A Buyer's Archive - keeping track of my spending on clothes and accessories with Elise.

Rather a lot of purchases this month. April saw the start of my spring capsule wardrobe and I needed a few things to pair with items I wanted to include, but I also gave in to temptation and purchased a few things that I really didn't need.

Del Ray trainers  |  TOMs  |  £34.19 (originally £59.99)
I have a 'thank you' to say to Kezzie for these. I had a pair of the TOMs Del Ray trainers on one of my Weekend Wishlists and Kezzie commented and said to sign up to the email newsletter to be sent special offers.

Well I did, and they did. They had 40% off and offered a further 5% discount to email subscribers. These aren't the exact ones I'd been coveting but they're very similar and in a way more 'me'.


Grey t shirt  |  Charity shop  |  £1.50
Purchased to wear with the skirts I have in the capsule, but it's a staple so no doubt it'll be worn countless times.

Green wrap cardigan  |  Charity shop  |  £3.00
I had three of these when I was at college - in petrol blue, moss green and black - I wore them a lot. I felt very nostalgic when I found this. I bought it to wear with two of the skirts in the capsule, but I've also worn it with jeans, over a white t-shirt too, just as I did the first time around.

Ballet flats  |  £4.00
I wanted a pair to wear over the spring / summer, something I could wear with pretty much anything. In store they seemed to fit just fine, the first time I wore them they were too tight and cut my heels to ribbons. What's with that? It's the second time this year that I've purchased shoes that seem OK in store, but are actually unwearable. I know feet can swell in the heat but jeez...


Ankle boots  |  Amazon  |  £23.99
I bought these to replace my old ones, which have sadly seen better days (love those boots and as yet haven't been able to throw them away, I just keep thinking 'one more wear'). I don't normally look to Amazon for shoes but my friend got a lovely pair of Chelsea boots and I had to see if I could get a pair too (they didn't have my size), but these came up in the search results and are a good quality and really comfy for the price.

Mid month I went shopping with Sophie. We always seem to find loads of things when we go charity shopping together, and this time was no exception.


Next spotty top  |  British Heart Foundation  |  £4.29
My first purchase of the day. I already have one of these tops in orange (pictured right, also from a charity shop) and really like it, it's got a few tiny holes in the front and I don't think it'll be wearable for much longer, so I was really pleased to find this as a replacement. Sadly it smelled of school dinners but nothing a quick wash couldn't cure.


Betty Jackson denim skirt  |  Oxfam  |  £5.99
I really liked this denim midi skirt. I'm going to have to alter it so it fits as it's a size larger than I need but it has pockets and is a really nice length.

Kew dress  |  Cancer Research UK  |  £9.00
I don't normally spend this much on second hand clothing but it's very pretty, and having tried it on I was willing to pay a little more than normal. It's lovely and in excellent condition.

Poncho  |  Cancer Research UK  |  £4.00
The poncho was an emergency buy thanks to the fact that I hadn't dressed appropriately for the weather, I wore it over my jacket for added warmth.

M&S skirt  |  Cancer Research UK  |  £4.25
I don't have or wear a lot of skirts so buying a second one was a surprise but this M&S skirt was so pretty, I had to have it. I love the colours. I'm always drawn to yellow but it's not a colour I can wear, I think I can get away with this Monet-like pattern though.


Next maxi skirt  |  RSPCA  |  £3.00
The RSPCA shop is a little outside the main shopping area but I'm so glad we made the effort because I found this skirt (my third of the day!). I very nearly ordered it from the Next catalogue a few years ago at full price. And as Sophie said 'you have to get it, it's fate'. I wore it to a friends house that very evening, doing what I always do with a new purchase - wear it with black!

So lots of lovely purchases this month, some nicer weather would be good so that I can actually wear them! My jeans are seeing almost constant wear at the moment.

I really must stop spending now. Expect minimal purchases in May.

Total spend for April £93.21

Total so far £275.89

Look out for the #buyersarchive hashtag to see posts from others taking part.

I've always been intrigued by wardrobe challenges and I've always enjoyed challenges I've set myself.

