Blogging, Budgets, and Perceptions

One of my fave bloggers, Xin at Invicible Summer, who shares my interest in both clothes and personal finance (an Odd Couple pairing if there ever was one), recently wrote a thought-provoking post about clothing budgets, and specifically the balancing of shopping desires and fiscal responsibilities. Go and read her post (and the recommended reading), and then come back, and let’s chat.

I’ll wait.

OK, I obviously have many thoughts about this topic. I kinda touched on them before (like here), but reading Xin’s post made me wonder if they might be worth revisiting — not because the substance of my opinions has changed (it hasn’t), but because the readership of the blog has increased dramatically in the last year or so, and some of you may not have come across my old posts. At any rate, I think it’s a discussion worth having again.

As a blogger and as a blog reader, I am very much alive to the proposition that blogging sends messages, both explicit and implicit. Although I do not believe the focus of my blog is consumption per se, it is fundamentally a showcase for consumable goods so the distinction may be one without meaning. As far as that goes, I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I do buy a lot of clothes. Obviously. Which is not to say that I think you should also buy as many clothes as I do; different strokes and all that. I do my best to side-step the connection between blog reading and shopping – it’s one of the reasons why I don’t use product links in my posts – but I realize that it’s probably impossible to avoid it altogether. Many of you have commented about buying an item because you saw it on my blog and liked it. The more clothes I feature on the blog, the more opportunities for you to find things you are inspired to buy – and, perhaps, to find tacit approval for buying them (should such thing matter to you). I get it, and it’s why I am about to talk about some things that are either outside the usual scope of the blog, or too “meta” for a typical post.

Shopping Responsibly

I don’t talk about my personal finances on the blog, but I want to make this clear: I shop within my means. My family does not have any debt (apart from a modest mortgage), and we have healthy emergency, retirement and education savings. We live in a country with (largely) free healthcare, and have coverage for things like dentist trips and pharmacy prescriptions through our jobs.  We are comparatively thrifty in some life categories, but we don’t scrimp on categories that are important to us (whether things or experiences). I’m fortunate to have enough discretionary income to indulge my passion for (collecting) clothes — responsibly, which means without negatively impacting my family’s financial situation. Most importantly, I have never spent money I did not have in order to buy clothes, and I would never encourage anyone to do that (with clothes or any other non-essential items). That means that there are things I lust over, but cannot and will not buy — unless I get lucky at the thrift store. It also means that, as I have come to put more and more value on having a large and varied wardrobe, I have made other adjustments to my shopping behaviour (i.e. buying a greater proportion of my clothes secondhand).

I realize that my discretionary income, while certainly not limitless, is higher than that of many people, and that some of those people will find it distasteful to see my spending “documented” on the blog. There isn’t much I can do about that, and I accept that it’s a legitimate reason for some to avoid my blog. But I do hope that the blog also shows that it’s possible to enjoy fashion no matter what your budget, and do so in a responsible fashion. (Psst, I’ve written before about ways to make the most of what you’ve got to work with, budget-wise.)

Shopping as Therapy

I know, I’ve joked about this many times, but listen: shopping is NOT actual therapy, OK? It’s not therapy in the same way that buying clothes is not an investment. Shopping — and more specifically, thrifting — is something I do to relax and take an occasional mental break … while I work on actively addressing whatever real problems or stressors I’m facing. [Which is the part I don’t talk about here, because it has nothing to do with this blog.] Shopping doesn’t fix my problems, nor do I expect it to do so. Some people watch TV to relax. Some people knit. Some people work out. I go thrifting. It clears my mind, by allowing me to focus on something very specific: finding a treasure in a haystack of other people’s trash. It’s the process I enjoy; the end result (if I find the proverbial needle) is just a nice bonus. Let me put it this way: I find it equally relaxing to thrift whether or not I buy something at the end.

In that sense, I find thrift shopping to be completely different than retail shopping. At a mall, it’s almost impossible NOT to find some thing (or many things) that appeal, without much effort — the retail business is predicated on it — so the experience for me is often less about the process and more about the end result. With that said, not much turns on this, ultimately. No matter what you get out of shopping, in any of its incarnations, the bottom line is the same: it won’t fix your or my problems (unless said problems are of the what-am-I-wearing-to-the-office-Christmas-party variety, and don’t get me started on that). That doesn’t mean that using shopping to get a “quick fix” (or relaxation, distraction, mood boost, whatever you want to call it) is a terrible thing. It’s not, as long as it’s recognized for what it is, and as long as it doesn’t amount to irresponsible behaviour (see above) — much like, say, having a glass of wine after work.

(Sidenote: we can certainly talk about the ethics of clothes consumption as it impacts the value of shopping as a form of relaxation, but that is a whole other topic which deserves its own post. I will just say that I do believe that it is important for everyone, as consumers, to be aware of the impact of our actions on the environment and others; it’s another one of the reasons I have embraced thrifting.)

