Let’s switch gears and consider the savings that I noticed
through this experience.
Savings, so far –
·
$50 in dry cleaning services I no longer needed
o
I got the tip from my stylist that if something
looks fine, but just has body odor – turn it inside out and spritz it with a
mixture of half vodka/half water. It kills the
odor-causing bacteria and the vodka odor evaporates, as well. (Not
recommended for silk, FYI).
o And, just in case it isn't obvious, you'll still need to go to the dry cleaner for stains and more thorough cleaning. But, for quick fixes here and there and to disinfect slight odor, vodka is your answer ;)
·
$100 in “new” shoes
o
I had a beautiful pair of Frye flats that I
bought EIGHT years ago and had hardly ever worn. I thought they were beautiful
and I loved them, but they were total jerks that blistered my heels up like I
couldn’t believe. I just kept carting them around (and this includes from New
York state, to Oxford, England, to Pennsylvania, to Connecticut, to
California…) hoping that they would soften up. No freaking luck.
o
Stylist recommended shoe trees and sent me a
link to the perfect one – 10 days of shoe trees in them and they’re beautifully
wearable! Simple tip that I never would’ve thought up on my own.
·
$40 in a “new” accessory
o
I had a long, golden, beaded necklace that I
never wore because it would spin around on my neck and rip out little neck
hairs. Ew! And Ow! But, because I loved the way it looked, it had also been
carted around (same places as the flats).
o
Stylist took one look at it and as we continued
our conversation spun it around my wrist and clasped it. It was a rocking gold bracelet
that ended up being 1.5 inches thick and looked beautiful and very unique. I
wore it nonstop for the next 2 weeks and loved getting regular compliments, as
well as questions like, “is it real gold?” (it’s not, but I’ll take the
compliments!)
·
$50 in a “new” shirt
o
I was ready to chuck a button-down shirt that
was so blousy and big on me, I ended up looking shlubby in it. Stylist helped
me figure out a way to wear it and a special way to roll the sleeves that took
into account the way the pattern varied from the sleeve to the cuff – something
I had never even noticed. Suddenly, it looked really fashionable and
well-suited to me! I was ready to toss it and she made it one of my new
favorites!
·
$80 in a “new” cashmere sweater
o
I had a beautiful cashmere sweater I had been
carting around since high school. It was something my mother had bought on deep
discount at an outlet store for me and I really loved it. But, it was a deep
V-neck that ended up being overly 90’s vampy because the sleeves would often both
slip down at the same time. It sat for years because I certainly didn’t want a
nip slip happening to me.
o
Stylist recommended topstick – double-sided
toupee tape – to tape underneath the sweater to my skin so it no longer would
slide off. Suddenly I had a beautiful cashmere sweater I could wear without
worrying about it falling all over the place! Score.
o
Side note – I’d heard of red carpet celebrities
using double-sided tape to keep extravagant ball gowns strategically pinned
down, but never thought of using it myself. Stylist gave me a sample, showed me
how to use it, and sent me a link to buy it online. Barriers to wearing my
sweater completely removed.
OK, so savings thus
far - $320.
$454 - $320 = $134.
Not too bad!
Also, there are other benefits/sources of savings that
aren’t tabulated above because I don’t want to inflate my monetary results.
- · First of all, I had stopped stress/procrastination shopping. When I felt the urge to browse online, I remembered that I now had expert help and didn’t need to waste my time getting stuff I didn’t like. I could wait until I had better shopping skills to shop on my own. For now, I was only shopping with stylist. I warrant to say that avoiding stress shopping has saved me quite a penny. In addition, it helped me practice more skills to manage stress like walks and phone calls and tea breaks and music.
- · Second, on an environmental level I was really happy to tailor so many of my clothes so they felt and looked like new. The environmental costs of the “fast fashion” industry are extremely high. We are taxing resources by producing and shipping clothes all over the world, not to mention the waste that’s caused by piling all of our discarded, cheap threads in landfills. As an environmentally-conscious person, I wanted to stay away from cheap stuff that would end up in the trash 6 months later and was happy to be able to preserve and just revamp so much of what I already had. I realized through this experience you don’t have to sacrifice fashion to be environmentally-conscious. A lot of what you have can likely be tailored, patched, mended, dyed, or reimagined to look and feel brand new.
- Third, I had a fresh pair of eyes even before our first appointment together. I knew that a stranger was going to be coming in and cleaning through my closet, so I purged in advance a little. I also had a fresh set of eyes on a couple of purses that I hardly ever used, but were really nice. I had bought them long ago (similar to the Frye flats - probably both like 8 years ago when I worked in retail and had great discounts and my parents helping/supporting me with finances). I noticed that I hadn't been using a beautiful leather bag. I pulled it out of the back of my closet, did a quick trip to get some leather moisturizer, and gave it a quick moisterizing treatment. I know, sounds high maintenance, but, really, it made it look so beautiful and special. For animal love reasons, I choose faux leather most of the time and this real leather purchase was long ago. But, if you're going to have real leather, make it count and make it last. Buy something that you will keep for 10, 20, or more years, rather than getting some cheap leather that will burn out quickly. And make good use of cobblers and other products like leather moisturizers. I have a great pair of everyday leather flats that I have taken to the cobbler around 5 times (they are also ~8 years old). [Notice a pattern? Eight years ago was when I was really getting quality items that I kept around for a while. Those items are still here! That's what I'm shooting for - getting items I'll want to keep for 8, 10, 20 years.] Back to the cobbler - he resoles them and restains the leather and they keep looking fresh. In fact, leather is one of those materials that gets more distinguished with age - kinda like a really sexy man. There are services and treatments that will make your products last much longer than we're used to expecting. A really great leather item is something that, with great care, can get passed on for generations! (I didn't tabulate this in the savings above because I had this idea before meeting with Miss Stylist.)
- Fourth, Stylist noticed that I kept visiting one store over and over again. I had a disproportionate amount of clothes from this store - which is a mid-to-upper level store that sells nice looking clothes for those who want to look professional. It was my go to place - but the fit and sizing were all wrong for me. And, it was making me look a lot more serious and older than I really wanted to look. By trying to look "professional," I was kind of aging myself. I'm in my 20s - I'd like to look it. She noticed this trend and told me (gently) to simply stop going into that store. We would find other places in which I would find items better suited to me and I would have to stop using that as an ill-fitting crutch. Thanks for the tip! No more wasting money there.
- Fifth, it was really fun! It was such a unique experience to do something that I consciously knew was “extravagant,” but I really felt excited about. I had thought long and hard about this and didn’t have any guilt in it. When I would shop before, my motivation would be to get away from feelings of grumpy deprivation. So, I’d “binge” on cheap clothes, then feel guilty and unsatisfied and STILL deprived afterwards. I had broken the diet/binge/diet/binge pattern in my eating habits long ago (and hence, the effortless weight loss mentioned above) and was ready to apply that same mentality to my wardrobe. I felt liberated from those unhealthy habits and excited about this new experience. Spending time with the stylist was fun and I really valued her expertise and opinion.
I’m really excited and can’t wait to tell you more. Overall,
this aspect of outsourcing has been really positive for me – I’m happier with
my wardrobe, happier with my outfits, more confident in my appearance, taking more effective care of my stressful emotions, and no
longer dipping into shopping experiences that are frustrating and
guilt-inducing.
More positive
emotions + less negative emotions --> all around good stuff.
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