2022 Spending report: Stars and Dogs
My 2022 new clothes were entirely tops, driven by Zoom calls, a fondness for comforting layers, and dumb luck.
Stars
2022 buys that earned their keep:
Clockwise, from top left:
The first two were consignment finds, $7 each.
1. ça va de soi fine merino blush pink v-neck. çvds never have a sale, so this was a stellar scoop.
2. Anthropologie charcoal cashmere granddad cardie. I'm delighted with this elegant yet practical sweater.
3. Motion (Toronto) silk velvet top. Beautiful drape and hand, and a luminosity you don't see in synthetics. Perfection, except that it is dry clean only.
4. Eddie Bauer gray fleece top: A fleece that's not athletic-looking, thanks to the heavy cotton lace trim, slight scoop neck and belled sleeve. Useful for transitional-season wear.
Shoe Star
The Camper Pix boot: comfortable textured Tencel on a low heel, a light boot for indoor and dry outdoor weather. In my experience, Camper fits small; I take a size up.
Dogs
The important thing for us to face is that, when I bought each of these things, I was pleased.
1. Washed-red puff-sleeve tee, thrift. I had a "break out of the rut" moment, and learned I am so not a puff-sleeve woman—it felt like someone else's top, so I re-donated that and bought one of my usual sailor stripe shirts from Seasalt.
2. An Italian black silk blouse with inset lace panels, from a chic consignment shop. Very pretty but too dressy; after months unworn, I donated it. Because this was in new condition (my requirement for secondhand shopping), do you think the previous owner had the same problem?
3. Pajar "Stana" sandals in black with lime green/white ankle strap and sole. This sandal is twice as high as my usual max (2cm); they throw off my balance, something I never realized I had to look out for.
A narrow escape: I shot this Caroline Charles silk top in the consignment change room. The silk is supple, the blouse precisely matched at the seams, with a fine invisible zipper at the side. I thought it might be fun, but in the mirror saw a Lady Who Lunches... on only martinis. And not in a good way.
I wondered how to style it—maybe with with purple silk capris, feather earrings and a parrot on the shoulder? But costumey clothes do not belong in my closet.
So that's very little spent on clothing, which means, yes, jewellery!
The two jewellery renos were absolute Stars. You've already seen the Tahitian earrings that were tweaked (by Pilar Agueci, Montréal) to redistribute the weight, and the diamond bar ring made from an old band (by Artwork by Collins and Chandler, Toronto) which I wear most days, stacked with other rings:
What I learned
- Loud, large-scale prints disturb my clothing feng shui
- A pair of hip boots revives nearly any outfit
- I've had such great results from the jewellery renos that I'm keen to do more!
- The "nothing to wear" feeling is counterintuitively a signal that I have too much
Comments
of school uniform and meagre budget for other clothes. But it has to stop..this year I hope
The stars look like excellent buys all round, and of course the renos gladden the heart. For my 2022 buys, I treated myself to two cashmere tunic-length jumpers from House of Bruar (one navy, one pale grey) that have proved excellent buys and were guilt-free as they replaced worn out items.
I also ordered a stone-coloured trench coat from Hobbs, but when I tried it on I realised that I honestly didn't need another trench coat to add to the navy, honey and red ones I already owned... So I returned it and felt very virtuous for the rest of the day ;)
An unexpected star for me has been a black, soft, viscose mix polo-neck sweater from Robell in a fairly close but not tight fit. I was a bit nervous about the idea of having so much black so near my face, but my goodness in cold weather it works well under everything, and is the perfect foil for every scarf I own.
My final buy of the year was a Ralph Lauren coated canvas and leather tote, half price in the sale. Again, it was to replace a similar item that was moving beyond the "well-worn" towards the "tatty".
Patterns can be very tricky, can't they - I often try them on, but they always go back on the rack again. You know where you are with a good striped top; dresses up or down for most day time things.
Could you pls email me ( undermy photo) with more specifics such as what you like, budget, and what you are hoping to add, eg is this clothing, shors, jewellery ot the whole kit? Glad to help but a bit more info will make it easier.
After breaking a toe in July I revamped my shoe wardrobe with support in mind and I'm very happy with my choices, all from Finn-Comfort. Late in the year I indulged in two fine wool scarves from Kalabander and love both of them. Oh and I bought another sun hat, Wallaroo Victora style. With more and more sun, it will be used a lot...and it's also very packable. Alpaca fingerless gives bought as souvenirs in Lima round out the year and are also stars. I wear a pair at all times in the cooler months and am very happy to have found them.
The only potential dog is a pair of pants that are intended for spring/summer...not really sure how that's going to pan out. Time will tell:-)
Jane in London: I too would buy a perfect style in two colours. Sometimes it takes ages to find the right replacement, so you were lucky.
LauraH: I'm sorry to hear of your injury. It's a whole other matter when an injury or in the case of the Anonymous commenter, a major weight change requires more buying.
spacegeek33: Yes, that's all I bought because I knew I would have the jewellery reno expenses (and I spent on repairs to a few heavily-worn rings that needed work.) I have a a number of lightly-worn "going out clothes" bought before the pandemic and bought coats and boots last year. 2023 may be different. Corporate life required so many more clothes, I know what you face. Isn't it a compliment that your daughters raid your closet?
As always, I admire your restraint. I still accumulate too much. By the way, I think you can handwash velvet, but if an expensive purchase, I'd probably be too scared to try.
The "velvet" of today has expanded far beyond the original, silk velvet. I have a pair of poly velvet trousers that I'll bet would be undamaged by a tank rolling over them, but silk velvet is a truly fine fabric and this was expensive. I wear a camisole under it so don't have to clean it often. But I handwash lots of silks including silk scarves and silk sleepwear.
The old rule was velvet was worn only from November through February (or winter, depending where you are), I suppose because it was a warm, insulating fabric, but now you see stretchy synthetic velvet sold year round.