STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

Spin-off: Purchases you DID make that haunt you?

Maddie · Coach

A pair of $250 boots from J.Crew that I NEVER wear. I might have worn them twice. The heels are too tall and I feel like a drag queen in them.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

Well, this was when I was in 6th grade and most people make horrible fashion decisions at that age, but I had this idea that dressing like the Beatles on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper" was a good idea. I put together this red ensemble with gold braiding and buttons and oh lord, it was horrible. One of my friends still remembers it as my "Bennetton soldier" outfit.

eta: I should have put something expensive -- once I got a Temperley dress that was two sizes too big for me, but it was on super sale so it was this unreal price (for Temperley -- it was still $200). I got it and never wore it, never attempted to get it taken in. Eventually I sold it on ebay and broke even.

-- Edited by scarlett at 16:26, 2006-05-08

Metric · Gucci

A pair of John Fluevog cowboy boots. They looked so cute on this other girl but I felt like a lost member of Kiss. They were expensive and horrendously uncomfortable to boot.

I look at them now and think "Why the HELL did I want these????"

ILoveChoo · Hermes

the frye dorados this past Fall. I love them, but they're really not "me" and I have a hard time working them into any outfits that don't involve covering them up with jeans.

too much money to spend on something like that.

Kitty · Hermes

- Guess wedges that ended up being WAY too high. I'm 5'7, and I think Iam over 6 feet with those suckers on.

- Pointy steve madden knee-high boots. They ended up being way too pointy.

- Many pairs of jeans and pants from Old Navy, Gap and BR. I need to just accept the fact that those jeans/pants NEVER work out for me...for one reason or another.

rocky · Coach

I regret a lot of ebay purchases that don't fit right, but I am too lazy to relist them. The biggest regret was my medium Bulga bag. Although I do love the bag, there have just been way too many knockoffs or designer inspired items, and my bag feels dated. I also like the satchel version much better.

Kitty · Hermes

Good call on the ebay stuff. Pretty much every ebay purchase I've ever made I ended up either not liking or feeling "so-so" about. I decided after the last item I ordered (a red belt that didn't even fit) that I'm stopping. It's just not worth it.

theotherjess · Chanel

I bought a really cute Generra top online for final sale and it's about 2 sizes too big. I keep meaning to get it altered but I don't think I'll ever get around to it. It was only like $35 though so I'm glad it wasn't much more. No more final sale items for me unless I know they fit.

luckylily · Gucci

I bought a really great Travota trench a couple months ago. I do love it because the lining is super soft and it has really unique buttons. I've already worn it tons, and I'm sure I'll wear for years and years. However, it was one of the most expensive items I've ever purchased, and I'm sure I could have found somthing pretty similar for about $300 less. The haunting part is more that I really wasn't in a position to spend that much on a coat that month, and now it's still on my cc two months later.

berryahou35 · Dooney & Bourke

COWBOY BOOTS! ugh... I didn't want to wear them when they were the IT thing, but now that it's over, I'll be behind. I like to wear things that aren't quite BIG yet. Now I'll have to wait another 10 years...

ejc423 · Coach

luckylily wrote:

I bought a really great Travota trench a couple months ago. I do love it because the lining is super soft and it has really unique buttons. I've already worn it tons, and I'm sure I'll wear for years and years. However, it was one of the most expensive items I've ever purchased, and I'm sure I could have found somthing pretty similar for about $300 less. The haunting part is more that I really wasn't in a position to spend that much on a coat that month, and now it's still on my cc two months later.

If it helps, I'm dying for a Trovata trench. And I definitely can't afford one.

Vanessa · Kate Spade

My shopping life has had its share of regrets.
Here are some purchases I kind of regret:

* a beautiful silver pair of Gucci pumps that I saw on SJP. They are gorgeous but so impossibly high & sort of delicate (satin) that I can't bring myself to wear them out - but I promise I will someday.
* buying way too many Marc Jacobs bags/wallets when they first came out. I have three new wallets alone sitting in my closet that I got from the MJ store. What was I thinking!
* Not really pricey, but I do regret buying way too many clothes from Express when I was working there part-time just because they were so impossibly cheap. Same thing goes for other cheap/sale stuff.

