Splurge Sorority Lessons

In case you missed my forty thousand tweets this weekend, I had another moment of local fame!  The Edmonton Journal featured me and my Splurge Sorority sisters in the Friday Fashion section!  So much fun!  Marta Gold (journalist extraordinaire) and Megan Voss (photographer extraordinaire) joined our last Splurge Sorority get-together where my awesome friend Kim showed off her signature style and her splurge selections.  Check out the story to peek at Kim's gorgeous dresses!

I love your stye,Kim!

The theme for our Splurge night was "How to Wear It" - we all wore or brought pieces that have gotten the most and the least wear.  I took notes.  Not photos.  I have no idea why I snapped so few photos but still, this is important stuff!  It is wisdom to learn from others so I will do my best to capture the expertise of 12 amazing women here so that we can all learn and make the best future shopping decisions.

Most Wear:

• chambray - a no brainer!  There are so many examples of how to wear chambray.  It comes at any price point and size.  There are entire Pinterest boards dedicated to chambray, and one of my favourite sources is The Smith's Blog chambray shirt project. 

• cardis - another no brainer!  One sister brought her infamous mustard cardi and another brought her longer cardi in this year's colour of the year - emerald.  Blazers are all the rage and look great, but I don't think Cardi will give up her place as *the* outer layer of choice for most women.

• inexpensive versatile pieces - one sister wore her $3 mustard cords from VV Boutique and another wore her $1 moto jacket from a garage sale.  This is the thrill of thrifting!  Finding the gems that knock cost per wear out of the galaxy! 

• high quality basics - one sister has worn her Ice Breaker black hoody everywhere from camping to corporate!  These pieces are more expensive but totally worth it.

• stripes - one look through the 5 Days 5 Ways links and you will see that stripes are here to stay.  They rival chambray for versatility and are the natural choice to mix with any other pattern.

• basics + - these are basic pieces that have some sort of interesting detail like pattern, colour or embellishment that allows you to remix with flair and express your individual style while staying in your comfort zone

• colour comeback - we have already discussed neutrals here and the style blogging world reiterates over and over that colours and prints can be treated like neutrals and mixed in many ways.  That being said, the Splurge sisters find that they reach for navy pieces as a current neutral and we passed around the turquoise, concluding that it is the mustard cardi of accessories for 2013. 

Least Wear:

• fussy clothes - we've all seen the "wear it a gajillion ways luxury fabric boutique store wrap/scarf/dress/curtain" piece and they DO have their place.  But are you really going to wear it all those ways or are you going to stand in front of the mirror trying to recreate the chic sales associate's flourish with flinging one side like-so and the other side like-so without ending up looking like a bridal-shower-toilet-paper-wrapped sausage?

• bad fit - I wore my $7 H&M dress only once, making it the highest cost per wear dress in my closet.  Another sister brought a pretty top with a band hem that she had never worn.  Try it on and no matter how it tries to entice you with its colours or bargain price, do not take it home if it doesn't fit well.

• large leopard print - none of us wants to look like a large cat.  Bad connotations all round.  We helped our splurge sister come up with ways to style the leopard print top she got on her splurge turn, but the lesson might be that smaller doses of leopard print in a scarf, belt, flats or peeking from under a sweater are easier to wear

• patterns that don't jive - no matter how much I like a lot of chevron, if it doesn't speak to you, you won't wear it, so don't buy it.  Save your money to go towards something that makes your heart sing.

• the half-likes - these are the pieces where you like the colour but not the shape, you like the shape but not the pattern, you like the pattern but not the fit.  One sister had a skirt in a beautiful colour but the bias cut and other details limited its potential.  Liking part of a piece isn't enough for it to earn wearing time in your everyday.  

So let's end by answering one of life's greatest questions: if it's cheap, should I buy it anyway?

Answer: it depends.

The end.

hee hee just kidding

It depends on why you're buying it, what makes it interesting, what is the brand or quality like, will you have a chance to come back for it if you change your mind, can you return or exchange it, are you broke, have you got something similar at home, does it just speak to you? If you don't get enough wear out of it, are you comfortable donating it or will it occupy closet real estate for the next 20 years out of your guilty conscience?

There is no right answer!  Hopefully the Splurge Sorority lessons will help you think about your purchases and make good decisions for happy closets!  Style on, Sisters!

P.S. Check out these great bloggers for inspiration on mixing your wardrobe and getting great wear!

• 30 in 30
• Putting Me Together
• TfDiaries 5 Ways to Wear
• 5 Days 5 Ways - click on my handy button on the right or browse my archives
• Take One and Pass it On - browse my archives for this as well!

P.P.S. There are so many awesome bloggers and a Bloglovin' account is an easy way to manage all your favourite reads!  You can follow a ton of blogs, categorize them into lists and get a once-a-day email of that day's posts with an intro and thumbnail.  Just go do it now.  (And while you're at, follow me on Bloglovin'!)