My Monthly Purchases: August 2014

August is notorious for being one of my higher spending months. I blame it on the enormous September magazine issues - not even that I necessarily buy "fall" clothing, but the media focus on fashion in general makes me crave new things.

Instead of a monthly budget, I do a seasonal budget, which is $500 per quarter. Money I don't spend in one season, I roll forward to the next. I try as much as possible to wait for things to go on sale, as my closet really has no "holes" and my buys are almost always wants versus needs.

My first two purchases were entirely due to waking up one morning and being worried that I didn't have enough dresses I wanted to wear to get me through the wedding months (bridal showers, girls days/nights out, Vegas nights, and of course the Britney concert). Gotta love Forever 21 for fixing my panic and only spending $38! Pictures to be revealed as blog posts at a later date!

Dress: Forever 21
Regular price: 16.80
Dress Forever 21
Regular price: 21.80

Kimono: H&M (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $30 to 10.50
Python print is my fave! Couldn't put this back on the rack for $10. This will be featured later this week in a blog post.

Necklace: H&M (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $12.95 to $3.50
A pretty gold chain with gold "pipes" hanging from it. I kind of forgot I bought this until I prepared this post. Mind you, most of my jewellery is living in a travel case right now while we are between houses. I'll wear it soon and post a pic.

Tees: Gap
Discounted from $34 for both to $16 for both
I hate it when white tees start looking dingy. At $8 each I bought one in v-neck and one in scoop.

Crossbody bag/clutch: Danier (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $99 to $19
When I got the email alert for this flash sale, I stopped at Danier on the way home from work. What a super-cute bag for a steal. There isn't much room in it for anything beyond the basics, but that's okay. For a night out, less is more. I chose this colour as I already have this size in white, purple, and black. I'll feature it this week in a blog post.

Tee: Short Presents
Regular price: $20
My friend Kayla (fellow blogger at Short Presents) has been selling these sweet tees for a few months now. I can't get enough of black and white and I can't wait to style this with either of my black and white printed skirts. Thanks, love. xo

Tee: Old Navy (kids section) (no longer available on-line)
Discounted from $17 to $5
Gold foiled palm trees? Yes please.

Shirt: Old Navy
Discounted from $23 to $11
More black and white. Someone stop me...

Shorts: Banana Republic
Discounted from $50 to $11
These were an extra 40% off the sale price and then I got an extra 20% because one of the two fasteners is missing (cannot even tell). I ruined my other white shorts with sunless tanner (boo) so these can replace them. I love anything safari...

Skirt: Banana Republic
Discounted from $70 to $15
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. I love this colour. I will wear this a lot. So glad I went to the Factory Store for the 40% off sale. The regular store has stunning stuff for this season as well. Marissa Webb is the new creative director, and she really killed it with the fall line. I want everything!

Skirt: Smart Set
Discounted from $39.00 to $12
So cute. Pleats and polka dots. Twelve bucks. Good length for work.

Pants: Joe Fresh
Regular price $34 (used a $10 GC so I paid $24 with no tax added)
I can't decide yet if I will keep these or not. I do love them (army green again...), but they are very close to the faux-leather pants I got at H&M last year. They are crazy-comfy though and flattering enough that I can wear them with a shorter shirt (the H&M ones... not so much... saggy bum). I love the black piping too! Did I just type myself into keeping them?

Value of items: $468
Price I paid: $186 
I saved 60%

This leaves me with $241 left to spend this quarter, which ends Sept 30.

I'm going to try hard to spend as little as possible in September. My Vegas shopping list has very few items on it, but they may be pricey. I plan on looking for a new black handbag, a gold watch, and black closed-toe heels. If I find heels here, I may buy them. I know I have a lot more choice in Vegas, but my feet are so narrow and hard to fit that I like the option of returning the shoes if I wear them around the house and they end up not working for me.

I'm linked with Franish today - check out how the other bloggers did with their August budgets!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl