DAARBOVEN
If you’re still looking to buy a pair of Adidas Stan Smith sneakers, be sure to check Zalando. Even though they’re €90 in the ladies/men department, they’re only €55 for kids. And the best part? They sell sizes from 36-40! Get them here. Enjoy your Sunday! X
So the year 2014 is behind us. The perfect moment to look back on my shopping behavior and the purchases that I’ve made throughout the year. Overall, I think I did fine. Except for the last month. This December I spend a lot more money than I had originally planned, and although I could afford each purchase without having to live on bread and water for the rest of the month, I feel slightly guilty and a bit disappointed even. But then, who knew London is a shopping Walhalla and I would be tempted by so many beautiful and highly covetable things. You’re right, probably everyone except me. Oops! But in my defense, I still stuck to the 5 piece French wardrobe method and didn’t even make it to five pieces for Spring/Summer. So I guess that balances everything out. Or do you feel like I’m cheating? I’m always up for a reality check whenever I need one.
Spring/Summer
Stan Smiths
H&M cardigan
Zara loafers
I’m just going to be straight with you. I hate shopping for spring/summer clothes so I tend to avoid it as much as I can. Which is the reason why I never made it to five pieces and why two of those purchases are shoes. Most of the time I’ll just wear a simple tee and a pair of jeans or cotton trousers. I feel too uncomfortable in dresses and skirts unless I’m camping and I really don’t care how I look. The cardigan is a bit of a cheat I suppose, because it’s made out of wool. So not very summer approved. Although I did get some wear out of it during the evenings and nights at the Lowlands festival.
Fall/Winter
Céline bracelet
Comme des Garçons striped shirt
Acne Galactic knitted sweater
H&M sweater
H&M light blue blouse
Uniqlo cashmere sweater
The two H&M items were bought at the beginning of Fall. I had seen the Acne Galactic sweater at the Bijenkorf and settled for the cheaper version because the original was too expensive. A few months later I found it on sale just before Christmas, so I might sell the H&M knit. Not sure yet. The light blue blouse could be counted as a basic, but it has a pretty contemporary cut to it. Oh, now that were talking about basics, what do you guys think, should I count the striped shirt as a basic? Someone commented in my ‘let’s discuss basics‘ post that she would include a striped shirt, so that made me think… Anyway, a cashmere sweater was also on my basics-list. But since I already bought one at Zara, this one from Uniqlo is extra, I obviously didn’t need it. To round the fall/winter purchases up, last but not least, my Céline bracelet. It cost a small fortune so definitely not a basic.
Basics
White blouse (replacement)
Black T-shirt (replacement)
Converse Allstars (replacement)
Zara cashmere knit
Longchamp travel bag
H&M slippers
Zara ankle boots (replacement)
Black skinny jeans (replacement)
On to the basics. A lot of replacements, as you can see. My previous blouse had some ugly stains from my deodorant (too much info?), so I’m giving the &Other Stories one a try. The jeans, ankle boots, Allstars and black t-shirt were all over a year old. I recently even ripped a pair of jeans when putting them on. I like to believe it was because they were all worn out and not due all that sushi I had over the weeks. Basics that didn’t need to be replaced, but I felt were necessary, include a large travel bag (Longchamp), a pair of slippers and a cashmere sweater. So how did I do? And please share how your year went, shopping wise. I’d love to know.
Here it is, finally! The long awaited post on my London purchases (just kidding). I didn’t expect to find everything I was looking for in London but even I can get lucky as it turns out. The last time I visited London was over 10 years ago during a school trip. For some reason Paris is always the first city that comes to mind whenever I want to do a short city trip. But it was time for a change.While in London, I visited Dover Street Market in the hopes of finding the classic Comme des Garçons shirt. After walking past the building a couple of times ( you can’t really tell it’s a store from the outside), I thought what the heck, and walked in anyway. It’s an amazing store spread over several floors, with a special floor for all things Comme des Garçons including the shirt I was looking for. The fit is great (I bought it slightly oversized) and instead of the black and white stripes, I opted for the classic dark blue and white design.
I must say, I’m somewhat surprised by my sudden interest in skin care lately. But that’s probably due to the fact that I’m too lazy to learn how to apply make up properly and this way at least my skin looks great and I hardly need anything else besides a little eye pencil and mascara. From the moment I started to use this Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré, I completely dropped my tinted moisturizer by Origins. Good stuff! Unfortunately I didn’t know it’s also available – and cheaper – at Douglas in the Netherlands until I got back. Oh well.
Next up my Céline knotted bracelet. I posted it on Instagram just before I left for Paris in August. It had been on my wishlist for quite a while but I never expected to find it and I also wasn’t sure if I would wear it on a regular basis. Then I ran into it in several stores in London. Must be a sign right? So after a good night’s sleep, I decided to take the plunge and try my luck at Selfridges but they didn’t have my size. I ended up at the most gorgeous Céline store ever! The floor, the lamps… AMAZING! When I tried the bracelet on, I was sold. I’ve been wearing it every single day. My final two purchases are pretty basic and therefore not very photogenic. A light grey cashmere sweater from Uniqlo, which I wanted to try since my post on affordable cashmere and a simple white blouse by &Other Stories.I absolutely loved London and so did my boyfriend. We’re definitely going back in the near future. So any tips would be greatly appreciated!
First of all, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I spent mine with family, lots of food and of course Home Alone 1 and 2. But let’s get back to business since the sale is finally here! A little over a week ago I posted some tips on how to successfully prepare for the annual winter sale. Now let’s move on to the shopping itself:
* Stick to your list. Don’t go running around like a headless chicken. Which is easier said then done when some stores look like a hurricane just went through it (looking at you ZARA!) and you have no idea where to start. Take a breath, pull out your list and work your way through it.
* Don’t be tempted by a low price tag. Take a second and ask yourself: would I buy this for full price? If not, walk away. Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. This will stop you from getting carried away and spend money on things that you don’t need and most likely will never wear.
* Buy the right size. Again, don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. I mean, are you really going to wear that size XL blouse with your size Small? Unless you’re aiming for an oversized look or you’re planning to take it to a tailor to have it fitted, buy the size that looks best on you.
* Always check the clearance return policy. If you’re trying to avoid a big line, or just want a couple of days to think about your purchase, make sure you can still return it. Some stores offer store credit during the sale, others like Zara for instance maintain a return policy of 7 days instead of the normal 30 days.
Are there any crucial sale tips that I missed? And what are you hoping to find?
