<$Wednesday, January 30, 2008$>
Do sacrifices alter your personal style?
| I used to love to wear jewelry. Costume jewelry, mainly--I've never been in a position to afford or be gifted with much of the real stuff. In my younger days working in retail, I usually ended up working in the jewelry department, surrounded by cute baubles that I couldn't resist. My jewelry was a big part of my personal style. The old me would have adored some of this wholesale fashion jewelry. But that was back in the days when I didn't think much about my spending, or about putting shiny things on a credit card. The new me hardly wears any jewelry. Other than my wedding ring and a necklace my husband let me pick out for my birthday last year, all I usually wear are a few pairs of inexpensive discount store earrings that I rotate, and often I don't even bother with those. I'm not sure when or why I stopped being a costume jewelry ho. It happened pretty gradually, although I'm sure lack of funds had something to do with it. Being forced into frugal habits had a major impact on my personal style, but I'm sure getting older (and busier) also had something to do with it. Where I used to love trendy outfits, now I wear more classic clothes that won't go out of style. I still have girly phases where I love to dress up and put on makeup, but for the most part I've got a pretty basic beauty routine that lets me get ready for work in fifteen minutes. These things cost less to maintain, too. A lot of jewelry just doesn't fit into that equation. Sometimes, this makes me sad, and I wish I could go back to my girly-girl days of yore. Mostly, though, I'm proud of myself for scaling down and figuring out how to look feminine and stylish while saving a lot of time and money. My new personal style fits in a lot better with my new lifestyle. There's no room here for the old, fashion-conscious, spendy me. Labels: bargains, disclosure, frugality, personal, shopping |
