Guest Post: Alice from @aliteg

Many thanks to another of my blogger friends, Alice, for guest posting for me while I wrap up my business trip in the beautiful Queen's City, Charlotte, NC! It has been a great week for working, networking, meeting new people and catching up with friends! I hope you enjoy today's post from Alice talking more about her No Shop Sumnmer challenge!


Hi! I'm Alice (@aliteg on Instagram), and I'm truly honored to guest blog today to share my heart about #noshopsummer, personal style, and social media with you.


I created the #noshopsummer challenge (shopping your closet instead of retail for the summer) as a fun way to challenge myself, along with the Instagram community, to be creative with my existing wardrobe. It isn't a prison sentence for my inner shopaholic. I didn't decide to exclude myself from all shopping for the summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day) for monetary reasons or to tame my shopping (although my husband would say that should probably happen). I want to remind myself and others that most of the time we have everything we need. I don't NEED another striped tee. I don't NEED another tank dress. I don't NEED another pair of Sperry boat shoes (even if they are $4 from the thrift store). My style shouldn't depend on what is available in stores at this very moment.

#noshopsummer

For the record, This wasn't my idea. It was actually the idea of a friend who said she wanted to do this and I said I'd do it with her. Because something of this magnitude shouldn't be done alone! The part I did come up with was the tag #noshopsummer. I threw it out on Instagram (half thinking NO ONE would desire to go that long without shopping) hoping others would join in because everything is better with friends!


The official logo of #noshopsummer (lol)

Coming up with new combinations out of my existing wardrobe now comes naturally to me because I've done these kinds of style challenges before, I'm willing to mix prints, and I generally like what I have. BUT I'm NOT great at being intentional about the pieces of my wardrobe. I tend to just get whatever I like because I like it and not worry about what it "goes with" rather than deciding ahead of time how I can wear this piece 3-5 ways. So I'll pair the same shirt and skirt over and over again because it's easy. But that can get boring. Must. Branch. Out. I promised myself that I'll identify the items of clothing that have always been put together by default and pair the individual pieces with other things. To facilitate all this creativity, I've joined 3 Instagram style challenge calendars including #joyfuljunestyle by @curvygirlontherun that I try to do simultaneously (it's a little crazy. I encourage others to start small).


I've also decided I need to stay away from my shopping vices: Target, Gap and Old Navy. This also includes opening the barrage of retail sale emails I receive all day every day. Walk away! Just delete!


Personal Style and the Social Media Role
I actually chose to include social media in my plan to complete this #noshopsummer challenge. Last time I counted, there were 35 others participating on Instagram (many I didn't know of before the challenge). We show what we've come up with out of our closets and encourage each other to stick with it. This is a tricky thing, however. Because while you're documenting your participation, feeling confident about yourself and your accomplishment and seeing everyone else stick to the challenge, you're seeing what everyone else has... and maybe what you don't have. The desire to acquire becomes strong. Suddenly you can feel like you're missing out due to Instagram's filtered and cropped to perfection world. Your contentment can take a dive, along with your confidence, and suddenly you're browsing J.Crew online and eating a chocolate bar.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We should all remember that it doesn't take a ton of money or a lot of stuff to look good and feel confident in what you're wearing. It just takes a little imagination and determination.

I posted this photo and caption last week:



"Personal style doesn't require a huge investment in clothes. It requires an investment in you. Figure out who you are and what you like and your personal style will come through."

I wholeheartedly believe that. You don't need to feel the pressure to have the latest statement necklace or graphic tee. If you want to join the challenge on Instagram, tag your photos of your combinations from you closet with #noshopsummer. I'd love to have you and see your personal style shine through with what you already own.

xo,
Alice (@aliteg)

Comments

  1. I didn't even know this was going on. I have been on a shopping ban for a few month now. I so far have gone 102 day w/out buying shoe and 89 day w.out buying clothes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Travel Tuesday: Sugar’s Inn Galveston

Less Bitter, More Glitter

Chic Soul May New Arrivals