Shit I Bought and Liked: 2024 Shopping Resolutions

We're making some changes this year!

Hello my sweet Shitters! (For all the new faces here—there are a lot of you! hi!—that’s a term of endearment, I promise.) 

We’ve passed the halfway mark on January—how are those resolutions going?? I caved and ordered Wolfnights on my way home from a birthday party last night (I thought of it as an investment in a more pleasant Sunday morning?), but otherwise I’m doing pretty well in my attempt to cut back on food delivery.

Narrator: Define “pleasant” Sunday morning? (More on these stats and the tracker that took them to come!)

But nixing most takeout is nothing compared to the ultimate January challenge—my annual shopping embargo. There’s still a week and a half left to go, but I have to say—I started feeling the effects quickly! I’m clearheaded, I’m resisting temptation—it feels like I’m emerging from a cleanse! (This is the part where I should probably admit that I did purchase this pair of Nili Lotan shorts while Shopbop ran an extra 25% off of sale, but it was only because I’d been wanting a longer pair for a while and they ended up being over 60% off—skipping simply would’ve been impractical! I took the smaller of my two sizes for anyone else in the market.)

While (mostly) taking a pause from adding new things to my wardrobe, I’ve been shopping my own closet (less food delivery means more to spend on dining out—a treat in itself, but one that provides ample opportunities for getting dressed up!). And in spending more time with the things I already have, I’ve come up with a shopping SWOT analysis of sorts (shoutout to my parents who are watching the cost per use on my Corporate Strategy minor go down in real time—I’m sure they’re thrilled).

Let’s start with my strengths:

1. I did a lot of my shopping secondhand. I love hunting down past-season pieces, giving vintage items a new life (I like to think of them getting reacquainted with the world every time I take them out), and perhaps most importantly, GETTING A GOOD DEAL! MSRP in this economy?! No thank you!!! It takes effort and (sometimes) a bit of an idea of what you’re looking for, but I had some really incredible finds last year, and it felt good to get things I was excited about at better prices while preventing unnecessary waste. 

2. My head doesn’t turn for every trend. I’m not perfect, but I’m getting a lot better at appreciating trends or things that look great on other people, but aren’t quite a fit for me or my style. And when I do buy into one these days, it’s because it’s something I love and think I’ll still love beyond the trend’s (increasingly short) life cycle. 

3. I’ve cultivated a wardrobe that’s really starting to work for me. Over the past few years, I’ve started to pay more attention to what works best for me/my body type, the gaps in my closet I’d actually use if they were filled, and what I’ll still like/ want to wear past the next year or two (if you’re in your mid-20’s, think of that consideration like an eye cream—you’ll never wish you started later). After spending a few years being more intentional about these things, it feels like the effort is paying off! Lately I’ve been walking into my closet feeling like I have pieces I love and can put together in ways that make me feel really good. 

That was a lot of pats on the back (and progress from last year!), but there’s still plenty I’m working on, aka my shopping resolutions: 

1. Rein it in! 2023 wasn’t all easy, breezy, beautiful over here, and who among us hasn’t turned to retail therapy for a little pick me up?? But towards the end of the year, especially with sale season, I ended up spending more than I realized (deviating from your Black Friday game plan is a SLIPPERY SLOPE, my friends). It wasn’t enough to have real consequences (other than staring at my Chase bill and wondering if I lost my mind???), but it was enough to make me want to do a better job of monitoring my spending this year. Yes, I’ll still shop. And as I get older, my taste conveniently gets more expensive, so will I, by definition, “rein it in”? Probably no TBD!! But my goal here is to still enjoy while keeping closer tabs on my spending. I’m going back to the basics with a good old fashioned spreadsheet (at least for the next few months to get myself into a good rhythm), and while it’s not the most fun, I will admit that being more hands on about this does feel good.

2. Don’t treat it like a sprint. This one is similar, but if my January shopping pause has taught me anything, it’s that when you feel yourself getting caught up in a frenzy of acquisition (buying a lot of shit at once), putting yourself on a mini spending embargo can be REALLY helpful. When I look back at pieces I’ve purchased in periods when I was doing a lot of shopping, so many sit unused or unappreciated, simply because I wasn’t being as selective about what met the threshold to keep. Wardrobes are built over time. Going too fast doesn’t mean you’ll get there faster—it just means more mistakes and regrets.

3. Show no mercy to the maybes. Intense? Perhaps. But the tyranny of maybes has persisted for too long!! I think I feel so strongly because all of my ghosts of maybes past are currently listed on resale sites or were dropped off at Housing Works at the start of the year. I understand why we fall into the trap of maybes—for me, it’s some combination of aspiration (thinking something would be perfect for an idea of me, or someone whose taste I like, rather than my actual self), scarcity mindset (if I don’t get this black bag, I won’t have a black bag, and how could I ever go on…), and, as is the case for a lot of us, loving a good deal. But no more! Growing up means trusting that the best things come to those who hold out for the right things!

4. Play with sizes. Here’s a new one for this year! I typically hover between two, maybe three sizes of jeans depending on the brand, but by my count, I have pants in five different sizes in my closet. As I’ve discovered over the past year especially, I like having different fits for different pieces, and not all of those pieces were originally designed to fit the way I want them to (for example, this black cashmere t-shirt from the Theory Outlet fits true to size, but I knew I wanted something slouchy and oversized, so I took a few sizes up). Being willing ditch your attachment to whatever your “normal sizes” are can be better for your closet, and at least for me, has underscored just how little the letters or numbers on size tags really matter.

5. Cut down the returns. I made a LOT of returns in 2023, and that was in part because I was being more particular about what I kept (a good thing!), but this year I want to bring more of that discernment back into the purchase process. Instead of buying myself time to try things on and decide at home, I’m challenging myself to think harder about how badly I really need or want something before I check out. It reduces unnecessary shipping, is better for tracking spending, and might help the people who really do want those things but can’t get them because you bought them to try on/return and instead of getting re-listed, they wound up in some facility in Kentucky (this was an interesting episode of Today, Explained about the fate of our online returns).  

Whew! Lots to work on! But my work is cut out for me, and I’m excited to keep at it (and to keep shopping) with all of you this year!

Later this season on Shit I Bought and Liked… (aka the things I’ll be looking out for this year): More vintage! A long, ecru-ish trench. Sneakers for casual wear that don’t make me feel like a dweeb or a try-hard? An everyday scent that’s not just my new deodorant. Leather pants. A first watch fit for an aspiring watch girl?? Grown up wine glasses (I made all the producers on What A Day vote on stems or stemless—TG they said stems).

Other things I’ve been enjoying lately: Making whiskey sours at home (egg whites not optional!) in my favorite sleek little glasses. I got this Rabanne ball bag (currently ~60% off!) pre-shopping embargo and it’s been such a hit with my friends—it even got a few appreciative comments from the husbands! Been hiding out from the cold with this grippy towel at hot yoga. I’ve made these Thai turkey meatballs three times this month already and they are so insanely good (you can skip the crackers in that recipe). I’m addicted to these sour lips (h/t the very stylish Gabri Gofis). I don’t know why it took me three years to upgrade my WFH set up but adding a wireless keyboard and mouse to my laptop stand situation has been HUGE (this was a business expense, so it was allowed). 

That’s all for today, but if I get my act together in time, there may be a little something for Valentine’s Day coming your way soon!

xoxo,

Priyanka

Honestly, there were like two affiliate links in this whole letter. Does that really necessitate a disclosure? I feel like I’ve covered my bases sufficiently, so if you’re from the FTC let’s just keep it moving.