one month shopping ban report

Hi guys!

After days of reading philosophy texts and writing essays for uni I'm back to my little ol' blog! Another semester has come to an end, oh how time flies...
Apropos time flies, I've been on a shopping ban for more than one month now, can you believe it? At first it was strange because I usually spend lots of time browsing Ebay or swapping websites for bargains, true to the motto "A girl can't own enough clothes!". BUT hey I'm also a philosophy student and think about things a lot, so when I noticed that I had so many unworn pieces in my closet, some even still with a price tag, I decided that it was enough. Clothes have been my favourite items to spend money on for such a long time, but actually there are so many other things that are worth saving for! In my case it's travelling, furniture, photo equipment etc. but in general I also couldn't help thinking about our throwaway society, mass consumption, ecology...
I do not consider myself as a do-gooder, but every little change counts, right?!



♥ cardi + shirt: h&m ♥ belt: primark ♥ jeans: esprit ♥ boots: ebay ♥ necklace: pimkie ♥



Let me explain my shopping ban rules to you: not spending money on clothing, accessories and cosmetics (apart from my daily make-up articles) has the highest priority! I can say without regrets that I have managed to stick to this rule since Decemer the 28th, I've fought back my desire to shop very well (with one exception that I will explain further below). However I allowed myself to swap - now some people may call me a cheater, but I really didn't spend a cent on anything when I swapped, so my rule is not broken. Plus swapping is ecologically correct and it even helps me to get rid of what I don't want/need anymore and to make room for new things. If you find the right swapping partner it's a win-win situation, so in my opinion there's nothing wrong with swapping while being on a shopping ban.
The striped shirt in the outfit is a swapped piece for example :)





To not come across like the ultimate moralizer, I have to admit that I have broken my shopping ban once! I went to a Veto concert last week and as their merchandise is hard to get, I took the chance to buy a tote bag for 5€. I had to! You never know when they will be on tour again.
Anyway, apart from that I haven't spend money on anything clothes- or accessory-wise.
I rather concentrated on my photography equipment, browsed the web for a camera bag, didn't find one, but purchased a lovely new cam strap for ridiculous 15€.





My plan is to stay on a shopping ban until the beginning of March, then in March I'll maybe allow myself one or two new pieces and then I'll probably go on a shopping ban again afterwards to save up for more expensive things like a tripod or so.
I'm starting to not miss shopping and I appreciate that I can spend my time on more important things like university, reading, curling up on the sofa with Patrick. And it's good for my creativity to remix outfits, I need this kind of challenge from time to time.

I think it's very important to consider our consumption habits nowadays (also concerning grocery shopping). Do you know these "I show you my ridiculously huge make-up collection" videos on Youtube? God, they make me sick...
What is your opinion about shopping? Are you a mass shopper, a shopping ascetic or something in between? Do you think of changing your habits or go like "shop til you drop"?

It feels good to be back to blogging, I can't wait to read your comments and to browse your blogs guys! :)
Happy Thursday!







now playing: lcd soundsystem - daft punk is playing at my house