Do wet want some new challenges in August?
How about wearing one non-black neutral per week (whatever is a neutral for you)
How about wearing one non-black neutral per week (whatever is a neutral for you)
2025 Resolution: Shopping my own Bag and SLG Collection
- Thread starter papertiger
- Start date
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We all need to feel safe and enough, and I’m glad that you are prioritizing mental health and self care. On the closet side, I’m excited about your capsule collections, and I feel that bog standard leather goods from years ago could be really well made compared to today’s craftSo, you are well ahead. Hugs
Brands that are lesser known today but great quality: Carlos falchi (a gift from a dear friend) and ghurka
View attachment 6194864View attachment 6194865
ETA: also Suarez, a family owned company in NY. A convertible clutch with a fabulous suede interior.
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Loving both, particularly the Suarez.
Thank you @Bag peace (that is so annoying re the rest room. I’m sorry that happened to you). I’m looking forward to seeing the hoodie in action once cooler weather returns.
Thank you @papertiger . lol re the shoes under the bed. The garden bench and fence sound like ambitious but ultimately very fulfilling projects. Maybe wait for the bees to move on a bit?
Thank you @papertiger . lol re the shoes under the bed. The garden bench and fence sound like ambitious but ultimately very fulfilling projects. Maybe wait for the bees to move on a bit?
What a wonderful way of articulating it! Yes, that's precisely it.
The capsules help me express myself for whatever mood/phase I'm in, and when I do start a new capsule, it's usually a completely different vibe. It's defined play- colouring, but firmly within the lines.
You've undertaken a lot of big household projects! I'll gently nudge you to ask for help, as it seems this one could really use it. I get that you'd rather not, but I'd bet your neighbours or friends would be more than happy to lend a hand. Plus, it's a nice way to connect with them over projects like this. Brings everyone together a bit.
Thank you for minding the bees! You're so considerate!
I hope Dini is doing well!
I'm with you on this! I think a lot of what you have is similar enough to what's in the market, but also exponentially better in quality since it's older. I don't mind that fashion is cyclical, but I hate seeing the new stuff being made of lesser materials or cheaper construction.
It's wonderful that you're finding treasures you already own and bringing them out to play!
Oh no, it wasn't a problem. It was funny in the end, just a bit embarrassing as it was happening.
It happened the last couple of times I shaved my hair off, too. I never learn and keep repeating the mistake.
I have to balance the bald head out with scarves or some other feminine touches so it's a little more obvious. My natural style is very tomboy-ish with a lot of menswear pieces (better quality and fit imo), and I forget that I need to balance it out a little to be less androgynous.
I always love reading your updates! I’m glad you’ve found some methods that work for you, like the capsule clothing collection and how you have downsized your bags to an amount that’s manageable for you. I’m confident you’ll get there with other areas that are still a work in progress.Mid-year check in! Where has the time gone?
Edit:
Wow, that turned out to be a long post!
Sorry. I'll add in some spoilers so that my post doesn't take up the whole page. Don't worry about reading my rambling, I won't mind if people just skip it. I'm mostly just keeping myself accountable.
The bag closet:
I had a lot of movement and have lost track of ins and outs for the year but, after making a big donation to a women's shelter a couple of days ago, the total number of bags in my collection is currently 13.
I'm so grateful my friend helped me arrange getting the donations across borders. It was more complex than usual but we got it done.
Looking at my bag collection as a whole, I went from having mostly handmade pieces when I joined tpf, to an equal mix of contemporary and handmade during the pandemic years. Now my collection is basically a mix of contemporary and premier brands (the latter ones generously gifted to me by my friend a few months ago), most of which are vintage (or pretty close).
The evolution of my bag closet is a pretty good reflection of how much my lifestyle has changed. Now that I'm not moving so often, my collection has become less handmade, quirky and unique, and more standard and functional.
I hope I'll be lucky enough to go back to my nomadic ways and collect unique bits from small artisans in other countries, but until then, I'm really focused on enjoying what I currently own. I'm very lucky to have what I do and I want to use and love each piece.
I've learned a lot about my bag preferences with all the changes, and above all, have confirmed that I do better with a smaller collection than a vast one. I'm too easily overwhelmed by stuff and it's good that I know this about myself so that I don't give in to impulsive shopping when I'm stressed, as I so often did when I was younger.
The remainder of the closet:
In other categories in my closet, I've managed to hit some of my goals.
I've reduced my silver jewellery a bit by including some pieces in my last lot of donations, but those pieces had been ones I'd enjoyed for a long time so I was ready to pass them on. In the end, the stuff I gave away was all Etsy handmade stuff (before it became a drop-shipping hub), and I hung on to the bits from my travels which are sentimental and still my style.
