Clothing

Things I Bought That Were A Waste Of Money: Suede Blazer

by theminimalistmom |

Did you ever read Mindy Kaling’s blog Things I Bought That I Love? This will be the Yin to the Yang of that blog.

I’m going to take one for the team here and confess some terrible (and expensive) shopping mistakes. Most of them will be from my past but a few will even be from today.

I am still learning. Learning what I really use, learning what looks good on me and learning how to spot quality so I don’t buy a sweater that pills at the arm pits on the first wear.

Today’s waste of money:

What: Suede Coat from Banana Republic circa 2002

Why: It was on sale, of course. If you shop at BR you know they have excellent sale racks. I bought it because it was suede, fit my at the time line backer rowing shoulder and it was 60% off. I did not buy it because it looked great on me or suited my lifestyle. Costly mistake.

Use: Wore it less than a handful of times before donating it. It never looked quite right. It had snaps for buttons. It was suede. I was neither in the horse-y scene nor listened to country music. I was moving between Victoria, BC for the winters (rain, rain, rain) and London, Ontario for the summers (sweltering heat). It did nothing for me but make me look like a big recliner. In fact, the two upholstered chairs in our current living room are microsuede in a similar shade.

Of course, I must tell you about something right in this photo.

Also in this photo is a great shirt I purchased at H&M. My companion on the far left borrowed it for the evening (you might recognize the hair from another blog…). This was before H&M was in North America.  I woke up early for that shirt. I speed walked through the streets of Hamburg, Germany to buy it before the team bus left for the airport.

It was worth it. I wore the thing until it was stained and misshapen. Success.

You are free to confess any shopping sins, recent or old, in the comments. No judging.

  • My secret is that I live in a very affluent area and go to the local thrift store, which is usually 50% off. Even if you don’t live in a rich area, you can find places where rich people tend to live and find the thrift stores that are nearby- many will have high quality clothing items for low prices. My sister and I tend to find things with tags still on them for maybe 5 bucks or less. It’s a lot easier to swallow a bad purchase in that case (although still not fun). Mostly-new things can be sold on consignment or sent to the thrift store and tagged as a tax-deductible donation.

    I also suggest that if you’re going to buy clothing, take someone with you who can be honest about how something looks and won’t just flatter you. Siblings are often good options, but a close friend who won’t steer you wrong is also a good choice.

    One of my best ways to keep my clothing at bay is to have a limited number of hooks/hangers and keep my clothing on them. I can’t buy more clothes until a hanger is open to hang it on. 🙂 Of course, I live in a small one bedroom apartment with my daughter and husband, so we need enough room for all of our things!!

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  • I love the colour of the blazer…though I can’t imagine actually wearing a suede coat much at all. I have a ridiculous amount of things that I’ve bought that were a waste. I’m a total sucker for a sales rack. It’s a problem.

  • Ooh the pritty Dresses that were only fitting within 1-2 pounds. Some have made it (unworn) to my 15 year old niece, who loves them.
    A couple of dressy heels, rarely worn and uncomfortable. Gave them away to friends and the charity shop.

    • Yep, not much in my wardrobe that won’t fit within a 5-15 lb range. I guess it is a sign that I’ve had a child. Nice you found good homes for your pretty dresses and heels 🙂

  • I am wearing a sweater today that I bought my senior year of college – 1999. It’s black, three-quarter sleeved and I swear – it’s like a security blanket. Best purchase that I ever made. But I tell you – it’s a rare bright spot in a LOT of shopping mistakes I have made. I’m getting better, but every once in awhile, I’ll bring something home from Goodwill or Savers and I bought it because it was a good price and then bring it back a month later because it doesn’t fit right or something like that. Even though it’s second hand – it still costs money!

  • Hahaha!

    I have a similar story about a leather mini skirt. I was rowing at the time and finally had ‘thigh confidence’. The skirt was on sale and fit and I thought I looked good in it. Of course, I couldn’t sit down in it either.

    Have to confess that I actually never wore the thing out of the house. Donations pile it was.

  • Ouch. Big lesson on that suit. I did the reverse approach for a new job, went on a shopping spree and bought loads of new work clothes on sale. Terrible planning and most of it didn’t work together. I spent so much time in the stores everything started to look good.

  • Excellent topic. Please do more! I used to buy cheap/sales with little thought to fit and quality. Now I have a closet full of junk and am looking forward to purchasing much more carefully in the future (once I’m out of maternity wear :).

