2019 resolution - shopping my own bag and wallet collection. Any one else?

[Sparkletastic]

Thanks for sharing and for the reminder - tracking starts as of yesterday - though I did not use any bags since it was a lazy day home with family.
Interesting that you have favourites you barely use. I am sure we all do. Do you track what you use bag for to give I tell for whether you save bags for special occasions/events? I am planning on tracking type of use to give me a bit more info.

Speaking of tracking. I decided to keep an Evernote list of what I wear. There is just no way I’m going to update the Stylebook app every day because it needs photos, cost, details, etc. Just adding a short descriptor or tick mark to my Clothing Worn list will be easy and painless.

 

[dcooney4]

What were they for you this year?
The only time I’m ok with costume jewelry is when I need a look that would be too expensive in fine jewelry. For example, I have a nice set of sparkly rhinestone jewelry that I can wear at forms occasions. But, even then, I still have some fine jewelry I can wear so I don’t trade out. It’s less bling because I can’t afford a $2million diamond necklace LOL! but, it works.

Daily, I only wear fine jewelry. Mostly white gold with or without diamonds but some yellow gold too that accents certain outfits. I keep it simple.

But, I do like it sometimes when I see others in costume. So, that’s why I was curious how others incorporate it.

For me it was that I used my nylon bags and backpacks more than my leather bags . I kept opting for super light weight bags more than I realized.

 

[catsinthebag]

Thanks for sharing and for the reminder - tracking starts as of yesterday - though I did not use any bags since it was a lazy day home with family.
Interesting that you have favourites you barely use. I am sure we all do. Do you track what you use bag for to give I tell for whether you save bags for special occasions/events? I am planning on tracking type of use to give me a bit more info.

I haven’t tracked type of use, but it’s a good idea. What I do is write down the bag I used on that day’s page in my bullet journal, so there will be some indication of what I was doing that day. But I haven’t formalized it into the Bag Use Chart.

Some of my bags have been bought for specific uses — not events, per se, but the two totes and the backpack were bought for days when I’m out for the whole day and need to carry a lot. The Nodini was a nice surprise because I had no idea how many times I’m running out for a short period of time and don’t need a full bag with me. Or, I’ll use it with my backpack, so as to have easy access to my wallet, tissues and phone.

I think the problem with the loved-but-not-used bags is, they’re an in-between size. Basically, they are purses, not small crossbodies or full totes. I would have thought they would be the perfect, in-between, Goldilocks bags, but instead, they’ve been falling out.

 

[Sparkletastic]

Yikes. It’s only 2 days into the year and I’ve already missed two goals.

I said I wasn’t going to buy any sunglasses this year and then I saw a pair of Chanel sunglasses that I wanted. So they accidentally, sorta slipped into my hands and my wallet sorta slipped out to pay.

And, I was starting back with my healthy eating. But, I went to a breakfast meeting at a phenomenal little bakery / restaurant. And, the croissants were being pulled out of the oven. Soooo...

The holidays are over. I gotta get my game face on!!!!

No bags, no sunnies, no junky food. I’m repeating this like my mantra.

 

[Rhl2987]

Yikes. It’s only 2 days into the year and I’ve already missed two goals.

I said I wasn’t going to buy any sunglasses this year and then I saw a pair of Chanel sunglasses that I wanted. So they accidentally, sorta slipped into my hands and my wallet sorta slipped out to pay.

And, I was starting back with my healthy eating. But, I went to a breakfast meeting at a phenomenal little bakery / restaurant. And, the croissants were being pulled out of the oven. Soooo...

The holidays are over. I gotta get my game face on!!!!

No bags, no sunnies, no junky food. I’m repeating this like my mantra.

You can definitely do it!! I’m rooting for you!

 

[ksuromax]

Wishing everyone best of luck for 2019 and hope we all meet our targets!
i am doing 10 on 31 and 3 newest bags, and here's 1 of them - Balenciaga Bazar

 

[Cookiefiend]

January 1 and I’m already having trouble keeping up!

I think I will do the New Year, New Bag challenge. As some of you know, I tracked my bag use for all of 2018, and I tallied up the totals today. I was very pleased to see that my three newest bags are all in my top 10 most worn bags, even though I got them all during the year so they had less than a year to accrue wears. That tells me I’m making better choices, and buying bags that I truly use.