I've also started to wear some of my old 'office' shoes casually, which was one of the goals I'd made for myself at the start of the year.
With clothing, I'm styling the older bits I have in new ways and am finding it to be a lot of fun.
On a related note, today's project is going to force me to reflect further on clothing I own. The storage unit I was using is too large for the amount of stuff I have and a smaller one finally opened up, so I'm moving my stuff over.
I'm taking the opportunity to go through all the pieces and repack them properly, with fresh acid-free paper and silica packets inside.
Frankly, I don't have a crazy amount of clothing right now, but it's still enough that it may take me another 2-4 years to use it all. That's just because, like my bags, I get overwhelmed if I have too much hanging in my closet at once. So I am still creating capsules of around 15 pieces that I mix and match, then wear until they're completely worn out before retiring them and pulling out a new capsule from the storage unit.
It's a system that works for me but it is crazy that I'm wearing clothing I bought when I was 20 years younger. I really didn't have a grasp then of how long each piece would last with me and ended up with so much more than I needed.
Between the fact that pretty much everything I own was 80% off (those were the best warehouse sales, lol), and the fact that I haven't needed to buy anything more than a handful of essentials since those days, it has managed to save me a lot of money. But I can't lie and say that was the goal- I just had too much and found a way to work my way through it all instead of constantly adding more.
Good thing my taste and size hasn't changed in all those years!
Social life:
As I was taking note of how my bag closet changed, I noticed that my friendships have also changed over the past few years. When I first joined tpf, I had just completed 2 years of physiotherapy to learn to walk and chew again after my accident. I was adapting to my new face and trying to change careers to work around that. At the time, I had a lot of people who were actively hurting me over the changes in my appearance and this toxicity only worsened as time passed.
That lack of support combined with my growing health issues over the next few years really wrecked my self-esteem. Then the pandemic happened and I lost so many people I loved, and ended friendships with people who hated that I survived covid somehow. It was a dark time. I bought a bunch of bags, I think to self-soothe. I only noticed in hindsight and wish I hadn't turned to retail therapy because it didn't heal anything. So, a lesson learned there.
Thankfully now I'm surrounded by better friends, many of whom are fellow tpf'ers. We may be virtual friends but your impact is very real! You've made me feel safe and 'enough', which is so precious to me. I often reflect on how fortunate I am to have such amazing role models here, so thank you to each and every one of you who has ever read my long rambling posts, or taken the time to offer a kind word and a bit of advice when I was lost and scared. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay this community for all that you have given me.
Mental health:
I need to focus on my mental health, which took a couple of hits along the way as mum and I are still navigating life with our respective health problems.
Thankfully, I'm doing much better after we identified my medication was the cause of so much of my confusion and depression, then switched it out for different meds.
I still have more work to do though, especially with the current state of the world which has me really panicked. So for this next month, I'm going to try to meditate daily. I've set this goal before but never managed to stick to it. I'm hoping that if I'm consistent, it will help ease my general anxiety.
I've also been continuing with my smaller habits to make my life simple and calm, like cooking with only 4 ingredients or less.
I also still have a daily tea/coffee ritual where I take 20 minutes to enjoy my hot drinks in silence, sitting somewhere where I can get fresh air and sun. It's been one of the best small changes I've ever made.
I'd like to come up with other small daily self-care habits that don't eat up a huge chunk of time. I tried my hand at art but it wasn't relaxing because all I could focus on was how bad I am at it!
I'd love to return to exercise but don't have clearance from my doctors to do so. I'm hoping that I'll be well enough in another month or two to start some proper cardio, at least. I really miss working out and feel it would help my mind and body so much if I could do just a little bit.
So, how's everyone else doing with regards to their closet goals and their personal ones? Will you be making any changes for the second half of the year?
After not finding a lot that interested me over the last handful of years at one of my favorite retailers, they seem to be on a roll and I’ve gone a little overboard this year. While I would have loved to rein it in a bit, I’m happy to have some newer pieces that I can mix with those I’ve been collecting over the past eight years. I am planning a day in July to go through my closet and do some serious evaluating on what should stay and what I could let go. I had planned to do this in June, but the herniated disc set me back on just about everything. Now that’s it’s healing, I’ve been more interested in getting things like this done. I’m trying to be careful so I don’t suffer a setback (trying desperately to avoid surgery!), but I’m glad to have gotten some things off my list, even if I still haven’t done the closet clean out yet.
