It Begins...

Well, here goes. I will start by introducing myself. I am fairly average. I live in my average house, with my average boyfriend, driving my average car, earning my average wage. And like everyone else, I am also averagely skint. My household bills have gone up, my petrol costs have gone up, my food cost have gone up. Unfortunately my desire to have fancy dresses and novelty shoes continues to climb radically. Should i compromise on style because i have no money? Should i buy disposable and unethical clothing because i can't afford to buy quality and gulit free? Well, I am going to try to live for a year, one whole year, the good way. No frivolous spending, no ridiculous purchases just things that will contribute to my wardrobe significantly. By that I mean things that i will actually wear and will last. I also want to spend as little as possible, I am going to attempt to swap, sell, barter and hunt my way through the next year and end up with a better, more practical and more environmentally friendly wardrobe.

Firstly i need to sort out what i have before i can even thing about aquiring new things. I have two wardrobes. One in my bedroom which i share with my boyfriend which is full of the essesntials like underwear, tops and skirts and trousers. However i do have another. The special one. I love vintage clothing, particularly dresses, so much so they have their own wardrobe in my spare room. Luckily I have a job where i can flounce around in ridiculous and impractical dresses all day long if i fancy (as long as i wear an apron) so i do have a lot! and to be fair, i do wear them. However a proper sort out of both wardrobes is essential (even if scary) before embarking on a radical lifestyle change.

So I will begin with the big one, the everyday stuff. I shall return in an hour or two....

Well the approach i chose i think was quite liberating and very very satisfying. Basically I emptied my wardrobe onto the bed. So I had to conciously make the decision to keep each item that went back in. The best bit about doing this was I could see everything. And i mean everything. It made me feel quite guilty, as just looking at the amount of stuff i have made the fact that i still want more a complete joke! It also meant i could shut the curtains, strip off and try stuff on. Mix and match things, try things out with things i'd never thought of.

So what i have learnt about myself from sorting out my main wardrobe?

I am not a shoe or a bag person. Aparently i am a scarf person. I have 16 scarves, and thats not including the ones in my car! I am not even counting neckerchiefs, just full on, wrap up warm, woolly winter scarves. Is this excesive? Most of them have been gifts and/or hand knitted by me so technically they haven't cost me any money. And as it is gearing up for summer, I will leave them in their box for now, as logically, people will want to buy or swap things they can wear or use now.

LESSON NUMBER ONE: Under no circumstance should i buy, knit or swap for any more scarves. I have enough.

I have also suprised myself a bit too, I have discovered a monochrome black and white 60s shirt I love but never wear goes perfectly with a vintage high waisted velvet skirt. Two items i never thought of putting together and probably would have either got rid of or ignored for another couple of years if i hadn't gone mad and torn everything out of my wardrobe! However, I have also discovered a problem with my wardrobe in general. I love bright colours and patterns, so obviously, i have lots of items with patterns and bright colours. What i lack is the plainer counterparts that go with these things. I could wear them together but i fear i may look more mad than usual wearing a bug print stripey shirt with a strawberry print skirt.

LESSON NUMBER TWO: novelty prints and bright colours may be fun, however i need to prioritise plainer skirts and tops. I must not buy these on a whim!

I didn't do the standard 'If i haven't worn it in the last two years i'm getting rid of it' method as at heart i am a hoarder and there are certain things i will keep for sentimental and fairly daft reasons. I used to have a gorgeous purple corderoy pencil skirt that i wore to death and even though it was faded, I still loved it. One day in a fit of madness i put it in the bag for the charity shop because i hadn't worn it in a while. I regret that to this day. I want my purple skirt back! So I would regret it forever if i let go of the first thing my boyfriend bought me, a gorgeous beaded French Connection skirt. So expensive at the time and very 1920s, but i never go anywhere fancy enough to wear it! Maybe the next lesson should be go places that are fancy enough to wear such things! It would also break my heart to get rid of any of my band T-Shirts, I have Pulp T-Shirts, Supergrass T-Shirts, Yeah Yeah Yeahs T-Shirts, Strokes T-Shirts, and i'll not mention some of the others! Each one was bought at a gig or a festival and holds a memory. They don't take up much space and i love to wear them with my battered old jeans in the summertime.

LESSON NUMBER THREE: Don't kid myself, there are some things that are destined to be part of my life, even if its not as a wearable, functional garment. More like a piece of memorabilia. However it is very important that i don't use this as an excuse to keep everything!

Onto the things i need. I use need quite loosly obviously as i could probably not buy anything for the rest of my life and not wear out the clothes i own. I should really say The things i want to balance my wardrobe.

1- Plain skirts and trousers to counteract the shear amount of ridiculous patterns and colours in my wardrobe.

2- Part A - The next issue to address is shoes. At work i am on my feet a lot, i have to go up an down ladders and need shoes to be comfortable and practical. So I seem to have got into the habit of buying cheap pumps, wearing them out and then throwing them away. Not only is this extreemly bad for the environment but it can't be cost effective either. If I spend £5 a month on a rubbish pair of pumps that make my feet smell like rubber, I could have spent £60 on a pair of really good quality shoes which will be better for my feet and not end up in landfill within the month. Unlike most girls though, I hate shoe shopping. One foot is bigger than the other, I have wide flipper shaped feet and nothing ever seems to fit right! However, this i feel is the first thing i should sort out. I must be on the look out for a pair of sensible, comfortable, good quality yet stylish shoes for work. Do these even exist? I must wear out the shoes i currently have though but if i see an appropriate pair, I have to investigate.

2- Part B - Going out shoes. I have an amazing pair of yellow shoes. The most perfect shoes ever to exist, very high yet extreemly comfortable. I have danced the night away in these a fair few times. However i wear them everytime i go out. I would like a little variety. I would also like a little Vivienne Westwood! Having been to the Exhibition at the Millenium Galleries in Sheffield (http://www.sheffieldgalleries.org.uk/) I have reaffirmed my love for the great lady and have also developed a deep yearning for a pair of her shoes. Suddenly, everywhere i go there are Vivienne Westwood shoes that are out of my price range! Second hand will obviously fit in with my experiment, however i must make some money before i can spend it!

So I have sorted out my main wardrobe. The special one is to follow. Tomorrow i will photograph and count all the things i have sorted out today and list them on http://www.whatsmineisyours.com/ to swap or sell. I feel like I've made a good start and am ready to start my new lifestyle! I shall update this with photographs tomorrow.