Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $550. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2200 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.
Well, I did some budget damage in Toronto. That was expected. I had zero luck at Topshop and Nordstrom Rack, didn’t even try anything on. I visited Toronto Premium Outlets for the first time. Compared to USA outlets, the deals aren’t quite as good, but it’s Canadian dollars at least. They’re smaller than a lot of outlets I’ve been to, which made it more manageable. We were there for about 3 hours and saw most of what we wanted to. I spent a lot of time at Vaughan Mills and a little bit of time at Yorkdale.
I’ll start with the two things I bought in Halifax before the trip.
Tank: American Eagle Outfitters
Reg $30, on sale for $12
The soft material of these AEO tanks is so great. A few hours after wearing this for the first time, I spilled orange chicken down the front of it. Thanks to a Shout wipe and some scrubbing, it's fixed! It's in the wash, but I found this photo... hard to see clearly but it's green with blue flower embroidery.
Shoes: Zara
Reg $50, on sale for $20
I thought these slip-ons would be good for work. I'm always looking for work shoes that are easy on and off for when I go see clients at home.
Everything below was bought in Toronto.
Sweater: Lucky Brand
Reg $70, on sale for $42
My current green sweater isn't doing it for me. This one has interesting sleeves and is really cuddly soft.
Earrings: Lucky Brand
Reg $29, on sale for $17
I love that these are silver and gold. They're small and pretty, but still noticeable.
Tee: Lucky Brand
Reg $60, on sale for $16
Lucky has some really nice tops. They remind me a bit of Madewell. Hopefully they're better quality though... I've had bad luck with Madewell things.
Dress: Michael Kors
Reg $225, on sale for $50
I bought this with a specific upcoming event in mind, and I'm glad I did because I think this will be a great addition to my closet. It's the kind of dress that could be worn almost anywhere.
Bag: Coach Factory
Reg $295, on sale for $118
My old red Nine West handbag is worn out (not real leather). I've been wanting a new red bag for a bit now. This one is a cross body (with no handles). The strap on it is thick, which is a must. Any of you who've tried to use a cross body with a thin strap knows the pain and the dent it makes in your shoulder! I'm using it already, and I'm a bit sad that it has no outside pockets whatsoever, and my day to day stuff just fits inside with no room to play. BUT for $118, I'll take it, even with it's flaws. I LOVE the color.
Sneakers: Vans
Reg $80, on sale for $30
I love Vans. Although they aren't overtaking my shoe closet like Converse are, they easily could if I let them. I find Vans are a bit less casual than Converse.
Tee: Uniqlo
Reg $15
I love having a ton of basic plain tees to layer with. An easy outfit formula for me is pants/skirt, tee, and cardigan. I bet after wearing this I'm going to wish I had picked up more colors.
Sweater: Uniqlo
Reg $30, on sale for $20
I used to have a red sweater sort of like this that I wore a lot. I wish Uniqlo had a physical store here in Halifax. They did recently start shipping to Canada but I think you have to pay for returns. It's a fun place to shop on vacation though...
Jacket: Uniqlo
Reg $80, on sale for $20
This was the only one in the store and it was in my size. Loved the color and fit - meant to be.
Tee: lululemon (Love tee)
Reg $48, on sale for $29
I sometimes don't include athletic wear in my budget as it's more necessity than style... but I'll definitely be wearing this for style and not to work out in. I've never owned a love tee before. These might replace my beloved American Apparel tees as my favourite. The website has it for $39, but mine had a tag for $29 on it. The lululemon in Vaughan Mills isn't an outlet but they have a really big sale section in the back, with all the stuff in it that would be on the We Made Too Much section of the website.
Tee: Calvin Klein
Reg $40, on sale for $25
I was obsessed with the color of this tee, which perfectly matched the polish on my toes. It's also really soft and I'm completely into the mid-90"s thing that is happening right now with branded tees (loving the Levi's tees too).
Original value of items: $1052
Price I paid $414
I saved 61%
I have very little left to spend this quarter ($47) . Gulp. I also badly need a new pair of brown or taupe ankle boots as I retired two pairs after last season. I may need to borrow some budget from next quarter. I don’t mind doing that as next quarter includues Christmas, and some of my spending is Christmas gifts. Yes, R and I shop for ourselves. It works wonderfully.
XOXO
Glitterary Girl
