Fashion over 50: 7 things I no longer buy

In today’s post I would like to talk to you about some wrong purchases made in the past, what I learned from them and, consequently, the things I no longer buy.

Though often, when we think about our purchases, we think above all about what we want, what we’d love to buy, and what we lack.

But have you ever tried to think the opposite we, i.e. to think about the shopping mistakes made in the past and the things you have learned since then?

In my opinion, this little mind game is especially useful for 3 reasons:

1. It helps us to refine our tastes and preferences (and also to find our limits)
2. We are able to define our personal style even better, which helps us to understand what, on the contrary, we love, value and truly use
3. It prevents mistakes and bad decisions, especially when it comes to shopping.

Without counting that, in fashion as in life, knowing how to say “no” in the right moments to what we don’t want forms our character and ultimately helps us to live better!

So there is a list of things that I’ve bought in the past, that I did not like nor were useful for me and that, as a result, I learned not to buy anymore.

1 – “GREAT CLASSICS” – BOTH CLOTHES AND COSMETICS – I DON’T REALLY LIKE

Many of us have been tempted in the past by things praised for decades as great classics, as the quintessence of elegance, which then turned out to be totally “wrong” for us. It happened to me, for example, with the legendary Chanel n. 5 perfume (which I continue to see as a quite traditional eau de Cologne, I apologize to those who really love this fragrance!). But also with some timeless wardrobe classics, such as the very classic trench coat.

2 – TRENDY OR BASIC GARMENTS OF VERY BAD QUALITY, JUST BECAUSE I LIKE THE CUT/COLOR OR THEY DRESS WELL

There are things that seem simply perfect to us at the moment: maybe they dress well, they are the perfect color.

But then, once back home, we realize that the quality is so poor that it cancels out all these apparent qualities… It happened to me many times with purchases made a bit too quickly in big low-cost stores like Zara etc.

Mind you, not everything I bought from Zara, Mango or H&M turned out to be a mistake, on the contrary. But some things are simply of an unacceptable quality. Lesson learned: I’ll keep buying there sometimes, but I will be way more selective and careful with my purchases!

3 – COSMETICS WITH MILLIONS OF POSITIVE REVIEWS ONLINE, WITHOUT HAVING TRIED THEM BEFORE…

I’ve got used to always asking for a sample of the product first, even if I have to be a pain in the ass for the salesperson! I decided that I don’t want to see any more any cosmetic products abandoned half-used on the bathroom shelves because they don’t work for me.

4 – EXPENSIVE HAIR PRODUCTS AND TOOLS

The best shampoo, on my hair, is sold on Amazon for 2 euros or so. And I will never be the kind of woman who devotes hours to her hair: everything I use must be easy to use, effective, functional. That’s why I’ll never buy any more curling irons or ultra-complex straighteners. My Steampod hair straightener is enough to style my hair and it’s always great!

5 – TOO MANY PAIRS OF SUNGLASSES

In the end, we always wear the ones that fit best anyway. Much better therefore to have only 2 models, but perfect for us. And to dedicate some time and energy to find the ones that suit us best and protect our eyes well!

6 – GARMENTS (AND ALSO ACCESSORIES) IN COLORS THAT DON’T SUIT ME AT ALL

Since I understand a bit better which color season I belong to, I’m even more careful to choose the right color shades for me – or at least to avoid the ones that give me a pale and sickly look… including, but not only, ALL pastel colors!

7 – THINGS I NO LONGER BUY (ONLINE): ANYTHING, IF I CAN’T MAKE RETURNS

In retrospect, I can say that 95% of the shopping errors made in the last 15 years, in my case, would have been non-errors if I had bought from sites where I could easily make returns.

Since then, I’ve gotten used to resisting the – sometimes very strong – temptation to buy things that I really like online, but that I could never return.

Because even in the hypothesis of having them modified by a good seamstress, they will never be as I had imagined before buying them.

What about you? What are the shopping mistakes you’ve learned not to make anymore?

If you feel like it, comment, subscribe to my channel and write in the comments all the things you no longer buy!