I often think about the one that made me think about what I wear more than any other - the Little Brown Dress.

Back in 2005/2006 that a lady called Alex Martin decided to wear one little brown dress for a year.

One dress. For an entire year.

She documented the whole thing on her blog. The blog still exists but it now belongs to someone else and all that remains of Alex's blog is this, an archived post that the new owner thought people interested in the Little Brown Dress might like to read.

I think it's a real shame the blog has been lost, I still think about the project ten years on.

I mentioned this project in my very first blog post as inspiration for my interest in style experiments. This is one experiment I don't think I could do, but I found it fascinating.

I first read about The Little Brown Dress in a magazine and marvelled at the images showing the different ways Alex wore it. Very few of the images remain now that her online journal has been deleted.

I could only find a handful, sadly these don't show her more imaginative outfits.



Pictured left, from Alex Martin's web diary, July 7, 2005: On the very first day of the project, my birthday, I was so, so, so tempted to put on a pin or something for my birthday party! But I resisted, wanting to keep things simple as long as I can.

Pictured right, from Alex Martin's web diary, June 2006: All I can tell you is that I have quite a bit of pride in the way this item continues to take a licking and pull through in style.

I like how in the picture on the left the dress looks pristine and new, and on the right it looks worn and softened with constant wear.

Alex held an 'un-dressing' party at the end of the project, which was also her 30th birthday, and someone stole the dress. I don't know if she ever got it back but she did receive images of it in different locations for a while after.

I'd love to know what happened to it.

I wanted to record the project, if only so I can look back on it.

If I bought a treadmill would I actually use it?

I want one, I really do. I don't run very often because I don't like running on the roads near me, and 'off roading' knackers my ankles. I hate running when cold, when it's raining, or too hot (delicate flower that I am). I like running on the treadmill, it was always the thing I enjoyed the most at the gym. I'd turn up my music and plod along in my own little world. I think I'd use one, if I had one.

Do you have a treadmill? Do you use it?

Tattoos. Again.

I have one, not that it really counts, it's so tiny. I'd love another, something larger. 

Why hasn't the use of microbeads been banned?

I switched my facial scrub some time ago, when the damage mircobeads cause sealife first hit the headlines. But it seems they're in more than just face scrubs, and the EU are doing nothing about it. Caroline Hirons put it very well in her recent blog post, and reminds us that as consumers we have power. If we stop buying, they stop making.

There is an app to help you identify products that contain the nasties.

Academies

I asked my best friend (a teacher, a bloody good one) about this, because who better to ask than a teacher? (what a shame the government aren't asking or listening). She's angry, as are all the teachers she knows.

The majority of academies are performing under the national average. Under. The. National. Average. Of course these is more to the argument than just this but this fact alone should be enough to stop it from happening. Can't wrap my head around it.

Cuba

I want to go. I want to let Explore (who took me into the Sahara), take me by the hand and show me the soul of it.

What's been on your mind this week?

Last year I was gutted to find a dress I'd worn only once had frayed at the waist seam in the wash. I wasn't able to return or exchange it, so I pondered how to fix it.

Eventually I settled on patching it up with a navy band.

I was able to make it smaller than I had planned (by luck rather than good judgement), so it's very subtle, and the fact that the colour match was damn near perfect means it doesn't really look like a patch up job at all.


I reinfored the frayed material on a sewing machine by attaching some interfacing to the back and sewing over with a zig-zag stitch to stop it from fraying further, before stitching the band into place.

I already had interfacing and thread in my sewing box, so I'm calling this a free repair - a dress saved from the rag bin. It's not perfect or technically brilliant but I'm really pleased with how it's turned out.

It's in my spring capsule wardrobe and now I just need a warm day to wear it.

I really enjoyed my first attempt at a capsule wardrobe, but I'm so excited to have switched things around for spring. I'm ready for some dresses and fewer layers!

The rules of this capsule wardrobe are simple:
- Pick up to 37 items from my wardrobe
- Store everything else away
- Accessories, gym clothes, PJs, and going out clothes are unlimited
- Limit spending as much as possible between seasons
- Only buy items that fit into your current capsule

I found it much harder to put this capsule together, with more unpredictable weather I found myself questioning if I had the right balance of clothes for the time of year. I begun to think that if we didn't get good weather I was going to either a) wear the same few outfits over and over again, b) get very cold, or c) cheat!

