this just wasn’t that versatile. Status: returned.

 

Uniqlo – Window Pane Pants

image Uniqlo
image Uniqlo

I bought two of these in different prints and assumed they would have the same composition without double-checking. The ones I kept are a cotton/spandex blend, and these I returned because they were polyester/rayon with spandex instead. Status: returned.


I’m glad I returned most of my duds. I am working on paying attention to return charges and windows. Now I tend to favor shops that allow merchandise purchased online to be returned in stores because it gives me more flexibility.

I also used to have a terrible habit of immediately tearing off tags and washing items as soon as something came into my home. This rendered the items un-return-able as many stores will not accept returns without tags or that have clearly been washed. In fact, I did this with the Ann Taylor sweaters, which is why I even stuck with trying to wear them in the first place. What’s more, even though I have not started reselling online, in my research I found that New with Tag (NWT) pieces command better prices (understandably) than New without Tag (NWOT), so I think leaving the tag on until I actually wear something is just a good practice to adopt going forward.

 

Anyhow, that’s it for me now, stay tuned for my favorite pieces coming later this month!

WMS Fails: The Duds of 2016 Jan – Jun
Tagged on: