Style Stories: Celebrating 8

Last week we celebrated eight years of marriage. The first thought as another year passes is always ‘woah where did the time go?!’. And yep that did come to mind. But on deeper reflection that time has gone just as it was meant to, creating new memories and stories. Through highs and lows time always remains the constant things keeping you in check, giving you space to grow and evolve… or not. Whatever your choice may be.

We celebrated with a beautiful day together at the spa (I could not recommend Nirvana spa enough) with an overnight stay after to recoup. The day after, as the weather was taking a turn, we decided to head to Westfield. It is a pretty nostalgic place for us filled with many stories. When we were dating we would often meet there as I had such a huge love for shopping! We would shop until we dropped (or more so I would shop and my husband would patiently entertain my nonsense) and then head to one of the many places to eat. We definitely share a love of food so this was always the perfect way to end the day.

When we were walking around I realised that in those eight years so much had changed when it came to both of our shopping habits. This has stemmed from so much including my training and work as a Personal Stylist, our individual and joint values and also our economic position. It was really interesting to see our approach to the shops, how the centre itself had changed and grown so much, and how shops that we used to absolutely love were no longer of any interest. It just goes to show how much you can evolve over time and change your habits. 

For this month’s Style Story I wanted to share some of the ways in which my shopping habits have changed, why I think its happened and what other changes I might make in the future.

Quality Over Quantity 

In my twenties I just loved to shop and always felt like I needed to have something new. My wardrobe was over flowing with cheap clothes that I would wear a handful of times. It wasn’t a sustainable approach and was based on what other people were doing and trends, not what actually bought me joy.

Over time, although our financial position hasn’t changed dramatically, we have become much more mindful in our approach to what we buy, choosing quality over quantity. Whether it is clothing or food, we’ve become so much more aware of where we spend our money, if we really need something and how long an item will really last us or what longer term impacts it will have.

So instead of buying five low quality, cheap items, I would much rather buy one more expensive piece made from a good quality fabric, that works for my body shape and reflects my personal sense of style.

Colour Over Neutrals

From black to all the brights. You know me by now. My husband and I joked about how we barely have any black in our wardrobe anymore. Since learning about the power of colour we’ve both changed our approach to what colours we wear. He was always a lot better at wearing colour than I was. But since we’ve been on this colour journey we inspire each other with our choices.

Every item we looked at in the stores had some interest to it. Whether it was good quality fabric, an interesting pattern or a bold and vibrant colour. It’s Another reason why Spring Summer is always my favourite time to shop. 

If you struggle with colour, try shopping with a friend to see if they can keep you motivated and inspired to try things you wouldn’t normally.

Intention Over Desire

Because we shopped on a Monday afternoon it was super quite. And we were both really mindful of what we were actually looking for, rather than just ‘window shopping’ for things we didn’t need. My husband had a few pieces for his hobby that he was looking for. And I was after one statement outfit for multiple work events that I have coming up in the coming months. We weren’t just shopping with a desire to consume more, or have the latest trend, but to fill gaps we had spotted. 

This makes the process so much more streamlined, you are less distracted and have a clear cut goal in mind. And if you don’t find the item its okay because the right thing will eventually find its way to you.