With this in mind I haven't picked all 37 items yet, I have 27 which leaves room for manoeuvre.

I've said goodbye to a few jumpers and added some dresses, and a skirt that has been left unworn in my wardrobe for far too long!


I have a shopping list of things I think will help me make the most of this capsule.
1. heeled sandals
2. nude ballet flats
3. white shirt
4. ankle boots
But I doubt my shopping will end there!


My first spring outfit felt like a welcome change after three months of jumpers and jeans, it was a warm sunny day for which this lace maxi dress again was perfect. I can't wait for the day when I can pop on a pair of sandals and some sun glasses and be done.




One thing I found very interesting when choosing items is that it forces you to pick the things you like the most, it really makes you think about what you have and what you like / want to wear. It's very telling and I've been able to 'let go' of items that I previously held on to.

Have you started to dress for spring?

My seasonal capsule wardrobe is inspired by Un-Fancy.

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the weekend. The traditional gift to give your spouse is paper.

When it comes to paper gifts I found lots of lovely ideas. I remember one of my friends gave his wife the sheet music of their first dance in a frame. And somewhere in the depths of my memory he gave her a print of the place he proposed (Blakeney Point, Norfolk) too.

They were the first of my friends to get married and strangely I don't know what any of my other friends gave each other after that (although I now intend to find out)!

I wanted to give Andy something personal. The best part of our wedding day was exchanging our vows. We felt like the only people in the room, lost in the moment together.

I decided to create a memento using our vows and one of our wedding photos. I love this photo, I thought it was perfect as it has a wandering off into the sunset to live happily ever after feel about it.


I added our vows, his at the top, mine below using the same fonts and heart detail from our invitations. I then uploaded the image to Photobox and ordered a single print, which I framed and wrapped up. It's printed on paper, albeit photographic, so to my mind it fits the theme.

Andy loves it and put it on the window sill in the lounge, where he can see it everyday.

I also gave him The Good Wife series one DVD boxset, the name seemed apt even if the subject matter isn't, and a set of Uno cards. On a recent weekend away Andy played for the first time and enjoyed it (he won a lot), the paper reference was too hard to ignore, especially as we often play cards together.


For his card I made the most of Moonpig and used my vows (again) for the design. Inside I added a date card for a meal at a steak house, to give us an evening out to look forward to next month.

Before deciding on my final gifts, I had a bit of a poke about the internet for some inspiration and I fell in love with this paper cut frame from Not On The High Street. But I realised if I bought it, it would be because I wanted it rather than because I thought Andy would love it.


Personalised First Wedding Anniversary Papercut  |  Not On The High Street  |  £30.00

Personalised Song Lyrics Print  |  Not On The High Street  |  £34.00

I was taken by this idea of using lyrics from your wedding song. Thinking Out Loud is our first dance, so this kinda had me at 'hello', but again this would've been more for me than Andy.

I love the line 'we found love right where we are', because for years Andy and I used to drink in the same pub but our paths never crossed. The romantic in me thinks that when we did meet, it was exactly when and where we were supposed to, and not a moment sooner.

What did you / would you give as a paper gift?

Today is our first wedding anniversary. We're celebrating with a meal at the hotel we got married in. I like to think of this as our hotel now, we own it. Or at least that's how it feels.

I got the impression that the first year of marriage was hard, I don't know where this idea came from, it was just there, lurking. I obviously heard or read it somewhere and it stuck.

On my hen night, as I settled down for a sleepover at my best friend's house, I asked the girls 'is the first year really hard?'. They said no, just keep communicating and doing what you're doing. They were right (of course they were, they're a wise bunch - crazy, loyal, fun, and fabulous too but that's another post entirely).

And it's true, the first year hasn't been hard. It's been great.

Lots of people say that a marriage certificate, a piece of paper, doesn't change a thing but I disagree.

