With our Christmas, all the presents reflect to my low buy year, I have created a wish list, which was allowed to my family to do not buy any crap, of course me or we have still received some suprise. Of course I am always happy with some honey, good wines or chocolate (mostly sugar free as I have IR).
I am going to list them below- they were all on my wishlist- High Quality Items, however Farrow Bag have not arrived yet (since 8th December)…
Sezane: Farrow Bag in ChocolateCharlotte Tilbury: Eyes to Mesmerise- Rose GoldMassimo Dutti: Wool trousers Intimissimi: Modal-Cashmere BodyCarolina Herrera:Good Girl Parfume
We have also received a sett of bed clothes from IKEA and an iPad together with my husband. Of course some traditional Hungarian Christmas chocolates, some souvenirs from UK and Amsterdam, honey and a bottle of wine.
Probably the most creative was my brother, who have written his own cookbook with all of his favourite recipies (I also wanted to gift him one, where he can collect them from Zara Home, but it was sold out).
You, might think omg, these are just items, but I have to be honest we do not buy as soon as we want them, so I am quite happy with these items- were on my wishlist for a while- , futhermore I have to update my wishlist here too.
Girl, you can give experiences too, well yes, but I think it is more persolized and so much more depends on the current pandemic- we still have 2 vouchers which we have received before and never used… probably will never use, just was a waist of money.
Today, I world like to talk about my style journey, where did I started and where am I at the moment?
Back in my childhood my parents bought my clothes and shoes- usually before school year, for Christmas, namedays or birthdays we have received some clothes as well. With my siblings we have had a lot of local made items from the market or from small boutiques (there were such a great quality), then some from Chinese stores and later on from Shopping Mall brands. I did remember when the mall opened in my hometown it was full with local businesses back in 2002, but by 2010 most of the stores where Fast fashion brands there.
Being in high school I did not really spent my time at the mall, it was bare that I did shopping without my parents. So I was not such a huge shopper addict back then or I just had so many other things to do: studying, training and volunteering.
As I went to college and moved to Budapest with my friends we loved English secondhand shops and the sales at shopping mall. Thanksfully we did not had so much money to afford so many things from H&M or Zara and I was too proud to ask some extra money from my parents… Even in this case we consumed a lot of fast fashion :english secondhand stores was full of Primark clothes with tag, it was rare to find something real bargain and of course the sales at Mango, Zara and H&M. Honestly I am not assamed of myself, because we were just uneducated in this fashion trap.
Then I went for my Erasmus semester in Portugal, for that of course me with my friends bought quite a few new pieces at Zara- lots of these items are so memorable to me due to Portugal and still have them- before to go, but I had to pack my life into a 35 kg suitcase, so I was not aware of but that was my first capsule wardobe ever. During this 5 months in Portugal we went to Primark a few times, that was the point when I realized all of the English Secondhand shops are so over priced in Hungary, as most of the items were even pricier than new at Primark. As I had to be careful not to overweight my luggage I bought maybe 10-12 items.
Returning back to Hungary, I decided not to go to these girl sessions of secondhand stores and fast fashion sales, slowly these bit toxic relationships ended. After college I have strated to work at a hotel as a receptionist, which took me back from wanting to go to crowded places after work such as shopping malls and honestly I had a uniform so my clothes lasted longer, even if they were fast fashion.
Then I started to shop with my boyfriend (then husband) who were always had the same local stores such as Heavy Tools for his Polo T-shirts and shirts, Tisza for shoes, Levi’s for jeans and Mountex/Dockyard stores for anything else (they do sell Patagonia, The North Face etc.). He barely shops any fast fashion stores – might be if only needed something to use for bare occassions- I remember he was shocked how cheap is Zara and H&M and how fastly wore out everything from fast fashion stores. His mother used to work Mustang when he was young, so might be he was not aware but he often told me by touching a garment how cheap it is. I do remember how he was convincing me buying my first ever pair of Levi’s (which I accually still have).
