[показать]I have finally found time to do a big clean up of my closet! I had a bunch of stuff lying around since my first months in America, so today I've decided to throw away everything that I haven't been wearing for a while or at all. Once again, I came to a conclusion that I should never ever buy stuff that is cheap - it might look nicely when you try it on for the first time in the store, but, for some reason, after I bring it home and let it hang in my closet for a while, I begin to absolutely hate it. I have also more or less figured out what brands I should stick to based on how much I wear a particular item from that brand and how long it last before loosing its shape.

Here are my conclusions:
GAP - even though I'm not a big fan of this brand, their pants fit me the best and tend to keep their shape for a very long period of time. On the other hand, I don't like their knits because they usually get all stretched out after I wear them for just a few hours. Overall, I've noticed that GAP's stuff that is made out of regular fabric is of much better quality and tends to stick around in my closet for much longer.

Calvin Klein - I have started to buy this brand because it is one of a very few carried by Macy's that I actually like, and I mostly shop in Macy's because of a big store credit I have with them, from which, by the way, I promised to self-made to get rid of :)). Again, I cannot claim to be a big fan of the brand, but very often find nice things of a very good quality on their racks.

Tommy Hilfiger - just like with CK, I started to buy this brand because it is sold in Macy's. I'd say that it is very similar to CK in the type of clothes it carries and the quality. This year, for example, after looking for a while, I've decided in favor of TH winter jacket that I absolutely love. Again, I wouldn't say that the overall concept of the brand is my style, but I can alway pick something I like from their section of the store.

Ann Klein - it is my favorite brand for the money for office looks. Since I don't work in the office I have just a few things from AK that I wear only on occasion with exception of my very favorite jacket that I purchased 50% off in AK outlet store two years ago.

J. Crew - I think this is my favorite brand out of all we have in our Mall. I absolutely love their fabrics and concept of, what I would call, casual chic that I believe J.Crew represents. Of course, a lot of their stuff is out of my budget, so I shop mostly on their sale racks, and only occasionally allow myself something from the current season's collection.

American Eagle - this store used to be my go to place for casual stuff, but now I find that I have outgrown it. In addition, most of the t-shirts I've got there look like of a piece of crap after just a few washes; some even got little holes in them. I've noticed that my AE clothes tends to go in the garbage pretty soon, with exception of their jeans that I actually like a lot considering their price.

Banana Republic - I like their outerwear and can occasionally find a nice thing in the store; I have just a few items from them though because things I usually like are way too expensive, and, in most cases, I'd rather spend this money in J.Crew.

There are certainly many brands that I like much more than the ones mentioned above, like Anthropology, BCBGMAXAZRIA (which, of course, I don't have money for), Free People, etc., but none of them are in our Mall, and I no longer order clothes online. As far as the ones I don't enjoy so much or at all, I'd say they are Bebe, which I find a bit trashy even though I myself have a few things from them, Express, which is just blah, Guess, which I just don't care much about even though they do carry some cute things, Charlotte Russ, which I don't think is even worth mentioning, Forever 21, which I just hate, H&M, whose stuff I like in the beginning but come to hate a few weeks after, and Old Navy, where I usually shop for stuff to wear at home...

Shoes - just today, I got rid of 5 pairs that I have never even worn. I've noticed that with shoes it's all about the price: I tend to throw away or stop wearing any shoes original price of which is cheaper than $70 (for flats), $100 (for pumps), and $150 (for boots) after having worn them only a few times (oh, and I've recently become a huge boots addict! I believe there are 8 pairs of them in my closet right now). I don't, however, give a damn about shoes brand as long as they look good - whatever Macy's or Nordstrom carries is good enough for me.

Having calculated the approximate cost of the stuff that I have thrown out during these 3 years, I once again came to a conclusion that shopping for cheap clothes ends up actually being more expensive. I still, for example, have J.Crew things that I bought a year or two ago hanging in my closet; the cheap clothing I was stupid enough to purchase from Old Navy, Forever 21, and Charlotte Russ even though I never liked them very much to begin with is probably making some poor people happy right now. Of course, I'm not supposed to shop any more ;)) but, if I do, from no on, I'd rather buy one expensive thing that three cheap ones. With this being said, I'm always happy to purchase something for 10 bucks, as long as it has been discounted 80% :))