I Failed My Low Buy… Here's Everything I Bought
At the start of the year I set myself a simple, casual rule: one new wardrobe purchase per month. No big dramatic declarations, no capsule wardrobe overhaul. Just a little more intention and a little less impulse.
Reader, I did not stick to it.
These are my confessions… (cue the Usher melody). We're more than a quarter of the way through 2026 so here's exactly what I bought, what I edited out, and how I feel about how the first three months went.
Low Buy Stats
In January I bought the Madewell Suede Miley Bag at the very beginning of the month before I'd even officially committed to the low buy, so I feel really good about that. It was on sale, I'd been watching it for a while, and I don't regret it for a second. I wore it constantly through January and February and I know it'll come back into heavy rotation in the fall.
February also started off really strong, but toward the end of the month I started bending my rules. I bought two things, which is technically double my limit.
The first was an H&M denim shirt from the men's section for $40. I'd sold both of my Sézane denim shirts on Poshmark because I just wasn’t reaching for them for one reason or other. I still took a bit of a loss on both of those shirts, but given how much wear I got out of the Max short all these years I think it was still a win. Plus, I walked away with exactly the oversized, long-sleeved, perfectly blue denim shirt I'd been looking for and have been wearing it constantly.
The second purchase was my Coach Ella Shoulder Bag, which I've already done a full video on and have been wearing ever since. The leather is incredibly durable (it survived a major coffee incident and you'd never know) and it works as both an everyday bag and a throw-around bag.
In March the spring cleaning bug hit hard in March. My in-laws were visiting, my son had spring break, and I got the urge to do a deep wardrobe declutter, which I try to do every quarter anyway. I ended up selling nine items on Poshmark, consigning a batch at my local consigner, and donating another pile. With that extra cash in hand I bought three things.
First, the Sézane Roma Blouse that I shared in my pre-spring try-on video. I've only worn it once so far but it's beautiful and maybe if we get some consistently spring-like weather soon I’ll wear it more! Second was a pre-loved STAUD dress from Rent the Runway that I loved enough to buy outright. And third was a J.Crew roll neck sweater, technically for my husband, but I will absolutely be stealing it in the winter. It had been on my wishlist for a couple of months and when I could stack some sale coupons I snagged it for $44 (originally $200!).
What I’ve learned
It's harder than I expected, and I probably use shopping as an emotional crutch more that I thought I did. The impulse purchases aren't really the problem. The problem is that when I sell things from my wardrobe, filling those gaps feels justified even when it isn't always necessary.
The rule of one thing per month is probably too rigid for the way I actually shop. I do better with intention than with arbitrary limits. Asking myself "have I thought about this for over a month?" and “will I wear this and how often?” is more useful than counting purchases.
All in all, I plan to keep going. The point of this low buy experiment was never perfection, it was awareness.
