‘Millenials are choosing experiences over things’ – you might have seen one out of many headlines like this lately. You might have even asked yourself ‘do I choose experiences over things’ (or, if you’re anything like me: ‘do I still qualify as ‘Millennial’?) but if […]
Yes. That was almost a year of radio silence on the blog. A year. Ok, not entirely, because my last post was published in April 2018, but you get the gist. I could come up with a bunch of reasons for my absense, but truth […]
I honestly can’t remember the last time I went on a shopping spree. ‘Shopping spree’. A word I used to associate with all kinds of positive feelings, now something that I can’t seem to bother too much about. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy a bit of personal styling anymore (I do!), and I’m definitely not saying I’ll never go shopping again, but the endless hunger for the next item while still having other pieces – unworn of even worse: untouched! – hanging in my closet? Nope, not happening anymore, and I feel proud as a peacock for it!
As I said, minimizing my wardrobe, looking for more meaningful ways to invest my time and money and basically simplifying the way I look at style doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with withdrawing myself from shopping/browsing as a whole. Just as minimalism doesn’t always mean having less and less. It’s about having enough. It’s about aligning short-term actions with long-term values. And one of my most important style related long-term values is that I want to make sure I get the most wear out of my items. A fun story about the bag I’m wearing in the picture above is that I bought it approximately 5 years ago. Even thought I had been on the hunt for a designer bag at that time (probably something Alexander Wang, as I used to be a huge fan of Wang bags), I didn’t even really think about ordering this one. I knew from the start it was going to be a great purchase (I mean; it has a great size, and it black and uber basic.. couldn’t possible go wrong with that!), but I never expected it to be such a great purchase I haven’t really been looking for a similar sized bag after I got this one. Now thát is what makes a purchase a GREAT purchase if you ask me; when you don’t feel the urge to replace it by something else anytime soon (although I have to admit that I wouldn’t mind replacing or at least adding a classic, black cross body bag right now, because I know I’ll be able to justify spending my money on a bag like that).
And the good thing? If you’re quick enough, you can get the exact same bag with discount on Shopbop’s flash sale. Enter promo code EVENT18 at checkout for a 20-25% discount.
To those who asked and to those who were wondering why I have been a bit low key lately: I’m enjoying my life instead of proving I have one. I consciously decided to not broadcast every low or high in my life, and honestly: the […]
Yup, it has been a while since I updated the blog. To be fair: I don’t think I ever took a blogging break this long since I started blogging in 2008 and to be even more fair: I can’t say I feel sorry for it. […]
Every now and then I just like to sit down and jot down some thoughts. Thoughts that slowly but certainly turn into a story that sometimes I share on this blog and on many occasions I don’t (true story, my phone is filled with stories/thoughts that will never see the light of day. Same for pictures, as you can tell, because these pics were from our trip to Portugal back in September. I still think it’s nice to use them, but feel free to let me know if this bothers you!). This time I’d like to share, because especially around this time – talking about you, Black Friday and Cyber Monday! – I’m more determined to not let my urges take over. To not fall for all the screaming discount e-mails I receive on a daily basis. I have to admit that I’m not totally against them. Au contraire, I’m all for finding good deals and made quite a substantial amount of them myself (I anxiously started scrolling through that Shopbop sale section, especially now that their MORE17 promo kicked in). What I am talking about is the fact that I try to avoid buying – or cluttering, as you wish – stuff for the sake of buying it. ‘Because it’s cheaper now’, ‘because it looked so good on person X’, or ‘because I think I need this, now that I see it’. My solution: choose wisely! :)
I’ve read a LOT about minimalism lately and even though I’m not by any means trying to become a minimalist (what is the true definition of that anyway, I’d ask myself), I do think it’s very inspiring to look at our own (shopping) behaviour and ask ourselves the question: ‘Does this item (whether it’s clothes or not) add value to my life?’. Most of the things we buy on a whim, don’t really add value. Real value, I’m talking about. Not the type of value that I used as an excuse for years: ‘But I like it, so it adds value!’. And of course, I’m not saying I’ll never indulge in a pair of shoes that I don’t need, or change the pillows on our couch for the 2nd time since we moved in, but I just want to remain conscious about that fact that I do it. Deliberate. Thoughtful.
Something that helps to stay on track is that I don’t give a damn about trends. I don’t necessarily avoid them, but I just don’t feel the urge to follow every single one of them, and looking ‘trendy’ almost feels like an insult instead of a compliment, to be very honest. I’ve never been one to search for anything like outside impulses or the approval of others to make me happy. Style wise that means: I love my classics and came to realise a looong time ago that this is something that I’ll always be drawn to and will never stop leaning towards. Boring? To some, perhaps. I’d rather call it non-conform. I guess non-conformity has become my ‘thing’, and I’m totally fine with that. I can still just add a fun element every now and then if I feel like it, but always try to rethink that little outburst a couple of times. If there’s one important lesson I learned from all the minimalism articles/books I read, it’s that minimalism isn’t necessarily about deprivation; it’s about aligning your short-term actions with your long-term values. My long term value? I’d rather not become the sum of my urges. Looking forward to see where this mindset will lead to.
Skirt & tee – H&M / Boots – Chloe / Bag – A.P.C. (sale applies on this one too!) / Sunglasses – Ray Ban
Nostalgia. A wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. It happens to me […]
After my last post I received quite a lot of questions about the progress on my decluttering plans, so I thought it might as well be nice to give you a bit of an update on that matter. The short version is: it’s going well. […]
I CHOOSE EXPERIENCES OVER THINGS
ARE YOU ALIVE?DONE WITH SHOPPING SPREES?