As I was not educated in this field, I was still shopping fast fashion. As I did not wanted to spent all of my salary on clothes I must not be a such addict, for example I did not had any unused tag on clothes, but I still had quite a few wore onces.
So 2 years ago I have decided to educate myself and creating a wardrobe that reflectmy lifestyle, which contains 100% I love and carefully curated- it is like a strategy. So 2021 was my second year of low buy. I learn a lot along this journey: sometimes it is hard but I have never thought about thinking about my style can be that liberating.
Come and enjoy how I do build my wardrobe in the next year as well.
This is the third post in the series: after lingerie and very basics, please welcome accessories. They are small but impressive part of every wardobe: they can change your whole appearance instantly.
My aim is not to share a lot of luxury items, I rather stay realistic to be able to follow and some of the items still exist in my closet, others are on my wishlist.
Please note what is affordable to me, might not to everyone, I want to educate and do not want to judge you.
Tote bag: can be a leather or faux leather, but if you take my advice try this Longchamp Le Pliage bag- I have it for a few years and it was worst every penny: huge but you can store it floded, even can use it as an extra bag.
Mid-Sized Black Bag: I do suggest to have a work bag- I am budgeting for this Polene one as it is seamlike the perfect for me: mid-size, leather and crossbody…
Bucket bag: I used to own a green one, every I loved its size, I cannot made a great use out of it as the color was not the best to use in my everyday life, so after the Polene one, this is the next.
Black evening bag: I have one from a local designer, but that is the one if you have the budget you can go for more high-end like a classic Chanel flap.
Light summer bag: when you wear lighter colors it is a great otpion to go for a lighter mid or small size bag- mine is also from an other local designer.
Backpack: more sport days it is ideal to have a one, even you can charge it with your loved ones. Kankens are so great , 16 l size backpacks for leisure or city walks too.
Belts: it is a great idea to have a two colored classics belt, like this Kazar one, but my eyes on this Isabel Marant waist belt for a while to wear it with dresses, coats ect.
Leather gloves: also a must have during winter- classy, elegant and keep you warm- try to find a great local option. Best if the color is match with your winter coat or you can not go wrong with a classic black.
Scarf: Twilly is great as a hair, bag accessorie or using it traditionaly arround your neck, a nice silk one elevates your style. Silk scarf for the transitional seasons with demin or lether jacket or with a trench coat, while a thicker wool or cashmere is so great for the winter.
Hats: I thikif you have these 4 you have everything for the whole year.
Sunglasses: find just one perfect for you- I do not think I have to expalin why.
I know I have stated that I do a low buy year, but as my life changed so much so far…
So I have started to build my perfect wardrobe, I have realized that I hate most of my clothes and I have to change my closet and look at as it is a hole, so I have started to declutter and make my scratches to know what I am looking for. So I might sent a bit more on items recently but I know it is going to be a long journey. I have find some secondhand gems since I have posted my low buy update and of course August was my birthday month too.
Golden hoops: these were on my wishlist for a while and my husband bought this fine gold pairs of hoops.
Everlane 90s cheeky jeans: I have purchased it secondhand in the size of 26 and regular length as being tall, blue vintage wash is fits me a way much better than my previous Promod mom jeans
Missoma Horn necklace was on my wishlist since Lucy Williams designed it but it was a way too expensive so I finally get it secondhand and it looks so amazing.
White wool Max Mara dress: I bought it to work, but it came with quite a few yellow stains on it, I hope my dry cleaner will be able to fix it… so it was not a great deal yet-it was secondhand too before mentioning.
Dior 999: from my birthday money, also my repurchase is IT Cosmetics CC cream- these were just essentials to me.
so far according to my own guidance I have updated my lingeries (in a help with gift cards)
I have purchased a few things from Intimissimi:
Lace beauties
Body and long sleeves basic
some from Organic Basics- as it is a new brand to me here is my little review:
Items are expensive, but great quality, super soft and comfy + it’s sustainable. Free shipping over 85 EUR took 11 days in EU and handled by the post, which means I had to go to the post office no so close to my home and it’s costs me time and money, so next time I might rather choose DHL.