For those of you who are curious, here’s my Top 10 most worn bags in 2018:
1) Hermes Evelyne GM in Etoupe — 56 wears
2) Hermes Evelyne PM in Blue Sapphire — 45 wears
3) Bottega Veneta Chain Tote in Black — 26 wears
4) Chanel Timeless Classic Tote in Black — 22 wears (this was one of the new ones, purchased at the end of May).
5) Bottega Veneta Nodini in Atlantic — 20 wears (also new this year, bought at the end of August).
6) LV Speedy B25 in Empreinte Noir — 18 wears
7) a tie between my Tumi Hagen backpack (purchased in October, so this was clearly a gap that needed filling!) and my Longchamp le Pliage large long handle in Indigo — both with 16 wears
8) Hermes Barenia Kelly 35 — 15 wears
9) Longchamp Mademoiselle in Cognac — 14 wears
10) Hermes Kelly 35 in Indigo Box — 11 wears.

This was a really eye-opening exercise and I’m so glad I did it, that I’m going to do it again this year! I knew my Evelynes got a lot of wear, but I wouldn’t have guessed they’d rank 1 and 2. The Nodini was a pleasant surprise as well. I tend to shy away from small bags. This has been so functional, I may buy another one (or go for something similar by a different designer).

On the downside, I have bags I would have described as favorites, that I barely wore at all! My Chanel Reissues fall into this category. I love the aesthetic but something about them keeps me from reaching for them. I’ll have to figure out what’s going on with that. I don’t really have any desire to sell them, but if I’m not using them ....

FANtastic!!
I had never tracked the usage before 2018 - it is VERY eye-opening!

 

[ElainePG]

Well, I'm a little bit behind on the convo, but these are my favorite shoes Saint Laurent block heel Mary Janes and Irregular Choice flats. My style is definitely LOUD!

My work environment is a creative and casual place, so most days I wear sneakers. Honestly, when I wear something even a little bit nice, without fail someone comments on it! One of my resolutions from 2018 was to not be embarrassed by my collection of luxury/fashiony items. I do feel a bit sheepish as a director flaunting expensive items, especially since I'm the youngest at my workplace and some of my co-workers are creatives living quite simply. Something about their attitude towards the material makes me question my love for fashion Does this ever happen to anyone?

I'm in love with those Irregular Choice flats!!! The contrasting laces and hearts are too cute.

 

[ElainePG]

Wishing everyone best of luck for 2019 and hope we all meet our targets!
i am doing 10 on 31 and 3 newest bags, and here's 1 of them - Balenciaga Bazar

Love how your yellow shoes bring out the yellow stripe in your bag. Yellow, yellow, yellow! Happy New Year!

 

[ElainePG]

Your experience reminds me of a former senior executive at my company. She would wear mostly Chanel suits, designer heels, hermes bags (she brought her bags to every meeting), perfectly done hair, make up, nails, etc. In a male dominated world she stood out. But she was smart, empathetic and a born leader. She was a female champion and voiced that woman should not feel they need to damper their looks or style to fit in with a male dominated workforce and instead should own their own style and image and be judged on their output. I never saw anyone comment in her looks or saw her comment on others. The topics kept to the work at hand. I really admire her and feel she changed our culture in a positive way.

That's a great story. It sounds as though she was a real change agent... in a good way!

 

[bellebellebelle19]

Thanks all for sharing the love with my shoes!

What kind of comments are you getting? Do you think they’re intended to make you uncomfortable?

I love your shoes! Those sneakers are crazy! If this is your style, then own it. Years ago when I worked in corporate, there was a woman who worked in IT who I’ll never forget. The company was very conservative and the culture was trapped in the 1950s (ugh), but this woman wore super fitted suits with micro mini skirts, four inch heels, and had a diamond the size of the Ritz on her perfectly manicured hand. She’d walk in a room and everyone’s eyes would bug out, but she was smart and competent and friendly, so people got over it. And no one ever commented on her outfits or style, other than to say something benign like, “You look nice today.” I think everyone was a little intimidated, but she was just being herself. She wasn’t “flaunting,” as you put it. I doubt you are “flaunting” either, so what makes you feel like you are?

