Material Girl | I've just done 12 months without buying new clothes

It actually came around pretty fast.

Admittedly, the global pandemic shrunk our world for a couple of years, meaning we could easily get away with a small wardrobe for months on end. Thank you Zoom chats and phone interviews!!

Here's how my 12-month shopping hiatus all started.

Last May I needed a formal gown to wear to a charity fundraiser.

I didn't have one hanging in my cupboard and if I had to have one, I wanted to buy it from an Australian designer.

I got a Bianca Spender floor-length, blue sheath in Melbourne.

But, in doing that, I blew my shopping budget for the whole weekend and, in all honesty, for the rest of the year.

I thought I'd get through until Christmas and then rethink it.

It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought.

Aside from smalls and shoes (and only when they fell to pieces or the dog nibbled them at the seams or heels), I didn't buy a new piece of clothing for 12 months.

When you know you're not buying clothes, you don't look for them or even read emails offering them. #delete #unsubscribe

It also freed up time.

MORE MATERIAL GIRL:

I decluttered my wardrobe (who didn't over the pandemic, twice, hey?!) and made better use of what I already had.

I'm not rich enough to buy cheap or on-trend clothing, meaning the things I own last for several seasons, if not decades, and don't usually date (my offspring definitely see it differently!).

Pre-pandemic I loaned a Country Road burgundy dress to my Melbourne-based sister.

When I got it back 18 months later (due to lockdowns and border closures), it felt like a whole new dress.

I've worn it once a week for a year now.

I highly recommend clothing swaps!

I also picked up two pairs of jeans ($5 each) at Vinnies last winter and a Pennyblack blouse ($6) from Lifeline this month.

My favourite Australian-made, black leather jacket was an Op Shop find by my mum a few years ago and I picked up a hand-me-down woollen jacket from my niece recently.

I got a halter neck dress from Chic to Chic Boutique, an Albury supplier of vintage, samples and seconds, for the racing/debutante ball season. I've had plenty of wear from it already.

Otherwise, hiring formal outfits makes good sense.

Millennials and Gen Z are faster on the uptake here!

Hello Gen X, we can do better!!

When you have a pared-back or capsule wardrobe, it makes light work of getting ready for your day job.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg wears pretty much the same outfit (usually grey T-shirts with blue pants) every day.

Former US president Barack Obama only wore grey or blue suits.

"I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make."

Decision-fatigue is a real thing!

Capsule wardrobes are catching on among us ordinary folk too.

They save money, time and the planet!!

I will have to replace my work pants soon and my daughter is begging me to buy a new ribbed jumper. She's sick to death of seeing me in olive every other day.

See, it's not always easy being green!!

And finally, I have a blue formal gown if anyone needs to borrow it.

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