For the past year I've been enjoying having a good ole nosy at the monthly purchases of Elise with her monthly Buyer's Archive. Janet joined in too, and now I'm joining the party.

I'm hoping that my purchases will be kept to a minimum this year as I'm trying out a capsule wardrobe but it'll be a good way to track what I'm spending. I always keep a record of what I buy each year but I don't keep tabs on the overall spend, which is how I ended up spending rather a lot last year.

So, for January it's 'just' four items.

At the very beginning of the month I purchased a long navy cardigan from George. I thought it was £14 but at the checkout it came up as £8 and I wasn't going to argue.

I have a number of knitwear items from George and I've always been really happy with the quality, they wash well, hold their shape and don't immediately bobble.

I very rarely go into Primark (I can't even remember the last time), but I nipped in to buy a sports bra that I spied from the street (£4). Perfect for my Pilates class. Whilst making my way to the checkout I found a pair of black suede heels in the sale at £6 - a wardrobe staple if ever there was, right?

My biggest expense was another long cardigan (£40), I only popped into Next to buy some birthday cards (they do some nice ones for men) when I saw this. Utter impulse purchase. But I love it and immediately added it to my capsule wardrobe.

It's less beige than in the photo, more creamy. It's utterly impractical for me. Mud and cats feature too highly in my life for a soft cream cardigan, so I wondered if I should return it. I put it back in the carrier bag, I took it out, I tried it on again.

I'm keeping it, practical or not.

And FYI, I forgot to even look at the birthday cards!

Total: £58.00

I have no idea what I spent in January last year but I'd guess at it being a lot more.

I have a figure of £400 in mind as a total spend for 2016, so I'll need to keep a tight rein on spending if I want succeed.

This month I haven't gone out with clothes shopping in mind specifically, I haven't even set foot into a charity shop yet this year, but I have purchased things whilst going about my daily life. It's not that I'm trying not to spend at the moment, it's more that I don't think I need to with my capsule wardrobe - which was kinda the point of doing it.

Follow Elise on Twitter to see everyone who's taken part. I love a nosy around other peoples wardrobes don't you?