Let’s talk shopping reflections…
I know, I know, in a previous post I mentioned how I wanted to do a monthly update on my shopping habits but unfortunately life got in the way. Which isn’t so bad really because that left me little time to do some actual (online) shopping. So for this one I’m keeping it short and simple. These past three months I only bought two things; a new pair of jeans and a reusable shopping bag. Not bad right?
I could have done better in the jeans department though because I ended up buying a new pair from Topshop. I did some research on more conscious, environmental friendly brands but I haven’t been able to find what I’m looking for just yet. I’m super short so most jeans are much too long for me and these Jamie jeans are an excellent fit. They hit just above the ankle. I do feel that they sag a little after a couple of wears but I think I also lost a bit of weight. Let’s just go with the latter, just to cheer me up on this gloomy day.
Next up my Susan Bijl reusable shopping bag. Since the start of this year stores in the Netherlands can no longer hand out free shopping bags. A great initiative obviously and also a great excuse to buy another bag as I don’t fancy carrying around designer bags with vegetables and shower gel. When you live or work in Rotterdam it’s hard not to be familiar with The New Shoppingbag and with good reason. It’s made of 100% super strong ripstop nylon used for manufacturing kites, it’s water repellent and folds up really small. And it’s always nice to support a ‘local’ designer.
So that’s it after three months. It might seem as though I’m really happy with my wardrobe and I don’t need anything right now but I will definitely have to start looking around for summer clothing soon. Mostly tops as I wear them all year round (underneath sweaters and cardigans) and some can no longer be seen in broad daylight.
How did you do the past couple of months boo boo, shopping-wise?
I’m starting to look more and more into more ethical brands but I feel you on the jeans – it’s already so hard to find a well-fitting pair of jeans that meet all your specs without needing alterations etc! Also I definitely would rather try jeans on before purchasing, and a lot of ethical brands with styles I like are mostly online and there’s that risk of needing to shell out $ for returns.
The shopping bag is a nice idea! I think charging for plastic bags really does make people think twice about using them. Although I’d probably always forget to have my reusable bag on me, a couple of times I’ve found myself with loose grocery items in my handbag/just holding things in my arms haha.
I’ve been looking into Kings of Indigo which is an ethical Dutch jeans brand and might consider one of their jeans in the future because they do seem to sell shorter lengths. But still, the fit can be hit or miss. I’ll let you know if I find any other ethical brands for short gals 😉
Yayyy je bent weer terug! Ik ben zo’n stiekeme lurker die elke keer even kwam kijken of je al iets geupdate had :’) #confession
Anyway, ik hoorde goede verhalen over die jeans en wilde hem ook proberen (mijn zwarte skinny is aan vervanging toe), maar hij was er telkens niet in mijn maat.. en toen hij er eindelijk was, bleek hij me superlelijk te staan, zo jammer haha!
En de tas vind ik top. Ik prop nu overal een extra canvas tasje in, voor het geval ik opeens boodschappen ga doen ofzo.. maar die zijn niet zo tof als deze 😉
x
Ah lief zeg! Dank je. Jij hebt ook altijd pech haha. Die Acne pop jeans was ook al geen succes als ik het me goed herinner. Welk merk zwarte jeans draag je nu?
I have to say, I’m impressed! I tend to look online quite a bit, which as you can imagine, leads to wants and eventually buying new things however I do buy on a much smaller scale now than I used to. I had a pair of Jamie jeans YEARS ago and I think I have to give them another go – I hear so many people rave about them and while I feel like mine weren’t super fitted, maybe they refined the style since (it was 7 years ago…). But yeah, I do hear you on the ethical purchases front. It’s part of the reason why I tend to pick up so much from Everlane, and why I’m so keen to try out some of the clothing from Grana too – I wish that transparency wasn’t such an issue…
Thanks, I’m pretty impressed with myself too haha. I’m so in love with all things Everlane but it’s just too expensive with their current shipping rates (when they make the occasional exception and ship to Europe) and I can never decide on the right size. I’ve never heard of Grana before but I will definitely check it out after I’m done replying on my comments 🙂
I have the same problems with jeans! I went to almost a lot of shops in Eindhoven and ask if they come in length 30 or 28 but almost all of them don’t. Which makes my options become very limited. I still have my first pair of Topshop Leigh that I bought in 2013 which I have dyed once (or twice? I can’t remember) and those jeans have the best fit. I started carrying my own bag as well but they’re just AH plastic bags that I have had for a long time folded into small triangle since I was kind of surprised that deBijenkorf charged me for a plastic bag hahaha.
If you order the Topshop jeans from Zalando the shipping (and returns) are free. But I’m not sure the website is in English as well. Still, it’s probably the easiest way to find jeans in length 28 or 30. Crazy right? You spend a good amount of money at de Bijenkorf and they still charge you 10 cents for a bag 😉 But all kidding aside, I think it’s a good idea. I used all of my plastic bags to death so it was time for a reusable one.