A big part of refusing to pay the full retail price of basically anything ever, is that I always research what I would like to buy, and then I wait patiently for a long time for the price to drop.
The wait is tedious, and it tests my generally impeccable impulse control (I’ll just say that, and you can’t prove otherwise). In the meantime, it’s important to organize and review your wish list periodically. This is especially key for someone like me, who goes through bouts of intense but short-lived fashion cravings for looks that are impractical and unnecessary. When such a craving strikes me (iridescent chrome loafers??) I like to add everything even remotely visually similar to my list and wait. After some time passes, I revisit the list and cut out everything that is too expensive (even considered at 50+% off), of poor construction or quality, or that I just don’t find beautiful (or that, though beautiful, I know I can’t pull off… this is sadly most often the case).
I make a second revisit to the list when I’m certain I want to add a version of that piece to my wardrobe (the iridescent loafers didn’t make it, thankfully). Now I cut out every item that has any little detail that bothers me, and keep only 1-3 (at most, 5) specific items that I’d be happy to own; then I just wait for one of them to become heavily discounted before buying. I’ve recently done a review and figured, hey, why not share what’s on my radar and also show my process a little. Here we go:
- electric/royal blue bucket bag: this is something I’m in the home stretch for. The Shaffer LA Dana bag in the dark blue is the one I want, and now there’s nothing to do but wait.
Shaffer LA Dana Bag - linen joggers: I’ve done my first revisit, but I’m still not sure I’ll buy any. I’ve established a price range and narrowed down the color. I picked the small details I’ll use to disqualify a pair (bunched leg openings, no! fake drawstrings, no!!) That said, in a few weeks I may decide against linen joggers entirely, or be ready to purchase, who knows.
Calypso St Barth Keyes Linen Jogger Pants - some geode inspo: now this is something that I just realized I want. I thought of it–“marble print would be gorgeous on…” and it turns out, that visual fits a variety of applications. The next step from here is to determine the type (be it a bag or jacket or umbrella), then onto finding the version I most want.
As you can see, this last search remains very open-ended. And since I’m such a slow shopper, I probably won’t own something in marble print until 2017, but the process is part of the fun? Meanwhile, look what popped up in my inbox.
Shop here, and so long, squirrel friends, ’cause that’s all I got. Look out for my fair trade fashion website roundups next week, or soon after, if I write about food first. Fairness is important, as is food, but I probably think about food more… yikes, I should go.