Dress Better in 2025 Part 2

Welcome back, friends! Thanks for the positive feedback on Part 1 from last week. Today I want to focus on emotional spending and buying. Obviously if the goal is to dress better, we have to have clothes and accessories, right? But where do we draw the line? How much is too much? Do we need to buy things to dress better or can we use what we have? Let’s dive in!

No doubt social media has influenced us all a time or two. Scrolling Pinterest had me putting together a mental list of all the things I needed to achieve good style (or so I thought). I can also remember shopping with my friend – usually at Macy’s and buying way too much because the sales were so good. At the time I was working at a brick-and-mortar public school and on Saturday mornings as a Weight Watchers leader. So, I had a place to wear the clothes, but did I really need them?

My closet was overflowing and there were times I’d come back from shopping and I’d feel sick to my stomach. I had the money to pay for the clothes for sure but I felt like I’d overeaten a favorite food. When I thought of returning things I almost always talked myself out of it – it seemed silly. The clothes were do deeply discounted it was hardly worth the effort. Frankly, I wish I had returned them.

I’m sharing recent purchases in this post that I bought for all the right reasons! Like this red dress and sneakers. They’re both priced very well, thank you to Walmart.

I realized I was shopping mostly our of boredom and unhappiness. The thrill of the buy gave me that high for the moment and then quickly dissipated. I was focusing on quantity over quality. I would wear the clothes and only like them for a short time.

How Things Changed

This might sound funny but blogging changed things for me. Not right away but eventually. I decided to give up my Saturday morning Weight Watchers gig and replaced it with blogging. While I struggled to figure out my style and my purpose for blogging I was overwhelmed with photos of myself. Like many, I am VERY critical of myself. So the buying of the clothes to share on the blog and then seeing them on myself on the blog quickly turned to getting rid of many clothes. I hated having a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear.

Winter white is my favorite – always looks so chic! I had been on the hunt for the perfect pair of trousers and found these last week! They are from Ann Taylor and since they are classically styled I can wear them forever!

Slowly over the years I have come to understand the shape of my body and what I feel most comfortable wearing. I’ve been paying more attention to my donate pile and to the quality of what I purchase. I am finally coming to a place where I realize that many times spending a little more for quality is better than buying the knock off version.

I bought this blazer and pants just last week. The blazer is great quality and was expensive but worth it – the fit is exceptional. It’s by a brand I have loved, Reiss. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have purchased less expensive versions of this blazer. All that foolishness is over!

The pressure to always have something new to share as a blogger/influencer is real. For the record – I AM ALWAYS HONEST HERE- I do not say “I’ll be wearing this all season” when I know I am returning it or listing it on Poshmark! I share what I buy as well as what I tried on because it helps you. Seeing clothes on a real body and not a stock photo online is helpful. This is a shopping blog – not a sustainable fashion blog. So when I get comments to that effect they roll right off of me. The bottom line is that I like fashion – I enjoy shopping and there is nothing wrong with that. I will buy what I want for the right reasons and only I can decide what those reasons are. The same goes for you.

I’ve also realized that when I am inspired by something someone else is wearing that I don’t have to have the exact pieces to pull it off. I can re-create the look with similar pieces that I already own. I also have to ask myself what inspires me – is it the clothes or is it the feel/vibe?

Celebrate the Wins

I used to be that gal that never came home empty handed. That’s no longer the case. In fact, leaving things behind is almost as exciting as buying used to be! I celebrate the wins now rather than thinking I didn’t have a successful shopping trip.

I ask myself questions when I am considering buying something like would I buy it if it wasn’t on sale? Will it work with my current lifestyle? How does this piece fit in with the rest of my wardrobe? Does it align with my style goals?

To celebrate the wins I also had to look at the emotional component of what drove me to shop. I am in a much better place now – I am older and wiser. I am confident in who I am. My job situation has changed for the better and I am less stressed. I have made protecting my peace a priority and that has changed things immensely for me.

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Dress Better in 2025 Part 2