Pay day pick me ups

31 picks following a 31 day spend sobriety and thoughtful consumption

Some of us have endured a January ‘no-spend month’ - in case you missed it, it’s one of our 2024 ins. So, instead, the return of Love Island and The Traitors provided the dopamine hit for hibernation season.

Payday has since graced our bank accounts, and I’ve scoured socials and the web to bring you a curated selection of pieces for your hit list.

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Reads

Éclat practices delayed gratification, so before browsing this month's payday picks, I wanted to share an interesting read I came across from The Sustainable Fashion Forum. It covers essays and deep-dives into the psychology of consumer behaviour and how it interacts with fashion, overconsumption, and sustainability. This week, exploring whether or not today’s fashion is actually about self-expression.

If social media didn’t exist, would you still dress the way you do?

Fashion has always signified social status and group affiliation, but paired with social media, it has been warped by social validation. The desire for likes, comments and followers bends people to conform to the latest trend, overshadowing individual preferences and self-expression.

“If you ask a fashion lover the motivation for their purchases, typically responses fall under expressing creativity, individuality, and personal style. But is it truly self-expression or creativity if you’re recreating an outfit you pinned on Pinterest or saw your favourite influencer wearing on TikTok?”

Are you browsing and purchasing for social validation and acceptance, or is fashion still about creativity and personal style?

Want more from where that came from? Check out: The Psychology of Consumption: Decoding What Drives Our Purchasing Behavior

Understand your ‘why’ to differentiate between the need versus the want for new clothing. This will distinguish the valuable from the ‘trend’. Besides, when has being choosy or ‘too picky’ ever been a bad thing?

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Knits

Featuring the trans-seasonal favourite: cardi’s

• White collared wool jumper, H&M £39 (down from £69.99) - also available in red

• High-neck knit sweater, Zara £35.99, almost a Claudia dupe

• Wool crew-neck cardigan, Cos £85

• Cropped V-neck wool jumper, Cos £85

• Red gaspard cardigan, Sézane £95

• Remake Getaway Cardigan - Black, Djerf Avenue £125

• Merino cashmere layering jumper + snood, Me & Em £125 (was £250)

• Convertible cropped feather-trimmed knitted cardigan, Sleeper £121 (was £242)

Kicks and stomps

• Tb.490 Rife Shimmer Silver Cream Leather Sneakers Aloha £127

• Rustic brown boots, Blundstone £180

• Knee-high black leather boots £195 (£240 original price)

Blouses

• Organic cotton collared relaxed blouse, M&S £45

• Romilda Blouse, Damson Madder £85

• Giselle Collar Blouse, Olive £59

• White scalloped collared shirt, Glassworks £100

Bottoms

• TRF wide-leg mid-rise full length jeans, Zara £35.99

• Mid-rise 501 90’s jeans, Levi’s £100

• Dark blue wide-leg jeans, Glassworks £105

• Day to day pants, Djerf Avenue £129

Layers

Cue duffle jackets, macs and gillets for winter-to-spring transition

• Nancy Jacket, Brandy Melville £47

• Duck canvas chore coat, Dickies £52.50 (was £105)

• Dion workwear borg shacket - Chocolate, Damsen Madder £60 (was £100)

• Cotton rich Stormwear car coat, M&S £65

• Tilly gillet - Leopard, Damson Madder £80

• Double-breasted trenchcoat, H&M £84.99

Accessories:

• Banana hairclips, Amazon £5.99

• Classic organic socks - scarlet red, Colourful Standard £9

• Little Secret Round Sunglasses, Free People £24 - the Céline dupe

• Round mini crochet bag, Uniqlo £24.90 - it’s coming soon, and not one to miss

• Bead bag sample, Tea and Tequila £35

• Suede tote bag with buckle in khaki green Asos £48

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That’s all for now folks!

I plan to resume a semi-regular cadence now I have found a wonderful new flatmate, with lots of fun to come this February.

Have a lovely week and happy mindful browsing. x