For a while I am trying to upgrade my wardrobe in a more concious way, I am working on to select the best pieces to have and to build a funtional closet for myself. Recently I have started to track it by registation all the items into an excel file and also by creating it in this virtual place too.
I had to realize, that like most of you I do have a lot of fast fashion items which made of polyester and other not so great materials. Earlier this year, I have take quite a few to the selective textile bin and sold some never or rarely used of them:
So since April I have sold 9 items, their original value together was arround 200 EUR, now I can made out of these ca. 90 EUR, which is pretty good, but I have to admit that the Rouje bag (which was a gift next to a purchase) and my husband’s Oneill short were the only ones, which worst more than 10 EUR on the resale market- all the other fast fashion items has no resale values.
Fast fashion is like fast food. After the sugar rush it just leave a bad taste in you mounth.
Livia Firth
If you want to read more about what is fast fashion I do suggest to read my favourite source: Good on you.
Will I buy fast fashion in the future?
YES, I want to be honest with this topic. I am not is a position to be able to buy every single thing from eco friendly brands, but I try to make better choices, like Vivienne Westwood said:
By the way here you can find my Vestiaire, where I have put many items used only once or twice, even my favourites which I am not wearing so much. Recently I have so many changes in my life, which is indicated to change my wrdrobe too.
This is my first low buy update of the year, yeah I have promised to only writtig a haul once as last year I have learnt a lot how to manage my things effectively. This first half year was really hard for me, might be later on I am going to talk about my health issues, but I am not so ready to tell our full story since March so stay turned and comment if you do wanna hear.
I have started my year to focus on my health: I did 12-weeks Robert Heatherson’s workout program and also her monthly calendar, now I hve started her 6-weeks low impact, to get back a bit of shape after all this sh*t I went through. Generally, I do eat healthy for a while, I did started taking supplements too.
Makeup:
Finally I have finished up my travel sized Hourglass Ambient Bronzer and my Cover FX setting powder. I have decluttered my last MAC lipsticks, expired and old pallettes, mascara. I made two purchases form Cultbeauty, which you can see below. I have repurchased my beloved items: glow tonic, Better Than Sex Mascara and later on The Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray by Charlotte Tilbury (due to the size and it is not glass package I prefer the travel size). From the drugstore I have bought some Catrice products: brown and black eye pencil, waterproof eyeliner and Trend-it-up brown mascara.
As I have started my closet inventory I have really find out that I do have a lot of clothes, which I just simply do not like and want to upgrade them. I imagined, wrote and decluttered I am going to share soon. – Nr. 1.: Espadrillas from Lasocki, in light grey(EUR 38): it was a long time to find the perfect plat one, which is leather inside….
– Nr. 2: Slouchy white trousers from Mango (EUR 36): for a while I was looking for white jeans, but I have realized that I am the kind of girl, who always love white jeans on other, but when it is comes to try on I usually hate it on myself, so I have realized I hate skinny white trousers, so I need a bit looser fit… – Nr. 3: Leopard print midi skirt from Sissy Boy(S)- Vestiare: this is an other I am not sure of it, then I realize I rather go for something similar to the leopard print (once I had a balerina which was so cool): beige- navy skirt:
-Nr. 4: Black Wool trouser suit from Barbara Bui (EUR 36)- Vestiare: so ligh weight basic, I took it to the tailor so will show it later on too.
-Nr. 5: Gabinette dress from Rouje(EUR 36): I was hunting for their red Gabin or Gabinette dress for a while, then I purchased it for the site, as it is even more expensive secondhand, which is crazy. But I can understand the hype of it: I love love love, wanna wear it everyday: great cut, best viscose dress I have ever had.
