I Have Shopped (Just a Little...)

So it occurs to me that I never really gave you a recap of my August spending hiatus, and since I’m about to tell you what I have purchased over the past few weeks, it seemed fitting to first tell you how my period of “non-purchasing” went…yes?

There was something especially fruitful about taking a 30-day shopping “time-out” right before a time of year when I traditionally want to re-think my wardrobe completely. The hiatus afforded me a chance to really evaluate my closet and put some serious thought into what I would buy for the cooler months. I also used this time when nothing new (well almost nothing new, alas it was not a perfect hiatus) was coming into the house (or in this case, the closet) to do a ruthless clothing purge…ideally in the manner of all those “how to clean out your closet” dictates in the magazines..

I followed all the rules and made the requisite “keep”, “toss”, “donate” and “mend’ piles…and let’s just say I tossed/donated a lot. I also took two pairs of heels to the cobbler for a little freshening up, had two handbags repaired and managed to find a slim black blazer with the tags still on it (!) lurking amidst the detritus in my closet. I should note here that “slim black blazer” happened to be on my fall shopping list, so major score.

Once the purge mission was accomplished, I made a list of what I wanted to buy to “fill in the gaps”. I put a lot of thought into this list friends, as my budget was small, so I wanted to be very intentional and get things I could wear with what I already had, and most important, that I would want to wear to death. In other words, the basics.

Topping my list were the skinny black pants I’ve mentioned ad nauseum. I had a very specific idea about what I wanted to accomplish with these pants (which was basically to shamelessly copy this outfit, oh and this one too)...the trick was finding the right pair. I was also looking for a new pair of slightly funky shoes that I could wear to dress up jeans and t-shirts for the weekend and a new taupe cardigan, as the one I’d been wearing for the past year was ratty and threadbare and apparently an embarrassment to Audrey (her words).

Last on the list was a super-functional, utilitarian tote (despite the fact that I have a closet full of perfectly acceptable bags...I know, I know).

The good news is I stuck largely to my list...I tend to get distracted by shiny objects and go off the reservation when shopping. My only “slip-ups” were a couple of Tucker for Target dresses that I literally tackled another shopper for, a striped sweater from UO (man what is it with the stripes?) and that necklace I’m sporting in these photos (totally didn’t need it, but spotted it on my friend Sara and was obsessed).

Ok there may have been a couple more necklaces but I'm not saying for sure.

So without further ado, here’s what I got -- all also featured in the pics above...

• Black Slim Cropped Pants – Gap
• Black “Slummy Tee Dress” – Alternative Apparel
• Black Blazer – Banana Republic
• Taupe Cardigan – J. Crew
• Necklace – Forever 21
• Shoes – Max Studio
• Bag – J. Crew "Jericho"

So do tell…what’s your fall shopping strategy, what are you guys buying this year?