Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Shopping Realities.

Saving money is like a life-long tragedy for me.

Honestly, I used to be able to do it prior to caring about my appearance and what I own. But as soon as one of my friends taught me how to spend and have fun. That is all I am used to now. I like throwing $150+ on trips down Queen St. West in the fashion district. Buying all sorts of fabrics and notions that make me happy and my fabric boxes filled to the brim.

However, recently I have been noticing that some of the things I buy are just NOT worth it in the end. For someone who does Environmental Studies I am a magnet of trash and waste. It almost seems like I don't care. Which isn't true. I just don't think about it on a conscious level.

I can think of the waste I have created:
  • The Geo circle lenses I recently purchased were FAIL. One eye is perfect the other isn't. What makes it worst is because Geo has a fixed axis on their toric lenses of 180*. My left eye has an axis of 10*. FAILLLLLL.
  • My Lovelyshoes.com order. Not everything, just the wedges (they don't fit - too big) and the 6" PVC heels because I won't get that much usage out of them. Then again...they were not built for walking. Hahaha.
  • The Drugstore black eyeliner I bought from Shoppers that came with a ginormous smudger but couldn't stay on for more then 5 hours. I also bought slate grey in the same brand. In order to escape the smudge I also bought another black eyeliner that gave me better results. In the end more money to nothing.
I recently also bought $65 worth of 3.5 yards medium-weight pink wool simply because after a couple hours of searching I finally found PINK WOOL. How amazing is that. I juuuust had to buy it. Only to regret it later because I had used that week's grocery funds. Not a waste. Yet.

However, not all is lost. There are purchases I made recently that have been great. My SecretShop Innocent World replica shoes are made from AWESOME.

My Lovelyshoes.com flats, and two pairs of boots are also AWESOME. I have been wearing the black ones for some time and treating them like crap and they are still holding up. Only drawback is that they pointed toes sometimes hurt my toes after 6+ hours of clomping in them.

Oh, and I also invested in a pair of white Lolita boots:


They are from Milanoo.com and they were finally shipped today after a week or so of delay. Bad customer service but the discount was $9 off and free shipping. Couldn't resist a the calling of a much coveted pair of white boots. I wanted black too...but my pocketbook sagged inwardly at the thought.






However, I also got a new Lolita coat! I am still working on the hems, adding lace, and fixing the buttons. But it was made from the scrap black wool I had leftover from a caplet project last year. My mom modified the pattern of an H&M coat I had bought and returned (it was $126 +tax):

She made the pattern so I would be able to use it again and again. I intend to retrieve the pattern from her new condo this Friday and being some modifications and use my pink wool. I shall post pictures of the coat once I am done! I can't believe how much we saved using scrap material for the otuershell and the bodice + sleeve lining. In total, the coat cost around $60 instead of $126 + tax.

Nice. And environmentally friendly, too.

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