Low Buy Year 2025 - February Summary

February started off with a bang for me - I made 2 purchases right out of the gate! This left me a little nervous about the rest of the month but I think that the timing around actually being able to wear the items that I purchased worked out in my favor.

I also rediscovered the joy of sewing my own clothes this month and while I don’t plan to go on a sewing spree, I’m exciting about the possibility of making a few things this year!

In this newsletter:

☑️ Purchases for the month

☑️ Something I Sewed

☑️ “Low Buy Toolbox” February Addition

☑️ February Planner Worksheets

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Purchases

Purchase #1 - Glendalough Wool Sweater ($89)

I wrote this in the community chat on January 28, 2025:

“As I was driving home, I decided to drop into another consignment shop and I found a wool sweater from Glendalough Woolen Mills in Ireland. And I really loved it. I would have made it my second purchase but I left it behind because I don't have any spending money left for the month (and I didn't have any credit at that shop). So, I've decided to go back on the 1st to get it - if it's there, it was meant to be and if it's not, I'm really happy for the person who gets to own it.”

February 1st was on a Saturday. My daughter and I went out for our usual breakfast and then we went for a little drive until the clock struck 10:30 (the time that the consignment shop opened), at which point we went to see if the sweater was still there.

I beelined it for the clothing rack that it had been on and it was!!

I decided to try it on again just to make sure that I still loved it as much as I had and to also see what my daughter thought - I did love it just as much and she gave me her approval as well. I will admit that I was a little apprehensive because of the price which was almost as expensive as getting one new, but I knew that it was a sweater that I would have for a very long time and I went ahead and bought it.

I did immediately take it to the dry cleaner and that cost me around $12, but I didn’t include that with the cost of the sweater as I consider it a part of routine clothing care, and it also gives me peace of mind when I introduce a piece of preloved wool clothing into my wardrobe.

The first day that I could actually wear the sweater was on February 6, so even though I made the purchase on the 1st, I had to wait to enjoy it which I think was helpful - a little delayed gratification if you will.

1st and 2nd wear

3rd and 4th weat

I love this sweater more and more every time I wear it and I don’t regret it at all. It’s something that I’ll be sad to store away in the spring but so happy to pull back out in the fall.

Purchase #2 - Vintage Wool Coat ($64 incl. shipping)

Back in November 2018, I bought a vintage grey wool coat from Etsy:

It’s always so strange to find these old photos and to see myself with such dark hair!

Well, I did have it for years because I genuinely loved the look and fit of it, but I rarely wore it.

I finally decluttered it last spring and I admit that I regretted it - I remembered how much I loved the herringbone pattern/texture of this coat, as well as the structure, so I started a search on eBay in January to see if I could locate it again. And I did, but I also located a long version of the coat, which I had no clue even existed!

One of the things that I’ve had on my clothing wishlist for a while was a long grey wool coat and after realizing that the problem with the first coat was the length - it simply wasn’t long enough for our cold winters, this long one felt fated for me.

I found the coat towards the end of January, and I actually purchased it on January 31 just before the auction timed out. It took about a week to get it and then I sent it off to the dry cleaner - I opened it in the garage and didn’t even try it on (I was confident that it would fit based on the measurements)! I knew that I needed to make sure there were no critters on it before I brought it into the house so I had to wait another week to get it.

The first time that I could wear it was February 13, and according to my outfit diaries, I’ve worn it 6 times, with my favorite outfit being this (worn last Saturday):

JG Hook vintage coat, The Knotty Ones vest, memade dress (M7969), Citizens of Humanity jeans, Frye moto boots

I feel like I’ve gotten this jacket at the end of winter, especially as the temps have been pretty warm this week. I hope to get a few more wears out of it before it has to go into storage, but it doesn’t really matter as I will own (and wear) this coat for years!

I’m sure of it!

Low Buy Total Purchases

So far, I have made 3/25 purchases of my low buy year:

• Brown Moto Boots (Jan)

• Grey Wool Sweater (Feb)

• Grey Wool Coat (Feb)

I had originally thought that I would make 2 purchases/month but having only made one purchase in January, I feel like I have a “bonus” purchase floating in the air around me that I can just grab when I need it.

