How does going without clothes shopping for one whole year sound? Crazy right?

A recent article I read in Elle Canada magazine, writer Anne Shepard hung up her credit card and embraced her existing closet-full of clothes for one full year. I am sure most of us would feel confident and take this challenge on, but soon would fail once we saw the first sale at our favourite store.

Shepard's experiment started when she found, in the back corners of her closet, a cardigan she had purchased a long time ago. She got just as excited finding the article of clothing, as she didn't remember buying it. Her ‘wardrobe challenge' began.

Surviving off the clothes that we already own might not sound too appealing for the hardcore shopper. Anne roughly calculated that she normally would spend $150 on clothing a month, after approximately five months of doing her challenge; she has extra $1,500 in her purse. I'm positive many shopping and clothing fanatics could easily spend over Shepard's $150 a month. Think of all that money you'd having lying around to maybe spend that money on something else more fulfilling.

“That buying less enables you to do more,” Shepard wrote in the article, entitled Could you give up shopping for a full year? She described the outcome of this challenge to be, “liberating” and “empowering.”

Ok, you're thinking, what if one should take on this challenge how would one be still dressed appropriately for say a fancy event and or still look like their fashionable self?

To start, borrowing clothes from friends is allowed only on rare occasions. But remember, we all have pieces of clothing that we bought and now feel guilty about buying, so NOW this is opportunity to wear them. We all have endless options of clothing by pairing articles together and trying different combinations that we have never worn before. You will be amazed and proud at what you can come up with. Like myself, I'm sure you have come up with a really good combination without meaning to. Sometimes when I am in a big hurry and need to be out the door ASAP, I grab a mixture of a really comfortable piece of clothing and mix it with a so-so comfortable fashion piece and find a piece of jewelry that matches one colour of what I am wearing and voila; I look down and think, holy crap this looks good. I should pretend I am in a hurry more often. Bringing out some of your summer clothes is encouraged and acceptable. Paring a summer skirt with warm tights/ leggings and a causal boot can look amazing.

As the year passed by Shepard realized that the idea of shopping just wasn't fun anymore. Going to the mall and not buying anything was not only boring, but also stupid. She started seeing the quality of clothing and realized the majority isn't worth even purchasing.

“It's a misconception that a new top or dress makes you feel and look good; most often, it's your mood,” Shepard wrote. She also noticed that she still got complements on what she wears. That bar dress you spent too much money on will still get you noticed at the bar after a couple times of use (not in a row of course).

So if you decide to take this challenge on full-throttle or have the notion in the back of your mind the next time you go shopping, I am sure satisfaction is guaranteed with yourself once you realize that the new hot dress or tight skinny jeans don't define you as a person.