Year-Long Clothing Budget Update: June Purchases

May completely flew by for me--I can't believe it's already time for another closet budget update!

As a quick refresher, this year I outlined my clothing budget to add closet basics to my wardrobe each month, putting together a list of items I need to help fill in the holes in my closet and assigning each item to a particular month of the year. I've capped each month's budget at $200 total. Here's what my calendar looks like:

And here's what I ended up with this month:

Franco Sarto Black Pumps

Price: $28 (on sale from $50 )

Notes: I've been on the lookout for a comfortable, basic black pump for ages. I picked these up at Nordstrom Rack; they're nothing special, but they are the 'little black dress' of my shoe collection--they go with everything.

Mossimo Maternity Black Striped Tank Top

Price: $13

Notes: I know what you're thinking--gasp, this is how you tell us you're pregnant? No, no it's not. I have a secret for you: Target's maternity section has great hidden gems for us non-preggo's too. The only difference between this maternity tank and their similar non-maternity versions is that this one is a bit longer and softer--win/win for me :)

June Budget Total:

$41 for $63 worth of items

Over/under on June $200 budget: -$159

Over/under for the year since March: -$580.96 (under budget by two items)

Since I had room in the budget, I supplemented my closet a bit with warm-weather items. 

Although not on the official list, I added these fun printed shorts from Francesca's ($38) to my wardrobe and have been rocking them with tanks, tees, and light sweaters. I've also been riding my bike to work a few times a week, so I need easy outfits that don't wrinkle in my bike bag. I bought theeee most comfortable short-sleeve dress from Target and have worn it 3 times since Thursday...but can't find it online! The pattern is similar to this one. $25. Lastly, my favorite black Old Navy capris that lasted shockingly long (like, multiple years being worn multiple times a month) finally bit the dust. I replaced them with these Athleta Chaturanga capris, which are the capri version of the long black ones I love so much. On sale for $40 today.

Other posts in this series:
Year-long Clothing Budget Update: May Purchases and a Weekly Wishlist!
Year-long Clothing Budget Update: April Purchases
Year-long Clothing Budget Update: March Purchases
Building a Wardrobe: Conclusions and My New Budget Plan 

Quick Home Design: Neutral Abode

Although I love immersing myself in interior design, sometimes I get a bit of 'inspiration overload' to the point that nothing is inspiring anymore--does that make sense?

In an effort to counteract this feeling, I'd like to start to start posting some quick designs--pulling together room ideas without thinking too hard on them. Here's my first stab at that:

Summer 2014 Capsule Wardrobe: Inspired by Gaby of the Vault Files

If you were to ask me to name one person whose wardrobe I'd most like to steal, with very little hesitation I'd probably name Gaby Burger of the Vault Files.  Her style is deceptively simple yet always put-together, she never looks like she's trying too hard yet is perfectly dressed for the occasion, and without fail whenever I see something on Pinterest or Instagram that I want...she's the one who posted it.

Thus, I thought for my Summer 2014 Capsule Wardrobe I'd pull together a closet inspired by Ms. Burger's style. First let's take a peek at the style I'm talkin' (all photo credits per Gaby's Instagram).

As you can see, Gaby's style is very consistent with several themes appearing in her outfits (in fact, see an explanation of her style DNA in her own words here). I'd say her style is made up of the following things:

• pattern mixing: spots go with stripes go with florals...etc.
• mostly neutrals paired with very select colors
• texture plays heavy into bringing interest to basics, as does layering layering layering
• statement necklaces serve to further jazz up basics
• shoes are either flats or amazing statement heels
• common themes: stripes, eyelet, leather, dots, leopard, and chambray
• classic with a twist

Here's my own spin on how Gaby's style can translate into a summer capsule wardrobe:

For my spring 2014 capsule wardrobe, I organized things based on staples, colors, and patterns. This time around, I picked common themes from Gaby's own wardrobe and selected a wardrobe item for each theme: denim, white, and black as the major colors, and stripes, leopard, and nature as the patterns.

Given the easy mix-and-matchability of these themes, the possibilities for remixing your wardrobe are virtually endless:

I think I could pretty happily live all summer with the items from this capsule wardrobe.

Summer stillness: home and closet

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With the arrival of summer comes the desire to reduce everything in my life to the least common denominator. Life gets simpler, dressing gets easier, and 'decor items' become clutter when the sun finally shines its warm light.

All of the above images imbue a certain mood, I think, one of stillness, relaxation, and wallowing in the summer sun. Hits of wood, camel tones, leather, mixed metals, and white are brought to life with greenery and mellow florals.

If I were to recreate that ambience in my home and closet, it might look a little something like this:

What mood are you in lately?

Year-long Clothing Budget Update: May Purchases and a Weekly Wishlist!

May completely flew by for me--I can't believe it's already time for another closet budget update!

As a quick refresher, this year I outlined my clothing budget to add closet basics to my wardrobe each month, putting together a list of items I need to help fill in the holes in my closet and assigning each item to a particular month of the year. I've capped each month's budget at $200 total. Here's what my calendar looks like:



As you can see, May called for black booties and a pair of sneakers. Unfortunately for this post, but fortunately for my budget, I made no purchases this month. I had a big month of travel (a trip to Philadelphia and another to Minnesota), plus I purchases a $700 plane ticket to be in a friend's wedding in July and paid off my hip surgery from March, so my 'clothing budget' became my 'travel/medical expense budget' (and then some :-/ ) this month.

The only purchase I made were these fun silky mint shorts from H&M, which I brought on vacation with me. Therefore, May's planned purchases will be rolled over into other months this year.

May Budget Total: 

$0 for 0 items

Over/under on May $200 budget: -$200

Over/under for the year since March: -$421.96 (under budget by two items, though)

Although I'm going to try hard to stick to my updated schedule, I also don't plan to purchase items just for the sake of a blog post. I'd much rather be realistic and honest about what I can afford, and right now between all this travel and my surgery expenses, I need to take care of myself and cut down on non-essentials!

Here's the updated calendar:

But, so as to not make this a completely boring post, here's this week's wishlist! My style tends to be an even mix of neutral-loving minimalism and color-loving bohemian. Here's an example of how that plays out in my weekly wishings! 

Other posts in this series:
Year-long Clothing Budget Update: April Purchases

• Year-long Clothing Budget Update: March Purchases
• Building a Wardrobe: Conclusions and My New Budget Plan