Andy and are closer than ever. I feel like I belong more than I ever have. And it's because of that day we shared a year ago - that amazing, magical, perfect day. In some ways even sharing the day itself brought us closer together.

I loved getting married. But I love being married even more.

That's not to say there haven't been difficult moments, there have, and the girls were right, communication was the all important factor. I'm certain there will be more tough times mixed in with the good along the way, but in exchanging our vows we made a promise to each other, to share the joys and the sorrows together, and it's a promise we both take seriously and value highly.

No matter what life throws our way, we're a team for the rest of our lives together.

My payday wishlist is all about the shoes.

Del Rey Sneakers  |  TOMS  |  £59.99
I've been looking for some casual let's-run-some-errands type trainers for a while and these new additions to the Toms range are ticking all the boxes. I just can't decide which colourway I prefer...

The £60 pricetag seems a little steep but when you consider I was looking at some Nikes at £70, and TOMS has a one for one scheme (for each pair you buy and child in need gets a pair of shoes free) these seem like the better choice, and not just because in my eyes they're really only £30 (and £30 for the 'free' pair).

Also, I tend to keep trainers for years. I have a pair of red Diesel trainers that I purchased over a decade ago, and they still get worn, albeit very occasionally now.

Can you tell I'm trying to justify a purchase? So help me out here, navy or grey?

New Look Macrame Sandals  |  ASOS  |  £17.99
I spied these sandals and instantly wanted them, they're a good replacement for some gladiator sandals that I had to throw out at the end of last summer. I like that they're sandals without showing off too much foot. Gorgeous colour too.

What's on your wishlist this month?

Keeping track of my spending on clothes and accessories in A Buyer's Archive with Elise.

There are so many things I could've parted with cash for this month! I think it's due to the arrival of spring and the few glimpses of sunshine that we've had, all I can think about are sunny days and warm evenings. I think my wardrobe is so much more exciting in the warmer months of the year.

My first purchase of the month was down to discovering I'd been wearing the wrong size bra for just about forever.

T-shirt Bras  |  New Look via ASOS  |  £7.99
I started off with a cheap and cheerful two pack - one white, one black - to cover all bases. I was reluctant to buy anymore for a while in case I woke up and discovered it was all an elaborate prank. Having worn an A cup for such a long time, it's taking me a while to get my head around being a DD.

Anyway ...

New Look Sunglasses |  New Look via ASOS  |  £12.99
Because it's spring and both my other pairs were scratched.

Long cardigan  |  H&M  |   £14.99
It seems I can't resist the lure of a long cardy these days. This is the third one I've bought this year (despite a ban on buying knitwear - oops).

Bras  |  Next  |  £20.00
Because by mid month I'd decided that having two bras simply wasn't enough.

Black heels |  New Look  |  £19.99
The ones I purchased in January turned out to be too big, even though they seemed fine when I tried them on in the shop. So they went to a clothes swap and I picked up another pair in New Look - and wore them the very next day.


Skirt  |  clothes swap  |  £0.00
I only found one thing at the clothes swap, I spied it from a distance and knew I'd love the fabric close up, and you can imagine how delighted I was to discover it had pockets. It needs some altering but I'm really looking forward to wearing this.


Dorothy Perkins dress  |   £0.99 and New Look dress  |  £1.24  |  both via ebay 
I can not resist a last minute bid on ebay, I discovered both of these dresses moments before the auctions were about to end. They are only my second and third pre-loved purchases of the year and sadly neither will be staying in my wardrobe.

The one on the left doesn't fit well. The one on the right is rather more colourful than the ebay photo led me to believe, I was expecting something muted. It's the risk you take with ebay but at least my local charity shop will benefit.

Total spend for march £78.19

Total so far £182.68

I'm yet to set foot in a charity shop this year, which has a lot to do with seeking out items online that I've needed, rather than spending time browsing the charity rails. But as April will see my Spring capsule wardrobe come into play I'm planning a charity shopping trip. I'm hoping for some cute summer tops and maybe dress or two.

Joining in A Buyer's Archive with Elise (and Janet and Donna and possibly a few others, follow Elise on Twitter and look out for the #buyersarchive hashtag).

What have you purchased this month?