Collegue: What would you do without a credit card woman? 
Me: My life as I know it would come to an end.

I knew this day would come eventually.

OH and I have decided to buy a house together (this is the good news). So I have decided (and this is the bad news) that I need to curb my spending and make an effort to save money. I am the only one in the household to regularly indulge in retail therapy, OH just doesn't see the attraction. Odd.

I am used to buying something new on a regular basis and I'll be going cold turkey for a while. Just as when you decide to eat more healthily you start to think about nothing but chocolate, I now seem to see gorgeous items screaming 'buy me' every where I turn (actually that's not exactly a new development, it's just that now I have to ignore their cries). That said, I have a wardrobe full of clothes that I adore and yet rarely wear. My focus is obviously going to have to shift to rediscovering what I already have. In theory this sounds fine but last night I had a dream that I purchased accessories and shoes until I simply couldn't move under the weight of them. This may be harder than I first thought...


My Plan.

To soften the blow of my spending restrictions, I'm going to turn this into a project - a wardrobe challenge. I want to see how versatile my wardrobe actually is, as I have a tendency to buy things that catch my eye, regardless of whether it 'fits' my wardrobe. Then when I allow myself the reward of some retail therapy (and there will be some rewards) I'll have a better idea of what I need to fill any gaps in my wardrobe.

I'm going to select four different tops, one for Monday to Thursday and Fridays will be Frocking Friday... I stumbled across the idea on this blog and thought it would be perfect for my wardrobe challenge.. Over the course of a month I'll style each top differently every time it is worn, and wear a different dress each Friday.

The advantages of this are two fold. Firstly, being able to plan what I am wearing in advance so I don't waste a lot of time deciding what to wear each morning. Secondly, it'll force me to be more creative in the way I style each item.


The stripe top

The denim top

The vest top

The floral top

Of course (and this is where I wimp out before I have even begun) I couldn't possibly do this until after the January sales... I'll shall begin on Monday 31st January 2011. Promise.

Wish me luck!