I’m still working updating my jewelry collection. I have sold/donated nearly all of my cheaper costume jewelry; it was taking up space and I was wearing very little of it. The piece of fine jewelry I had on consignment finally sold, which made me happy as I thought I would be collecting it and trying a different route. I added a few pieces I’ve been wanting to my collection earlier this year. I still have some items on my wish list, but am happy to pick those up as I find them (several are bracelets and my wrist is tiny for many U.S. jewelry stores, so it can be hard to find stock).
We have a trip to Chicago coming up to celebrate DD’s high school graduation and 18th birthday, which we are really looking forward to (friends and family will join us). DH and I having been doing more things just us since DD has both a job and a boyfriend, so that’s helping us ease into this next stage.
I tried to buy a bag recently, but did not want to order, so gave up. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find it in store during our upcoming travels. If not, I’ll just figure it wasn’t meant to be. I’m trying to move beyond obsessing over a bag and stalking it until I get it to focusing on how I like to shop (in store, with purchases very considered) and letting that be my guide.
Glad you found jeans! Jeans shopping is such a challenge.
I love your capsule wardrobe plan. Sounds fun! It keeps you from being overwhelmed. Perfect!What a wonderful way of articulating it! Yes, that's precisely it.
The capsules help me express myself for whatever mood/phase I'm in, and when I do start a new capsule, it's usually a completely different vibe. It's defined play- colouring, but firmly within the lines.
You've undertaken a lot of big household projects! I'll gently nudge you to ask for help, as it seems this one could really use it. I get that you'd rather not, but I'd bet your neighbours or friends would be more than happy to lend a hand. Plus, it's a nice way to connect with them over projects like this. Brings everyone together a bit.
Thank you for minding the bees! You're so considerate!
I hope Dini is doing well!
I'm with you on this! I think a lot of what you have is similar enough to what's in the market, but also exponentially better in quality since it's older. I don't mind that fashion is cyclical, but I hate seeing the new stuff being made of lesser materials or cheaper construction.
It's wonderful that you're finding treasures you already own and bringing them out to play!
Oh no, it wasn't a problem. It was funny in the end, just a bit embarrassing as it was happening.
It happened the last couple of times I shaved my hair off, too. I never learn and keep repeating the mistake.
I have to balance the bald head out with scarves or some other feminine touches so it's a little more obvious. My natural style is very tomboy-ish with a lot of menswear pieces (better quality and fit imo), and I forget that I need to balance it out a little to be less androgynous.
Have a wonderful trip. Take it slow with the clean out. Your back is more important.
Congratulations on the quick sales!
I have been doom scrolling the usual handbag sites and think it isn't even a good time for buying. The prices are very high, many designer bags are in very bad condition.
The only place I sometimes find something nice - but certainly not designer- at a good price is Vinted. Actually I bought a bag with matching shoes tonight.... still a little bit more expensive than I would Wish for, but far too quirky to not to get.
You look great!We all need to feel safe and enough, and I’m glad that you are prioritizing mental health and self care. On the closet side, I’m excited about your capsule collections, and I feel that bog standard leather goods from years ago could be really well made compared to today’s craft
Brands that are lesser known today but great quality: Carlos falchi (a gift from a dear friend) and ghurka
View attachment 6194864View attachment 6194865
ETA: also Suarez, a family owned company in NY. A convertible clutch with a fabulous suede interior.
View attachment 6194866View attachment 6194867View attachment 6194869
View attachment 6194868
I absolutely adore the convertible clutch bag. Timeless!
Shopping the curb aka my extended wardrobe....
I picked up an old parasol from the curb on Friday. Unfortunately it wasn't fit to use anymore. ( I would really like a nice vintage psrasol for my balcony. ) The rodents had already had their fun. But there still was a lot of usable fabric.
I challenged myself to make a dress.
Before
After
Hopefully the fabric doesn't have any weak spots that went unnoticed. For now it's wearable and I added some extra room to the bodice area to avoid straining the fabric too much.
I picked up an old parasol from the curb on Friday. Unfortunately it wasn't fit to use anymore. ( I would really like a nice vintage psrasol for my balcony. ) The rodents had already had their fun. But there still was a lot of usable fabric.
I challenged myself to make a dress.
Before
After
Hopefully the fabric doesn't have any weak spots that went unnoticed. For now it's wearable and I added some extra room to the bodice area to avoid straining the fabric too much.
You are so talented! I am
Constantly in awe
Thank you re the bag compliment too!
Hugs
Thank you!You are so talented! I am
Constantly in awe
Thank you re the bag compliment too!
