Shopping Ban Day 11

I'm now on the 11th day of my Lenten shopping ban, and so far, it is going pretty well. It will get harder towards the end as there will have been eights weeks' worth of new clothes in the shops, but I'm sure I'll make it. Today was the first challenging day of the ban as it was the first day I visited Anthropologie. They have, thoughtfully, decided to put a load of things on sale that have been on my "sort of interested" list for a while.

This yellow striped skirt, for example, which I've already bought and returned once, but now that it's only £30, I'm willing to reconsider it. There is also a green bangle I've had my eye on for a while but felt that £28 was too much; it's only £15 now but I haven't really decided whether jewellery shopping counts. You could argue, of course, that if I really wanted either of these items, I would have bought (and kept) them when they were full price so I probably shouldn't buy either. Well, I might buy the bracelet anyway if it's still around after Lent. Then there are the other items in the "like a lot but don't want to pay over £100 for" category, which currently include this dress and the bright pink Never a Dull Moment bag. Other temptations, included a t-shirt I like in Banana Republic, which has now gone on sale, and a cheap navy blazer and a pretty turquoise and green skirt from H&M.

I'm starting to think that the ban is a good thing. Ordinarily, I would definitely have tried on the H&M clothes and, assuming they fitted, I might have bought one or both. The blazer was £30 and the skirt £25, which is pretty cheap but the impulse purchase could well have left me with some new clothes that I don't really love. Far better to wait several weeks and see whether I still like them.

Some people might say that going into my favourite shops while on a shopping ban is a recipe for disaster but actually, it gives me the opportunity to find flaws in some of the items I'm thinking of buying. Also, with Anthro and its schedule of rolling sales, it is essential to be strategic. If you think there's a chance you will buy something, even if it would have to be reduced considerably in price, you should definitely try it on in case it eventually goes on super-sale but is only available online.

In the meantime, only just over five weeks to go...