A Buyer's Archive | Oct '18

Tuesday, November 06, 2018

For the third year running I'm taking part in A Buyer's Archive inspired by Elise (who has sadly stopped blogging but can be found on Instagram instead), to keep track of my spending on clothes and accessories.

THIS YEAR


The pre-loved stuff.

I really like all of my pre-loved purchases. The grey jumper, £3.75, has lovely long arms, as does the stripe top, £4.75. I do like long arms in the colder months anything that reaches down to the back of my hand is an instant winner in my book.

The floral shirt, £6.00, was from an Instagram sale, it's really pretty and has added some colour to my Autumn Capsule. The navy shirt, £4.00, will be a wardrobe staple. I've been looking for one for a little while. The French Connection embellished dress, £7.00, was the biggest bargain. It still has the tags on and fits like a glove. Now I just need an excuse to wear it.

The new purchases.

My monthly spend would've been quite low if it hadn't been for these new purchases.
The navy heels, £24.99 (sale price) were a completely emotional purchase. Whilst I didn't need them they are pretty versatile and I have a lot of items they can be worn with.

I saw the boots, £45.27, on Pinterest of all places. I liked them but I was in a bit of a rush and ordered them quickly, thinking that if they weren't right I could always send them back. What I didn't realise is that they came from the US. The prices on the website were in pounds sterling, so I didn't realise until I got the dispatch notice that they were going to be racking up some air miles. I told myself that I'd wear them a lot but when they arrived I didn't like them, so they're going on ebay. Lesson learned.


LAST YEAR

All of these purchases were made because I was pregnant and needed larger clothes to hide the early pregnancy bloat. A baby might be tiny in the early stages but the hormones are on overdrive and normal clothes quickly become uncomfortable. Think of time-of-the-month bloating that just keeps getting bloatier.

The gingham top was £4.00 from Cancer Research, it's a size 12 so was roomy enough to hide our little secret.

The jeans pictured here aren't actually the jeans I bought, I'd purchased maternity jeans and a pictures of elasticated over-the-bump bands would've given the game away.

The blue jeans were £12.00, pre-loved from ebay. I wore them a lot, and they came in handy after my operation as my normal trousers were uncomfortable against my stitches.


The Christmassy jumper, £5.00 from a charity shop, was originally from Next. I liked that this was vaguely a Christmas jumper and it was a size 14 and, again, allowed extra belly room.

The black pair of jeans were also from ebay. They're Topshop Baxter under-the-bump jeans, and I paid just £8.00. I don't think these would've lasted much longer into the pregnancy as the elasticated band had already started to feel tight but I wore these whilst I waited for the hormonal bloat to go away, and sometimes in the months that followed I dug them out when I was just going to my Mum's for a roast dinner. They're actually incredibly forgiving as normal trouser, better suited to big dinners than pregnancy, I think.

It's true that clothes can bring back strong memories and all of these items certainly do. I'd hoped to buy most of my maternity clothes second hand, and create a maternity capsule wardrobe using as many of my usual clothes as possible. I'd started to write a post about it, it still sits in draft.


Total for October: £99.51

Total so far for 2018: £501.33

Total at this time last year: £456.88

Left of £600.00 budget: £98.67

So my silly emotional and impulse purchases have put me above my total for this time last year, and leaves me with just £98 for the remaining two months of the year. The purchase of the boots really annoys me but it's a lesson learned and maybe I can make some money back on ebay. If I ever get them listed...


What have you been buying recently?

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12 comments

  1. Your thoughts on last October's purchases are very poignant.
    Loving the French Connection dress, what a bargain that was. What a shame those boots weren't right, get them on eBay, it's prime boot buying season right now - I know, I'm watching a pair of secondhand boots that would be perfect for exploring North India in the cold season and the price has shot up. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have another pair of boots I bought in November last year that need to be listed too, I will do it. I will. Despite my terrible track record!
      xx

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  2. I was going to say that the boots would keep your feet toasty warm but I see you're not keeping them. I hope you manage to get back the money you paid for them.

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    1. They are very cosy but the fit isn't very good, I'll be happy to get anything amount for them, I just don't want them to go to waste.
      x

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  3. Shame about the boots - they should sell ok on ebay though. Flowery shirt is pretty. I have been shopping a bit and got a silver sparkly sweater which was £40 with discount, it will go with my 25 year old leather skirt so am hoping that justifies the extravagance, I must have been worn the skirt at least 250 times over those years I reckon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone needs a little sparkle! Your leather skirt was obviously a wise investment. I don't own anything anywhere near that old. I have some jeans that are just over a decade old and they won't last much longer I've patched them so often there's more patch than denim now!
      x

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  4. Looking back at last year's archive must have been difficult ... But I'm loving all of this month's pre-loved finds. Hope we'll get to see that dress on you some day! Such a pity about the boots, but impulse buys do happen to everyone. I do hope you'll get some of your money back on ebay. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was OK to look back. I knew it was going to crop up in these posts. There are a lot of reminders at the moment simply because it's November. They say the sadness never goes away but it becomes less painful and I can see how that it true. I do still have moments of sadness but it is easier than in those early days.
      I hope I get to wear the dress one day too! I might have to engineer a night out just to wear it.
      xx

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  5. Those navy shoes are gorgeous, and a super versatile investment!

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    Replies
    1. Not many of my emotional purchases are so sensible! I'm pleased I bought them, I know they'll get worn a lot.
      xx

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  6. Shame about the boots - they look so cozy.

    My maternity clothes are in a box to hopefully be used again in future. Luckily I hadn't bought too many yet but the leggings had already been worn a LOT as normal ones became uncomfortable quite early on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hope you get to use them again.

      I had to buy some maternity clothes (although technically the top and jumper weren't maternity clothes, just bigger sizes than I'd normally wear) because I had so many close fitting clothes in my normal wardrobe. Things would still fit but the belly bloat was a bit to obvious.

      xx

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All products that are featured on Hazel’s World of Joy have been purchased by me unless otherwise stated. Any PR samples, items that have been sent to me for review or similar will be declared as such at the end of the post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.