Hugs
I had been eyeing the parasol at the curb for days before I actually stopped to take it. Too good to go to waste! I'm not entirely sure whether I can pull off the color scheme, though. It's fairly loud. Anyway: completing the challenge alone was worth it!
Now back to my usual dark colours. I have a black 40ies dress with lots of holes to rescue ( I certainly did not need it, but they have become so rare in the second hand market I simply pick them up when one appears for sale at a good price - this time the price wasn't that good because of all the holes the seller did not mention) and a pair of grey mens' pants are still challenging me to get the fit right.... Both projects take a lot more patience than the fun parasol upcycling.
Your bag is a beautiful timeless wardrobe staple!
Thank you so much!
I love that you've had a little shopping spree and that the pieces easily slot in with what you already own. That's a beautiful way to update and breathe new life into the older stuff!
And congrats on updating your jewellery. That's always so much fun.
Happy to hear your physiotherapy is bringing results already.
I am in a similar place. I used to hyperfocus on a specific bag and hunt it down, but now I just let it happen if it happens. I need a bit of a beater bag at the moment- I'm thinking a black woc- but instead of hunting online, I'm just going to wait and see if I stumble on anything nice and within my budget in stores. If it doesn't happen this year, it'll happen next year. In the meantime, I'm forced to use my 'nicer' bags and that's actually a good thing!
Thank you! The size of the capsule has changed a lot over the years, but my life is pretty dull right now so a tiny capsule is all I need. It's just less to think about so I can turn my attention to more important stuff like caring for mum, but still feel like I'm living normally and using my stuff.
YOU ARE A MAGICIAN!!!
I get what you're saying about this being louder than your usual style (I don't feel comfortable in bold prints myself), but you look wonderful in it! Just gorgeous! I hope you get the chance to wear it out a couple of times. It may surprise you and feel just right when you're out in it!
___
Just wanted to take a moment to tag @Vintage Leather, @More bags and @Cookiefiend. I just noticed that you're not popping in as regularly, so wanted to send some
and 
I hope life is being kind to you all and you're busy with fun projects!
You've done great with your bag collection! I recall our discussions in the editing bag closet thread from some years ago and kudos to you for reaching your goal in editing your bag closet!Mid-year check in! Where has the time gone?
Edit:
Wow, that turned out to be a long post!
Sorry. I'll add in some spoilers so that my post doesn't take up the whole page. Don't worry about reading my rambling, I won't mind if people just skip it. I'm mostly just keeping myself accountable.
The bag closet:
I had a lot of movement and have lost track of ins and outs for the year but, after making a big donation to a women's shelter a couple of days ago, the total number of bags in my collection is currently 13.
I'm so grateful my friend helped me arrange getting the donations across borders. It was more complex than usual but we got it done.
Looking at my bag collection as a whole, I went from having mostly handmade pieces when I joined tpf, to an equal mix of contemporary and handmade during the pandemic years. Now my collection is basically a mix of contemporary and premier brands (the latter ones generously gifted to me by my friend a few months ago), most of which are vintage (or pretty close).
The evolution of my bag closet is a pretty good reflection of how much my lifestyle has changed. Now that I'm not moving so often, my collection has become less handmade, quirky and unique, and more standard and functional.
I hope I'll be lucky enough to go back to my nomadic ways and collect unique bits from small artisans in other countries, but until then, I'm really focused on enjoying what I currently own. I'm very lucky to have what I do and I want to use and love each piece.
I've learned a lot about my bag preferences with all the changes, and above all, have confirmed that I do better with a smaller collection than a vast one. I'm too easily overwhelmed by stuff and it's good that I know this about myself so that I don't give in to impulsive shopping when I'm stressed, as I so often did when I was younger.
The remainder of the closet:
In other categories in my closet, I've managed to hit some of my goals.
I've reduced my silver jewellery a bit by including some pieces in my last lot of donations, but those pieces had been ones I'd enjoyed for a long time so I was ready to pass them on. In the end, the stuff I gave away was all Etsy handmade stuff (before it became a drop-shipping hub), and I hung on to the bits from my travels which are sentimental and still my style.
I've also started to wear some of my old 'office' shoes casually, which was one of the goals I'd made for myself at the start of the year.
With clothing, I'm styling the older bits I have in new ways and am finding it to be a lot of fun.
On a related note, today's project is going to force me to reflect further on clothing I own. The storage unit I was using is too large for the amount of stuff I have and a smaller one finally opened up, so I'm moving my stuff over.
I'm taking the opportunity to go through all the pieces and repack them properly, with fresh acid-free paper and silica packets inside.