In general, I recently came to the realization that I tend to buy way more than I need. For example, when wedge sandals/espadrilles came back in sping '05 I must've bought 12 pairs. Give or take ~140 days out of the year I could potentially wear open-toed shoes, and subtract the days my outfits called for non-wedge sandals, sneakers, closed-toed shoes, etc. and you will realize the rotation factor on those new wedges is so low most of them still look brand new. That made me feel guilty so I won't allow myself anymore wedges. Fast foward to this spring and there are some new styles of wedges I want, but I won't get them due to above-mentioned self-imposed rule.
Bottom line is I need to control myself when I find something I really like!

-- Edited by Vanessa at 20:24, 2006-05-08

laken1 · Hermes

Z4, I was thinking of this exact same spin off!
Most of mine are shoes & I seriously can't list them all because I have blocked them out / sold them on ebay / refuse to admit it. The ones I can remember....

* a $175 pair of Donald J Pliner wedges - I HAD to have them - I even put them on layaway - I wore them once & sold them for $45 on ebay
* $35 knock offs of Kors Beaverton boots - I hate them a lot & even though they were cheap I hate that I spent any money at all on them.
* any / every shoes I bought from ebay - they never fit right
* $80 coupe d' etat shoes that had a metallic strap & rhinestones - they were so beautiful but hurt so bad that they cut into my feet the 2 times I wore them. From the description is there any doubt?
* $70 black / rhinestone shoes from VS - they really are great but went on sale for $19.99 right at the time that I couldn't get a price adjustment.....

That's all for now but I'm sure i'll think of more.

-- Edited by laken1 at 21:09, 2006-05-08

Kitty · Hermes

I thought of more..

The first time I went to H&M when I was on business in NYC. I had never been, and I only had like an hour and a half in the store inbetween meetings and work stuff. I went CRAZY and bought all this stuff because a) it was cheap b) I knew this was a rare opportunity and c) time was limited.

I seriously regret almost everything I bought during that H&M spree. I'm pretty sure I don't even have any of the stuff anymore. I kind of realized later in the trip that the stuff sucked, but I didn't have time to return it.

Collette · Chanel

This Gucci bag

I bought it in London Heathrow airport and it wasn't the one I wanted but I let my husband sway me even though this is the one I wanted

so now every time I talk about getting the one I want he makes a face and goes " you don't even use the one you have".

layell · BCBG

A cotton purple tie-died pattern coat. It was the loudest thing in my closet.
I wore it 3 times in 6 years, then gave it to charity.

I should have known better.

Kelly · Hermes

actually it's kind of recent, I went for a bra fitting and was so upset by the size she told me that I was (I know, bigger is supposed to be better but I felt like my body was out of control or something, I cried in the dressing room! it was ridiculous). Anyway, I just wanted to get out of there, so I paid $50 for the bras she first brought, and took the tags off that night. They are huge and ugly and look like grandma bras. But I figured I could still wear them if I didn't expect anyone else to see them. Except that weekend I wore one to a dance class, and I just had a T-shirt on. But the studio has mirrors on all the walls so you can watch your steps, and I turned in a corner and realized I looked completely ridiculous like I had two torpedoes coming out of my chest. It was a completely unnatural shape and I haven't worn them since. Maybe I'll be able to put them to use in the winter underneath bulky sweaters?

I hate that I wasted so much money. I went to macy's a few days later and found bras that I love, and love me, and love my wallet so much more.

erin · Chanel

i bought a laura ashley dress once that was really pretty and fitted well, but had ridiculous puffy sleeves. the dress itself was only $3, but i had alterations done to it to make it more "modern." the alterations were expensive and it totally ruined the dress and cut too far into my bust. i ended up giving the dress away.

Jahni · Dooney & Bourke

Collette wrote:

This Gucci bag

I bought it in London Heathrow airport and it wasn't the one I wanted but I let my husband sway me even though this is the one I wanted

so now every time I talk about getting the one I want he makes a face and goes " you don't even use the one you have".

Oh Collette!! The bag you have is on my "purses I will own before I die list." Please don't regret it...it makes me sad...I can't wait until I'm "gainfully employed" as my dad says...so that I can buy that one and many many many more!!!