    The worst area was shoes. There is nothing worse than low quality heels. I’d come home from the clubs limping and blistered. The worse purchase was a silk gypsy wrap purchased at renaissance fair for over $150. It was beautifully made and I wore it several times but it was so a unique item it wasnt versatel at all in my wardrobe.

      • I have always had ill fitting heels. Until, I pregnant with my 4th child. We had a wedding to go to and I spent about $80 on a pair of black heels that I have already worn 2 times since them. That was 4 years ago, but I rarely have a place to wear them and when I do, I don’t have to take them off a few hours or minutes after putting them on. Up until that time, I had NEVER EVER spent that kind of $ on foot wear or any kind.
        I have learned my lesson.

  • In the process of getting rid of my shopping sins right now 😉 The worst is a collection of designer high heels, which are gorgeous but don’t fit my lifestyle at all…I would have been better off buying fancy hiking boots, or even better, saving the money.
    Btw, I love Hamburg 🙂

      • It is beautiful indeed:-) Your husband is lucky, there are worse places to have to go to for work! I am hoping to visit again late summer/autumn; looking forward to it a lot!

  • My most recent clothing mistake was a trendy knit top from the junior department of a local store. I hate shopping, so I’m surprised that I even made it into the dressing room to try it on. My rose colored contacts (!) judged it to be cute. At home, though, I realized that there was no way it was ever going to make it out of the closet, let alone out of the house. To make matters worse, I was too embarrassed to return it. What a complete waste of time and money.

  • For what it’s worth, I think you look beautiful in your jacket. But understand that if it does not fit it is not worth it.
    I used to try and get away with wearing kids clothing (I am 5’1″) and although it is cheap, it really does nothing for you.
    I now truly believe in the cost per wear theory – I paid $300 plus for a pair of name brand jeans, but I swear I have worn them at least 150 times already and they still look great, I could easily wear them another 150 times.

    • Jeans: completely agree. While I have been wearing a lot of hand-me-downs from my sister (still hoping to lose 10 lbs) my ‘splurge’ jeans from a few years back really were worth the extra money. They didn’t stretch out and were extremely flattering.
      My cost per wear for that coat was probably $20 🙁

    • Same height, same predicament-my cpw for jeans (worn many times for a few yrs) is a lot lower than $1. I see cpw as a justification to pay more.

  • This time last year I bought a pair of black pleather boots at 70% off — I was in the market for dressy boots but chose the wrong pair because I was dazzled by the discount. I think I’ve worn them three or four times, and every time I feel like a complete dork because they are oh. so. pointy.

    This year I made a much better choice in buying good quality leather boots that look like they were made with me in mind and will wear well for years. I paid 11 times the price I paid for the shoe-rack filling pointy boots. Judicious spending in the right place, I say.

  • My worst purchase in hindsight was a stunning dress I wore to a friend’s wedding many years ago. I thought it was such a great deal, it was about 75% off and I ended up paying just over $100. Bad news was this dress that I thought was such a classic and that I would end up wearing many times only got worn once. The body I had in 1999 is not the same body I have today, unfortunately. It hung in my closet for 10 years before I had the urge to donate it – thankfully it is gone now, but what a great reminder to only buy for your actual life, not your fantasy life. I’m grateful I have an awesome little black dress my mom bought me for $10 that is AMAZING – that thing has definitely stood the test of time (has been worn to every wedding and funeral in the past ten years!) and it goes to show something doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to be of good quality AND functional in your wardrobe!

    • Functional is so important. That suede jacket: not functional. I also bought a beautiful dress for a wedding – sheath tank style light blue raw silk – and I wore it to two weddings and then it sat in my closet for 10 years before I donated it. It was beautiful but too lightweight to wear to anything but a summer event and too formal to wear to anything but a wedding or cocktail party. Lesson learned.
      Your $10 LBD: what a find!

  • Your description of the unfortunate suede jacket made me LOL!
    Though I really think I’m over this, I have made some mistake purchases too. Some were bought on-line and were not what I had expected. Now I just stick to a brand where I know my size and their quality, and try my hardest to only buy when I really need something. Limiting my options to organic and / or fair trade helps to narrow things down too. And I don’t buy at the thrift store just because it’s cheap, or I just want to buy something.. Even though this is not so bad because if I end up donating it back I just consider it a loan -I used it for a while and paid a little bit for it, and benefited a charity while doing so. Nothing lost except having to declutter it and log it back to the thrift store..