Shopping and Blogs

I read only a handful of style blogs these days, and I read them mostly because I love their respective writers’ voices. Which is another way of saying that most of them are focused equally (if not more so) on writing as pretty photos. Even so, I occasionally find myself clicking a link to a retailer’s website … which, these days, is pretty much the only time I check those out. Inevitably, I end up with 2 or 3 items in my cart, and it takes a very conscious effort on my part to close my browser without going any further.

So, I get it. If you’re constantly looking at pictures of pretty things, it’s hard not to want to possess at least some of them. I avoid certain types of style blogs for that very reason, and I would encourage anyone struggling with blog-inspired FOMO to do the same with whatever is the source of their angst. If that means all style blogs are a no-go zone, then so be it.

One issue I do struggle with, however, is the amount of responsibility that bloggers owe to their readers, particularly with regard to implicit messaging. For example, I would probably feel bad if I knew that someone went into debt to buy something they saw on my blog; but is there, in fact, a degree of culpability on my part for that person’s actions? And further, if I am aware that my posts may be perceived as conveying an unintentional message, is it incumbent upon me to change them? Should blogs come with content warnings?

As you can imagine, this is a topic on which I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you have a clothes budget? And if so, how does blog reading (or media consumption generally) affect your budget or your shopping? If you read style blogs regularly, why do you do it and what do you wish you could change about them (or your engagement with or reaction to them)?

 

Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

So … the title is kinda self-explanatory but, yes, I got a new bag — a vintage, 2-series Chanel maxi single flap bag, to be exact — and I couldn’t be happier. Those of you who remember my reservations about my old Chanel bag might be surprised. After much careful consideration, I realized that my biggest issue with it was its size; it was simply too small for my everyday needs. The timing of my decision to sell it was fortuitous, since it meant that I was able to buy this larger version when I came across it in a local vintage shop (Swish boutique, Manulife Place). The size of this vintage maxi is perfect, as is the slightly longer chain strap length; I also rather like the larger double C lock closure. My only initial hesitation had to do with the colour, as I wasn’t sure if this caramel shade would be as versatile as black. I’m glad I got it anyway, because I do think I’ll get lots of use of out it — certainly more than my previous Chanel.

For its inaugural wear, I paired it with one of my favourite dresses, worn here as a skirt. I love throwing on a plain black sweater over a dress, because it’s a simple but effective outfit and it doubles the versatility of the dress. I also added some brooch bling, because that is how this magpie rolls. I found the larger of the two pieces at Goodwill, and it’s precisely the sort of rhinestone extravaganza I cannot resist. There is something about aurora borealis rhinestones, in particular, that just gets me every time. The smaller piece is actually a clip earring. I was originally going to use a safety pin to attach it to my sweater, but ultimately decided to just clip it to the edge instead; I liked the resulting placement better. I’m always looking for new and fun ways to get more use out of all my vintage pieces, so if you have some ideas, hit me up in the comments.

In Wonderland 

Dress, Allison Wonderland (thrifted)
Dress, Allison Wonderland (thrifted)
I know I am by no means unique in this, but I have been low-key obsessed with Alice in Wonderland for many years. I am not precisely sure why. When I was little, it was my fiercest wish to have long, blonde hair; paired with my fondness for Alice’s sartorial choices (that blue dress is on point, is all I’m saying) and admiration for her undefatigable curiosity, perhaps that explains the obsession. Perhaps not. That is actually neither here nor there; the point is that I was instantly sold on this dress because the brand label said Allison Wonderland.

To be fair, the dress itsef is aces.

blazer, J. Crew Factory; bag, YSL
blazer, J. Crew Factory; bag, YSL
I blazered up for work (as you can see), but I’m going to post a bazillion blazer-less photos because this dress is worth admiring. It fits like a dream, which is actually a fairly tall order when you consider its silhouette; scratch that. It doesn’t just fit like a dream, it flatters like a dream too. I assure you, I’m not wasp-waisted. This dress makes it look like I am, while at the same time being insanely comfortable to wear. It’s practically magic!

i call it ... the optical illusion dress
i call it … the optical illusion dress

looks good from the back too
looks good from the back too
I almost feel guilty telling you that I paid a whopping $8 for this dress … but well, I am anyway. Edmonton peeps, this is what your thrift scene has to offer — get out there and check it out, you won’t regret it. In this case, I got a beautiful, made-in-Canada dress … and I discovered a new designer, Allison Smith (the woman behind Allison Wonderland and sister brand Pillar — thanks, Google!) According to her website, her clothes are made in Vancouver in collaboration with local small businesses, and the (retail) price points are very reasonable for “slow fashion”. Based on how much I love this dress, I plan to keep an eye on her IG for future collections.

every angle is a good angle in this dress
every angle is a good angle in this dress

no, really -- see?
no, really — see?

one more for the road
one more for the road