The shopping balance, in my favorite distressed jeans and Rag & Bone boots.

 It's always a balance between not shopping, shopping inexpensively, and investing in key pieces.  Well, and of course abstaining.

I tend to lean towards the cheaper end.  I have been known to shop for sales sake, not really loving the item but LOVING the price.  I have seen the error of my ways, and although I am ALWAYS enticed by a sale, I am much more thoughtful of my purchases.

But because I am a sales shopping junkie, I also have a hard time investing in pricier pieces.  The bad part about this is I will often "settle" for a lesser item, and it will sit in the back of my closet never to be reached for.

Therefore a waste of money.

However, if I had invested in the piece I love, it would be worn to the born.  I have talked about this before with my favorite booties.  The price per wear factor is a great argument.

These jeans are an investment piece that I sort of tricked myself into.  Firstly - I hate how expensive jeans have become, especially when there often are great options that are a much smaller price tag.  But once upon a Shopbop sale, I stumbled upon a wonderful credit that I am embarrassed to say I didn't even know I had, and somehow 25% off of a jean I had been trying to formulate for months happened into my cart.  It was basically free.

The moral of this story is twofold

when you want a higher priced designer item, and it's in your budget, it is worth watching for the friends and family sales such a shopbop, which happens twice a year (word on the street is April this year.)  Or Nordstrom half-yearly in July.  Also Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales...

And, sometimes buying one item that you love and will reach for constantly is absolutely better than a few ho-hum items you are lukewarm about.  OR at that point nothing at all.

And these pants are pretty darn awesome.  Just the right amount of destruction in a smartly faded black and they do not lost their shape.  It's pretty impressive - they suck you in and stay that way.  And i love the cutoff hem at the ankle.

These are the rules I am working on.

Case in point, two of my favorite, and investment, pieces in perfect harmony.  And of course the bag that has stood the test of my constant destruction, only to get better with age.

coat - HM.  old, however this one, oh my word.
sweater - Nordstrom.  old
plaid shirt - Zara
jeans - J Brand, Shopbop
shoes - Rag & Bone, Nordstrom
bag - Finn Leather
earrings - Lucia K. Jewelry

Curious what kind of shopper are you?  What is the favorite piece in your closet right now?

xo,

Kirsty

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