The Almost Purchase of the Facile Camp Shirt(s) a.k.a How I Curbed My Shopping Temptation!

Just the other day I was reminded how far I’d come as a former shopaholic.

I was (naturally) lusting after something I couldn’t have: a piece of clothing.

Specifically, THIS piece of clothing from Anthropologie: The Facile Camp Shirt

And it even comes in black!

I don’t really like wearing black, but even I am totally smitten with this, so much so that I put both the black and green into my shopping cart online.

Just to see how it felt. You know, pretend online window shopping.

(Oh what, you’ve never done that?! Liar.)

The price tag? $88 CAD.

I was almost on the verge of clicking: BUY NOW, when I thought I’d email my good friend @Revanche over at A Gai Shan Life just to see what she’d say.

Girl has the nerve to write me back with: Oh MAN. Lovely! But … so expensive!

Did you hear that tone in her email?!?!? πŸ™‚

But ….. SO EXPENSIVE!“.

ARRGGGGH!!! πŸ™‚

She let the pink price elephant out of the room.

Totally killed my shopping buzz.

PSYCHING MYSELF OUT

I looked at the shirts sitting in my online shopping cart, begging me to break my stupid friggin’ 2010 ban on buying anything for my wardrobe, totaling $176 CAD before taxes, and realized it was a lot of freaking money.

So I started listing out what $176 could buy in essentials in my life:

  • 2 Anthropologie Facile Camp Shirts (what… WHAT? πŸ™‚ )
  • 7 months of my cellphone
  • 176 packets of ramen (oh wait, I’m swearing off that stuff…)
  • 22000 grams of delicious loose leaf tea
  • 1 month’s worth of groceries (my share)
  • 2 months at the parking garage located at work
  • 2 nights in my hotel apartment *insert tearful sob*

And with that wistful list, I deleted the items from my shopping cart and cleared my cache.

That’s not to say that I won’t end up buying the shirt in 2011 when I am back in Toronto as my “Yay! I get ONE shirt as a prize because I’ve made it through 2010 without buying anything except trouser pants for work!“, but for now, it is a ridiculous price to pay when I have a better use for my money, so many more important things to pay for.

So there you have it folks.

P.S. I think Garance Dore of her namesake blog (I read it in French so I can keep my brain alive for the language), photographedΒ  Rumer Willis in something very similar to that Anthropologie shirt.

Isn’t it heavenly? I think it’ll hang quite beautifully, almost like that.

What could you buy for $176?

Make me feel even more committed to not buying, by listing it all out in the comments!

About the Author

Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver. I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year. Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about my story here, or visit my other blog: The Everyday Minimalist.