Spend report: 2018 Stars and Dogs

Each January, I flip through a notebook in which I recorded all personal purchases over the past year, and assess the value. Value to me is whether it was worth the investment, but also, if it gave me good wear and felt wholly “me”. I loosely consider cost per wear but not in an obsessive way. Anything unworn over the past year gets a good, hard look.

2018 Stars

I bought less clothing in 2018 than in any of the ten years I've been keeping track. I had other uses for the money, and a sense that I could happily wear what I have.

Here's the best of the little I bought:

1.  Three thrift finds
Thrift has value built in, but it can be easy to overbuy or pick the "best of the bunch" off a lacklustre rack.

These were in new, unworn condition, They are by far the stars of 2018 because I wore them often.

A. Heliotrope mohair sweater, George Hogg. I have always liked this bluey-purple and it's hard to find. The brand is affiliated with Bennetton; there are boutiques in France and Italy, so what it was doing in Montréal is a mystery.
B. Black calfskin car coat, m0851. Sleek and simple. A zip-in liner is missing, but I wouldn't have used it anyway. I wondered if it came from the store, because it was in pristine condition.
C. Black brogues: Italian leather (uppers and soles), with a block heel. I've only once before found new shoes in a thrift, so a major score.
Total cost was $45. I donated several items, ensuring good karma.

Lesson: When shopping thrift or consignment, ask yourself if you'd buy the item full price (or want to buy it). That's a strict standard, but it is way too easy to oink out on stuff that is "almost". I found the leather coat on a 30C/92F day; that's my favourite thrift tip: look for off-season pieces.

2. Quilted transitional coat

I’ve developed a fondness for coats, I see. I used a 40% off coupon to buy a lightweight olive quilted one from Talbot’s.
(I posted here about my take on Talbot's.)

I'm more easily chilled; when once a sweater would have been fine, I now need a wind-breaking coat.

Lesson: I had bought a mauve cotton coat from J. Crew a couple of years ago, and wear it only occasionally, because spring is so short here and it looked odd in fall. (It's tenure in my closet may end this year.) Olive works in both of those shoulder seasons.

I would not have ordered this online based on this this photo, but in the store, it worked: a little softer than an anorak, just as useful. Is the lesson to order more, just to see? Probably not, as this is a company with fairly high shipping costs. But it did tell me you can't tell much from photos, especially theirs.

3. Retro summer dress

I don't wear dresses often, but in last summer's blazing, record heat, this Hawaiian-print frock winked when I passed by the Toronto boutique Doll Factory by Damzels.  That shop is a shrine to rockabilly-pinup girl style, always fun to look in, but not squarely in my style niche. So, I was surprised to like it, buy it, and wear it confidently.

Doesn't every woman need a dress that makes her feel like belting out "Tiny Bubbles"? (Pause to remember Don Ho, and if you want to try the chorus in Hawaiian, it's here, sung by a winsome young woman.)

On a practical note, the dress is a cotton-blend, washable, and doesn't even need pressing.

Lesson: I don't usually buy "fun" clothes, but sometimes... it's party time at the tiki bar! And I got a surprising amount of wear out of it.

Woof! Dogs of 2018

Poseidon blue

1. A case of the blues
Eric Bompard ultrafine cashmere v-neck, bought in Medium, in
a blue called Poseidon, a saturated sky blue, in May, in Paris: not a dog per se, but I wore it once before the weather turned warm, and then shrank it in the wash. Though I tried gentle reblocking, it was not going to be long enough in the arms ever again.

Yes, I set the machine on delicate cycle, but failed to double-check the spin speed, which has to be re-set each time, dammit. It became a gift to a friend on whom it is divine.

Recovery: I bought it again, in Large, as soon as there was a sale. Why? Because I had also bought the matching cashmere voile shawl. Bwwwaaah. So together that was the biggest buy of the year and I screwed it up.

Lesson: Check the cycle's reading on my machine every time. This is not the first time I've shrunk sweaters due to over-agitation. Also, I thought hard before re-buying the same item if the original doesn't fit: was I throwing good money after bad? But, I'm glad to have that sweater even if it means I can't buy other things.

2. Fragrance fiasco

Biggest waste has to be five bottles of Sarah Jessica Parker "Lovely" that I stockpiled during sales, not realizing a change of licensed distributor had tanked the quality. So, while it is authentic, it is not even close to the original.

I thought I'd bought only three, but discovered two more hiding, and all were the horrible Lovely Distribution version. Binned; I wouldn't even donate this nasty stuff.

Recovery: I found two new scents: Gorilla Perfume's "Breath of God" and Hiram Green's "Arbolé Arbolé", a sublime all-natural, as are all of Green's. I order it in decants from perfumeniche.com. 

Lesson: When you restock your fragrance, open the new one and try it immediately. You have little recourse if you stow it for months; the vendor questioned my storage method. If you buy multiples, check the lot numbers on each of the others to ensure they are the same as the one you find acceptable.

Jury still out: Last October, I bought a pair of Icebug winter boots with built-in crampons, which are under assessment. Hardly chic, but  a fall on the ice underfoot here for months terrifies me.


Grade for 2018: B-

In terms of absolute spending, things looked downright frugal, but any urge to splurge was taken care of by delightful "milestone birthday gifts": art, pearls, movie passes, sybaritic experiences. The best gift of all was the company of friends who visited all summer long.

Months passed without a purchase unless you count my passion for perfume decants, but I look at that as therapy, pleasure and education all in one.

The B is for the thrift-shop bargains, and the minus is for the dumb sweater shrink. It's funny; in retirement, I demand that my wardrobe to work far harder for me than when I went to an office every day!

If you are willing to contribute your own "dog", you'll  make me feel better, but I'd also love to hear about your most satisfying choices. However we acquire—retail, secondhand, or even things we receive as gifts—it is worth taking time to evaluate how they work.