Frankly, I don't have a crazy amount of clothing right now, but it's still enough that it may take me another 2-4 years to use it all. That's just because, like my bags, I get overwhelmed if I have too much hanging in my closet at once. So I am still creating capsules of around 15 pieces that I mix and match, then wear until they're completely worn out before retiring them and pulling out a new capsule from the storage unit.
It's a system that works for me but it is crazy that I'm wearing clothing I bought when I was 20 years younger. I really didn't have a grasp then of how long each piece would last with me and ended up with so much more than I needed.
Between the fact that pretty much everything I own was 80% off (those were the best warehouse sales, lol), and the fact that I haven't needed to buy anything more than a handful of essentials since those days, it has managed to save me a lot of money. But I can't lie and say that was the goal- I just had too much and found a way to work my way through it all instead of constantly adding more.
Good thing my taste and size hasn't changed in all those years!
Social life:
As I was taking note of how my bag closet changed, I noticed that my friendships have also changed over the past few years. When I first joined tpf, I had just completed 2 years of physiotherapy to learn to walk and chew again after my accident. I was adapting to my new face and trying to change careers to work around that. At the time, I had a lot of people who were actively hurting me over the changes in my appearance and this toxicity only worsened as time passed.
That lack of support combined with my growing health issues over the next few years really wrecked my self-esteem. Then the pandemic happened and I lost so many people I loved, and ended friendships with people who hated that I survived covid somehow. It was a dark time. I bought a bunch of bags, I think to self-soothe. I only noticed in hindsight and wish I hadn't turned to retail therapy because it didn't heal anything. So, a lesson learned there.
Thankfully now I'm surrounded by better friends, many of whom are fellow tpf'ers. We may be virtual friends but your impact is very real! You've made me feel safe and 'enough', which is so precious to me. I often reflect on how fortunate I am to have such amazing role models here, so thank you to each and every one of you who has ever read my long rambling posts, or taken the time to offer a kind word and a bit of advice when I was lost and scared. I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay this community for all that you have given me.
Mental health:
I need to focus on my mental health, which took a couple of hits along the way as mum and I are still navigating life with our respective health problems.
Thankfully, I'm doing much better after we identified my medication was the cause of so much of my confusion and depression, then switched it out for different meds.
I still have more work to do though, especially with the current state of the world which has me really panicked. So for this next month, I'm going to try to meditate daily. I've set this goal before but never managed to stick to it. I'm hoping that if I'm consistent, it will help ease my general anxiety.
I've also been continuing with my smaller habits to make my life simple and calm, like cooking with only 4 ingredients or less.
I also still have a daily tea/coffee ritual where I take 20 minutes to enjoy my hot drinks in silence, sitting somewhere where I can get fresh air and sun. It's been one of the best small changes I've ever made.
I'd like to come up with other small daily self-care habits that don't eat up a huge chunk of time. I tried my hand at art but it wasn't relaxing because all I could focus on was how bad I am at it!
I'd love to return to exercise but don't have clearance from my doctors to do so. I'm hoping that I'll be well enough in another month or two to start some proper cardio, at least. I really miss working out and feel it would help my mind and body so much if I could do just a little bit.
So, how's everyone else doing with regards to their closet goals and their personal ones? Will you be making any changes for the second half of the year?
Mine is still a work in progress. My collection actually increased because I added back all the bags (many of them contemporary designers) that I had originally set aside in my closet/section for departing bags. Well, many departed via donations but some didn't and they are back in my regular closet, to be used and/or given away if the occasion arises.
I love your capsule wardrobe rotations! As I mentioned in an earlier post, my clothing wardrobe has seen a big increase this summer with the addition of pieces in two separate areas that needed some beefing: dresses and jeans. I had made barely any additions since covid and needed to update and refresh my jeans choices as well as adding some dresses.
As for self-care habits, they are very important. When I neglect this for whatever reason, I find I get very snappy and irritable. Meditation practice is still not as consistent as I would like it to be. Journaling is another: it's on my list of things to start but keeps getting pushed back in the busyness of daily life. Have you tried journaling? Exercise is another area where I've flagged a little, mostly because I'm bored of walking in my neighborhood, but at least I'm more consistent with it than I am with meditation.
For the second half of the year, I would like to avoid shopping for clothes (although fall fashion is always a tempting time). As for handbags, temptations abound but I intend to resist them as much as possible.
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It looks fantastic on you! You did a great job with the dress and can absolutely pull off the color scheme.
If you're hesitant about the print, you could perhaps pop a dark blazer over it.
Ah, the joys of being a homeowner! Sigh! It seems like there's always something that needs fixing or redoing. Hope you can get the help to get these things taken care of.