-Nr. 6: Sezane Barry jumper in Bottle Green (EUR 36) from Facebook Market place. I really wanted it so I was so lucky to find it, similar to Gaspard softness.
Anything else:
Anuschka Rees The curated closet book and workbook- it is a useful book to figure out your style and to create a better wardrobe, which I am going to do soon.
I have not written for a while due to some personal issues, but it does not mean that I did not write anyting for you:
After a plenty of time and work of planning, designing, I am glad to say that my Budgeting pdf with a helpful excelsheet is out!
Have you ever thinking about where all you money goes? If yes, do not forget to read and share my short guide to personal budgeting. Let’s achive a more conscious life together. Free download available on my homepage. Yes, youdo not need to subscribe or anything just click here
I hope everyone is fine. Two months of 2021 has passed so quickly. Recently I have been reading and watching a lot about style. before I have started my low buy journey I was the kind of girl, who had tons of clothing from fast fashion companies and I have to admit shopping was also a kind of fun activity for me. I was guilty of constant purchasing, when it came to clothes or make-up and specially if I had a company.
So since 2019 I have decluttered my wardrobe at least 4 times and in 2020 I have forced myself to buy less by laying down my rules, which worked really well. I learned I need rules, to have a kind of guidance to select, like being Cuelty Free or trying to avoid fast fashion when ever I can.
I spent some time in my closet and I have started to enjoy the items which I have already own.
I expreienced the joy of using up something: even a small travel-sized items needs months to use up and it makes me so happy( cosmetics) or use at least 30 times, when it comes to clothing.
I have learned how to be thankful and greatful for everything which I have in my life.
By learning about style it made me to realize that those women who I admire becaue of their style they all have a carefully selected and currated wardrobe.
I have learned how to be patient, that we have to wait and budget for our wants. It is more important to gain experiences, not to be broke just to be able to buy some new clothes.
Budgeting my expenses was a huge help to understand where my money goes. I became more intential, maybe a bit frugal by knowing where my pennies are going exactly.
Buying something from my wishlist makes me so happy, excited and greatful.
Took a year to finish- ambient bronzer in travel size
Yesterday, after two months of no buy, I have tried if I am an intentional shopper or not: I went to some stores: second-hand and also some others, I had a clear vision according to my wishlist and ended up buying nothing. Nothing were matching my expectations and criterias so I left everything. It was a liberator.
This year challenge will be also strict, but I think easier, as I know my goal: to have a great wardrobe without breaking the bank.
So I have to prioritize certain items on my wishlist and budget for them! I only tend to add 10 new items to my wardrobe this year, which including clothes, shoes and accessories. I allow myself to buy the same amount: 10 beauties and one item per month AKA my sparkle joy item of the month, which can be a book, a notebook, a pen, an electricity or a new hair/skin care item. I wish to write only 2 hauls this year: in June and December.
I also want to create my wardrobe inventory, which is in process, so it will be available from March.
Updates on my promises: my budgeting sheets will be available from the 15th March, 2021.
As for the YouTube channel I will be honest I am not satisfied with the voice quality so I try to figure out something… as I wish to have this serie a bit more interactive.
2020 is a hard year for everyone, but thanksfully we all have Chrsitmas even in the middle of the pandemic. I think if you can be with your family than you are totally lucky. Here in Hungary maximum 10 people can get together, so me and my husband have decided to celebrate the Christmas Eve with my parents and with my brother and of course the cats. On Christmas day my sister and her boyfriend joined. We went seperately to see the grandparents for like a snacks.
Here we have nearly everything
I am writing these earlier than they actually receiving the presents, but I am going post it on on Christmas Eve. So what we will gifting?
Grandparents: calendar (not pictured), rafaello and coffee
My parents: calendar and a sous-vide machine (neither of them pictured)
My sister and her boyfriend: Pandora charm, Uno card and a book
My brother and his girlfriend: T-shirt, Tie Fighter model, sented candle and the wipes holder (rabit one)
My mother-in-law: purse and a book (also for her birthday)
My husband: Monopoly, Airpods (he is using it for a month, so there were no possibility to wrap it)
We had a so relaxed Christmas Eve with so great dishes as we have totally lost in the fun and the games, so unlikely in Hungary we have left the gifts opening for Christmas Day. We even took a little walk (6km) before dinner.