That's a great story! I think it's a nice example of not judging a book by its cover, and it counteracts the stereotypes of fashion-lovers. Just because we love fashion/bags doesn't mean we're not capable! I would say the only thing making me feel like I'm flaunting is that I'm like the one of two people in the company who cares about fashion LOL. Everyone else wears the same Converse every day, and my boss and co-workers are very frugal people. We even read a book about saving money in our office book club! But I think it's easy for me to be a bit frivolous with my money, because most of them have kids. As you can tell by my shoes, my style is way funkier than the black t-shirt/jeans combo most of my team wears, but when I started working a co-worker asked me why I felt like I had to get new glasses, so after that I always felt like I should tone down the goods. In 2018, I've been just trying to buck that and be myself and express myself the way I want!

I adore your shoes!!!!! What fabulous style. You have my enthusiastic support!

I work in an environment where there is definitely attention paid if I stand out. For the most part I try to let it roll off my shoulders, but occasionally I find myself not being quite as true to my own style as I could be. Do you have some of your workplace individuals espousing a different style and life philosophy toward you? Not to pry, strictly from a curious place.

Luckily, no one is preaching to me! But since they're older, they do advise me to save (not in relation to my shopping habits, just because we're running - business so we all like to talk about investments etc). I do talk to a couple of my vegan work friends a lot about veganism, and while they doesn't try to force veganism on me, I do think it sounds like a positive lifestyle and they're kind of convincing me, haha!

Your experience reminds me of a former senior executive at my company. She would wear mostly Chanel suits, designer heels, hermes bags (she brought her bags to every meeting), perfectly done hair, make up, nails, etc. In a male dominated world she stood out. But she was smart, empathetic and a born leader. She was a female champion and voiced that woman should not feel they need to damper their looks or style to fit in with a male dominated workforce and instead should own their own style and image and be judged on their output. I never saw anyone comment in her looks or saw her comment on others. The topics kept to the work at hand. I really admire her and feel she changed our culture in a positive way.

That's so awesome! Thanks for sharing; I'm going to keep that in mind from now on

 

[ksuromax]

Love how your yellow shoes bring out the yellow stripe in your bag. Yellow, yellow, yellow! Happy New Year!

thank you
Happy New Year!!

 

[vink]

I’ve started my new year’s cleaning & clearing. Yay!

One of the things I’m going through is a jewelry box of costume jewelry that has now travelled across 3 states with me without really being opened. I almost never wear costume jewelry but thought I may have forgotten some cute items.

Uh, no. LOL!

Most of the styles are a little dated (bib necklaces - remember those?) But, honestly, that isn’t the big issue for me. What I’m hating is the tarnish. I’m junking most of this because it just looks ratty.

This is one of the big reasons I don’t like costume jewelry. Fine jewelry doesn’t look ratty over time.

Am I missing something? Help me understand how costume jewelry can work in my wardrobe. If there is a way to be cute for fewer dollars, I’m in.

Costume jewelry needs taking care for, too. I have tons of costume jewelry that I keep in a tool box that separate them piece by piece. I wipe them clean of my sweat and let it air dry before store it in the box line with tissue papers. I never have one tarnished on me or even if they’re, a little cleaning with some solution will do. I even have some that are a pass-me-down from my mom and some pieces made of plastic from 20s or 50s that I bought from antique store. It’s the style you pick and how well you take care of them. Not to mention the original quality of the piece.

 

[vink]

I am incredibly simplistic with my jewelry and it’s to the point where I’m mostly not wearing any these days except my new Apple Watch. I wear “costume” earrings which are from JCrew, Dior, Chanel or other random stores but they are all newer (since I just got into an earring kick last year) and I do rotate through them pretty well. I’ve seen vintage pieces that my grandmother has but I’m mostly not interested in them because they are not my style. I just like to keep things streamlined, to the point where I never use any styling product in my hair. I just blow dry, put on a little makeup, and go. Adding accessories adds time for me and I usually don’t make that effort.

I wonder if there is a way to clean off the tarnish? I bet there is!!

I used to be a jewelry junkie and I think I still am a bit, but let it down a lot since DD arrives. Jewelry and baby don’t mix. I think I’m pretty much like you nowadays.

There’re ways to clean off the tarnish or make them look better. All depends on the material of that piece and how they’re set.

 

[vink]

You wear three of your newest bags two times each.

Thank you! [emoji4]