I almost did it! I had plans to wear everything but due to unforeseen circumstances of not getting back to the bay area in time due to the Southwest Airlines meltdown mess means I still have a few pieces to wear before I've worn everything. It was fesible! Just not quite done.
I'm really happy I was able to at least almost complete it and actually get to wear the clothes I enjoy so much. I think this challenge did what it was supposed to in that it made me appreciate my own closet more, really let me take a look at what items I have and what I don't need because I already have something I love that is similar. I do already have mostly a dress for every occasion/theme if I get creative! There were some downsides however with this project but not to do with lolita. Let's get into the different aspects.
How did I do on the 'curbing my spending' aspect? Great with not overspending on lolita- not so much on remembering to not spend more on other things... However lets talk about the positives first! The further I went into this challenge the less I wanted to buy main pieces! I did buy some more things in the last 6 months since checkin and only one main piece that was part of my wishlist as it was a plain black main piece.
The lolita specific things I bought were:
Emily Temple Cute bag:
Metamorphose skirt:
Haenuli necklace:
A Gato Designs crown:
Majo no Recipe Ring:
(Technically also one of the Angelic Pretty hotel key things but I don't know that that counts as 'clothes/accessories'?)
The bag is large and rectangular-ish and plain enough that it goes with a lot of things as well as fits a lot of stuff! I'm hoping that the gold fancy accessories will help me pull off my next halloween co-ord idea (🐉) and be some things I can wear with some of my fancier dresses in general at larger events to make my outfits more OTT. I feel really good about all these purchases and overall about the challenge itself!
Now for the less good aspects. Unfortunately it was not all good outside of lolita spending. As discussed in another post, when I've been fairly moderate in spending on lolita items the ingrained consumerist mindset in me is still strong: have money, must spend. In the past when I stopped spending on lolita I ended switching to spending on makeup, still not good! I did a panning challenge to try to curb that spending and it worked pretty well. Yet it has happened again! This year as I dropped off spending on clothing I saw an uptick in my spending on books. I've been trying to get back into reading physical books lately and I had to consciously slow my roll on buying more books as time in that hobby increased! I definitely now own some books that are only ok now that I've read them I don't really want to read them again so it feels a little silly for me to own them. I've now implemented a book low buy with some specific rules just like my one for lolita items. No buying books unless:
1. It's a series I have read 1 or more books of and I own the first/first couple in the series (currently publishing series of novels or manga fall into this category)
2. I have finished all fiction books I already physically own and at least 5 ebooks I own on my TBR.
3. It's an audiobook for a specific journey with another person and we decide on the book together.
4. A book I borrowed from the library that I want to borrow again despite having a lot of books on my TBR (re-readability proven, OK to have on shelves)
5. Manga that is not available from the library and has been on my wishlist for more than 3 months.
6. Participate in a one book a month themed reading challenge only using books I own or from the library.
Another hobby I've been trying to get into is embroidery! *insert Momoko vibes here* I wanted a craft that could be somewhat portable and create useful things (I have plans for seasonal placemats) or embellish already existing ones. HOWEVER! As I have seen with lolita, makeup, and now books I'm really going to have to be thoughtful about how I enter this hobby both in terms of money and space. I'm hoping I won't have to actually do a challenge or special low-buy of any sort with this now I know my patterns and am trying to break them. Right now I'm going to try to just keep it to: buying only the fabric, floss, or ribbon I need for my next project and finishing that project before buying anything to start the next one! Hopefully this will keep me thoughtful about what project I'm attempting next, on track with not overspending, and limited in taking up even more space in our small apartment with another new hobby!
Comment below if you have done any successful (or even not so successful) no- or low-buys or if you want to see any embroidery/book content along with my new not-so-secret challenge for myself in 2023!
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