See the Delight

I thought I'd bring out this vintage thrifted ModCloth dress called See the Delight. Apparently whomever named this dress thought the print was of matches, but it's actually straight pins. How embarrassing. But, the topic of today's post is not pun-failures from over a decade ago: I thought we'd talk shop(ping) instead.

It's been a while since I've done an update on how my efforts at reduced spending have gone, so let's dive into it. So far, half way through 2025, I'm doing really great. I'm not doing as well as I would like, May was a major slip-up on spending, but it's all part of a process and rather than giving up I decided to just get back on track and keep going. One of the main things I did was to break-up with luxury brands. I can satisfy my shopping itch with thrifted items just as well if not better than I can with over-the-top high fashion items. And I tend to wear them far more too.

The other thing I've done is to continue tracking every single penny spent and try to stick to a monthly spending limit. Again, I'm not doing perfect, those Memorial Day sales kind of got me in trouble, but over all, I'm actually doing it and feeling like I'm finally making progress!

I was recently watching a YouTube video by Caroline Tucker titled: You Don't Like Fashion, You Like Consuming. The thesis of her essay was that "influencers" claim to love fashion, but what they're really doing is just buying tons of (usually fast fashion) items, unboxing, and trying on. Haul after haul after haul. After which, those things disappear from their feed never to be seen again. Eesh, I've definiely been guilty of that in the past. I dont' get rid of the things that I buy once I'm done with my photos though, with prom dresses being the only real exception, I usually keep things. So, Caroline is not wrong and the reason for this influencer led shopping craze is three fold:

1. Influencers get a dopamine hit from shopping and viewers get a dopamine hit from watching people unbox and display their hauls. Because of that dopamine hit from something new, this is the content viewers crave seeing over someone wearing the same top for the fifth time even if it is worn a different way. But the sad fact is, as much as we can descry influencers for doing this, it's a two-way street. As much as I agree that the hauls are out of control, the fact is if people weren't interested in that sort of content, creators wouldn't make it.

2. Influencers make money from people buying the things they link to. People seem to have forgotten that most of this content isn't coming from a regular person who's just excited to share their finds with others, which is where I'm sort of the exception. I rarely use affiliate links anymore; I just enjoy sharing my finds and the outfits I create from them, but I am also not a professional influencer. I work an eight to five in a tiny dark cubicle. Being an influencer is a job and they can't make money off an item that sold out three years ago. The best way for them to earn is to be constantly posting new links for people to click and try.

3. It's much harder to get creative and keep restyling an old piece than it is to just buy something new. Personally, I love clothes, especially old clothes, and that's why I started a fashion blog. Actually, I originally started out by posting pics of myself wearing the same dress lots of different ways to ModCloth's Customer Style Gallery, but when they sold out, the new owners immediately got rid of that. And then unfortunately, I fell into the trap of over consumption all too easily and have been trying to claw my way out of it for years now, because it's so much easier to just click and buy something new than it is to think about and then experiment in order to put together an outfit with existing items, but it's also way less fun and way less rewarding long-term to be constantly buying new things. There is a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction, dare I say I See the Delight, when I wear an old piece in a new way that gives a serotonin boost rather than a dopamine hit. Plus, there's no dopamine hit from waiting for a purchase to arrive. It's a delayed gratification and the brain craves something now which is how you know it's part of an addiction cycle and really bad for you.

As I have set some more goals for myself to shop less and enjoy more this year, I have been watching content like this to help remind me of why I'm doing what I'm doing and how important it is for my overall wellbeing. It's good for me not only to hear what someone else has to say about it, but also to think things through for myself, to remind me of why I need to stay the course. And, since I am trying to spend less, it feels wrong to profit off of others' spending, which is why I'm getting out of the affiliate game. It's not something I was every really successful at, and not something I want to do anymore. I don't want to contribute to someone else's financial woes. So, if you love fashion and outfits, you're in the right place. And I promise not to tempt you if I can help it.