Christmas Eve
What I have received for Christmas?
A Kanken bag pack, a burgundy-grey scarf (so soft), a calendar (I hope there will be more appointments to write than this year), a body lotion- shower gel- sheet mask set, a T-shirt and a new iPhone (you might realized it from my last post).
Well most of you are probably familiar with the Parisian clothing brand Sézane. I heard, read and watched so many good reviews on them, so I was dying and eying for their products for a while. I do think Morgan Sezalory and her team really creates beautiful and quality pieces, that are made to last so they believe in the whole fundamential of slow fashion and concious shopping. The prices are higher than fast fashion, but they are well priced if you compare them to other brands in this league. I was saving up quality pieces and finally they had a free shipping before Christmas, so I went ahead and placed an order from my wishlist. I have registrated and saved my favourites on their site for a while, but I decided to go for the ones I was most wanted.
Yeah, the biggest disadvantage of online shopping that you never really sure what you will get until it arrives to your home. I have find their website simply stunning and well organized (I have used their French one), easy to use and order. So I have placed my order on the 15th December, it is took them to prepair 3 days, I have received a shipping notification from DHL on the 18th and received the package today, so on the 21rst. I’m obsessed with the super cute packaging, which I tried to photograph …
solid touch of personalization, also a great marketing tool
Box inside with a prospect and gift cards
I have find the packaging really attentive and eco friendly, even the tags (see it below) draw your attention to the recycling, the materials they used (also recycled) and their return policy. Everything here made of recycled paper. 10/10
N°1
GASPARD
Gaspard is French for Sexy.
Our signature jumper is perfectly versatile. Reversible, it can be worn as a cardigan or as a jumper to reveal a sublime
glimpse of your back with its ‘joli décolletage.’
I was their number 1 essential knitwear the Gaspard in Ecru. I wanted to have a versitle, wearable and soft cardigan for a while due to its pearl bottoms I was looking for the nude or the ecru, but a few months ago I was decided and voted for the Ecru. I have choosed my usual size, S. I love to looking behind the label, I read on their site that is more than 70% from ntural fabric and it is made in Italy.
grandma like cardigan in ecru
Gaspard is really a classy, timeless piece of Sèzane, also lightweight, super soft but warm. Quite versatile as you can wear it vice versa, I even loved more the back with the bottoms. The length is perfect, till the hips, it is a bit off the shoulder, so slightly boxy on me, but the selves are long enough to a taller person like me. I would absolutely recommend to anyone.
N°10
PALOMA
Paloma is French for Perfection. Meet our silk top that goes with everything. Pair with smart trousers, jeans or a floral
skirt… it suits every season.
My other pick was an othr essential: a black silk camisole. I wanted to upgrade my old H&M top and replace the polyester with something nicer, silk. I was looking for a lot of basics v-neck camisoles, then I have find this tiny little twist on the Sézane one the openwork embroidery along the neckline, which make this basic piece so special. I have selected my usual size too: 36.
Embroidery and the tagembroidery without the tagLook on try
Maybe size 34 would be more fitted on me, but I would like to wear it tacked into high waisted skirts or trousers, so this will be more casual but yet chic. I have read a few comments complaining about the straps, long and tithe, for my height it is perfect. I love the embroidery on it, it is a delicate twist to a simple camisole. I did not look for shiny silk, so it has been carefully chosen for my wardrobe. Absolutely would recommend that one too. I am really satisfied with my order so cannot wait to have others from the brand Sèzane.
So, What are the others from them are on my wishlist? To tell you the truth, I am not sure when I will get to buy them as they are rather on the spurge side.
Low buy lifestyle on bike 