  • The list is long: Longaberger baskets, Vera Bradley purses, furniture that I had to put together that doesn’t last, too many clothes from the clearance rack that I bought because they were cheap not because they fit well or I needed them, clothes from Goodwill that I wore once and donated, sets of dishes that I got rid of because I wanted new ones, stuff from garage sales that I put in my own sale the following year, anything I charged and paid interest on, and way too many decorative items. I am getting better as I now want a few nice things instead of a lot of cheap things.
    I’m taking a hot tea break from working on my office clutter – thanks to your blog yesterday. I’m trying to get a lot of work done before I fly to meet to my newborn identical twin grandsons! Are you and your sister identical?

    • Just had to Google the baskets. 🙂 Like you, I am done with cheap furniture. We sold everything before moving over here and when/if we go back to Canada we will invest in quality.
      Well done on working on your office clutter.
      My sister and I look very alike but we were told we are fraternal. She’s done some research into it and there is a chance we could be a type of identical twins (egg splits very early). We’ve talked for years about getting a DNA test to find out.
      Enjoy those grandsons 🙂

  • I purchased a dress and shoes (ok, my sister bought the shoes as a gift) to wear for family photos. The dress is adorable, but does nothing for my rail-thin figure. I keep hoping I’ll gain weight, so I will be able to fill it out better (instead of wearing 2+ bras just to look vaguely like a woman lol). I think it may just have to go to N’s school yard sale, despite how pretty it is. It’s been almost a year, and I have yet to wear it again :/

    • Maybe create an occasion to wear it? I bought a gorgeous dress to wear to two different weddings. It looked great but was far too formal to wear to anything less than a wedding. Held onto it for almost ten years before finally donating it.

  • i do this all the time! i have gotten better, but still need to work on it. i vowed recently to not go to any sale racks! im thinking for 2 months. i just had twins a month ago, so anything i buy now wont fit anyways, hopefully!

    thanks to your inspiration my wardrobe is halved down and im still working on it1

  • I think we’ve all made mistakes like that. My worst was/is a pair of blue suede cropped trousers from Gap in the sale. They’re too hot for the summer, too short for the autumn and give me a rather bad upholstered look. At least we’re learning from our mistakes 🙂

  • Okay if we are going for it… I once purchased a backless (apart from strings that crossed over to fasten) halter neck sequined stars and stripes (US flag) clubbing top. And wore it! Oh yes but only once!. Incredibly uncomfortable, every time I reached across for my drink (it was a Hen Night outing) I scratched the inside of my arm…where we all know the skin is very soft. No idea to this day what I was thinking. That was 11 years ago. Today I’m older and wiser and in fact don’t like buying much of anything (well apart from things I really want – my DSLR, garmin etc…). In fact today I posted about how I don’t buy into retailers added value when I can add my own.
    ps – you look good in the jacket…

  • Ive wasted more money on kitchen gadgets than I care to confess. It took a trip to Ikea for storage shelving to make a place for it all. I love to cook, and I over the years I bought a rotisserie, a table top grill, a bread maker, pasta maker, a panini press and a juicer. Among other kitchen gizmos. I’d buy a toaster, find one I like better, and buy another. I could smack myself now.
    I used them all in the beginning but then the novelty wore off. The pasta machine sat in the dusty basement shelf so long it stopped working.
    I only use the juicer and bread maker now.
    I also wish I had not bought most appliances in a trendy color that has lost its appeal over the last few years. Basic black , white or stainless should be a rule with household items. Rethink that green or red washer and dryer!!

  • What a perfect post for me! I clean out my closet every season and get rid of stuff that either doesn’t fit me at all, properly, still has tags on it or for various other reasons. I would say that my biggest issue is that I don’t like to spend money on clothes and end by cheaply made things. What I really need to do is buy quality over quantity.

    • Working on that one myself, Valerie. Keep reminding myself that the expensive boots I bought are now my most comfortable and most worn shoe (and they have years and years left to them).

  • The colour of the suede coat is/was beautiful, very elegant. I like what I see but I understand why you did not want to keep it.
    Bad tailoring is the #1 reason I give away items from my wardrobe, take the shrunken sweater, that got shorter and shorter (and wider and wider at the same time!)

    • Paula – you are dead right on bad tailoring. I actually think the coat, despite being impractical for my lifestyle, would have seen more use if it had fit better. It fit my shoulders but was too short on the arm and too big for my midsection. Being a 14 tall in the shoulders arms and a 10/12 in the midsection (at the time) made for challenging shopping.
      Laughed at your sweater description.

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