While I have had a red wool sweater on my mind for a while, I’m going to switch gears in March since it’s getting warmer. I’ll take up the wool sweater hunt in the fall.

I would like to have a couple of extra pairs of jeans, preferable with a wider leg and in a medium or dark blue color. I currently have 2 pairs of jeans that I’ve purchased in the past and like the fit of - Agolde and Citizens of Humanity, so I might try these or these. I also like these but have never had jeans from this brand.

If you have a pair of jeans that you love, please leave them in the comments below - I find jeans to be one of the most difficult things to buy, especially online!

LOW BUY YEAR 2025 Challenge - The PLAN

Something I Sewed

I started sewing in 2020 and I was pretty consistent with it for a while, but gave it up around the end of 2021. I’ve sewn a few items since then, but I’ve never been able to get back the joy for sewing that I initially felt. So I stopped putting pressure on myself to do it, promising to only return to it when I really wanted/needed to.

I had a really rough day on Thursday, February 20. Everything felt heavy and I just wanted something light. I knew that I had a vintage white tablecloth in my stash downstairs and I decided to make a dress out of it.

I was very slow about the process - ironing, cutting the fabric pieces and assembling a few of the pieces one day, sewing a little the next and then some more a few days later.

I didn’t rush and the whole experience was joyful - I plan to write more about the dress in a standalone post, but here is the finished garment:

McCall’s M7969

I’ve thought a lot about how I want to sew items going forward and I’ve decided to stop thrifting vintage home items to do it. I felt a lot of guilt over cutting up this beautiful vintage tablecloth to make this dress, which is what I always feel when I cut into a beautiful vintage item that I know someone would have loved to have for their home.

I actually have a gorgeous vintage round tablecloth in my stash and I’m going to save it for a future home use. Or gift it to someone with a round table who would love it!

I also think that I would get much more joy out of finding a sewing pattern and then purchasing the perfect fabric for it from a small fabric company.

I no longer wish to have a fabric stash, so that’s something I will be evaluating soon!

How I ruined my hobby.

Low Buy Toolbox

When I shared my Low Buy Plan back on December 21, I wrote that I envisioned developing a Low Buy Toolbox that will contain a number of resources to help us resist purchases and support us during the challenge. Each month, there will be a new entry so that by the end of the year, there will be 13 items in total - one for each month, plus the initial tip that spurred the idea of the Low Buy Toolbox.

February’s entry comes from Ash, who shared the following in a community chat when I asked the question: “What is something that you find helpful when you're feeling low and that itch to shop starts?”

when I get the itch to shop (all the time) I have the choice of picking a creative project off a “menu” of supplies I already own, going to the library, or getting one of the things off my “acceptable purchases” list - socks or undies that have worn out, groceries, etc.

I do a lot of add to cart and then abandon, and I cultivate an intense google Sheets wishlist of everything I look at online. adding it to the spreadsheet makes me feel like i’ve done something about the item and at a holiday my family can surprise me with something I was wanting!

After giving permission to share, Ash included this “creative menu”:

Thanks for sharing, Ash!

I just love the idea so much!

My February Worksheet

I feel really good about the purchases that I made this month.

I really like to wear wool sweaters during the colder months and the one that I bought is unlike anything else that I own.

A long grey wool coat is an item that I’ve had on my wish list for a few years and at one point, I entertained the idea of making one myself, but I know that there are 2 things I will never feel confident to sew - a long coat and jeans (made a pair once, did not make them well)! So I am beyond thrilled with the one that I found!

Even though I made my purchases early, I didn’t get to wear them immediately - with shipping and dry cleaning, the time between the first wear for each item ended up being stretched across the month. I also think that the act of sewing a dress at the end of the month was also helpful.

These worksheets are from a Low Buy Tracker that I put together at the beginning of the challenge. If you would also like to use the free tracker, you can download it here:

Low Buy 2025

3.04MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

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I’d love to hear how February was for you. Are you doing a low/no buy challenge? If so, how did it go?

If you aren’t currently doing one, do you want to jump in for a month?

As always, thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed the post, please leave a 🖤 and maybe consider sharing it 🫶🏻

xx Gillian