UPDATES ON LIFE AND STUFF.

So...*rubs hands together with glee*


There is some new stuff going down so here's a mini round up. Let's start with the most exciting of all (to me anyway, heh).


1. The BF. Omgz yeah, my bf is like WELL nice and everyfink. Seriously though, he's everything that is nice and perfect and good in the world. Also he laughs at my lame jokes, which can never be a bad thing. Har har har. ♥


2. I'm going to be in The Times Good University Guide supplement for this academic year :D They did an interview with me (about what clothes I like/my style/where I like to shop...Hoo boi!) and a mini-photoshoot, so keep your peepers out for that - will let you all know when it comes out, so you can giggle at my awkward camera face....


3. I've finally finished all my internships for this summer which is lovely and awesome. I had great fun, met loads of awesome people *big wave to the peeps* and learnt CRAZY amounts about the profession I hope to join :) I still have a couple of interviews coming up, so cross your fingers and toes that they all go ticketyboo :D


That is IT for now, I will be posting uber-soon. Also major apologies for not posting regularly, 6 weeks of hardcore interning means that Renie has very little time to write :(

Fit.

This whole not buying stuff thing…

Has failed. Miserably.

I tried, I really did, but then I went on and bought new heels, flats, Scholl Pescuras (BUT THEY’RE SO GOOD FOR YOU AND LIMITED EDITION TOO!), cute silk blouses, Valentino scarves and things from Aquascutum which I tried to pass off as workwear and heaps of other things.

Luckily Part B of the plan, i.e. the bit that consists of me giving stuff away is in FULL SWING. I haven’t had a chance to package up everything but I am part way through and it’s looking good. Also I’ve been doing research on capsule wardrobe management, so I’m feeling optimistic. Being super organised is SO lovely and satisfying. *Nadal fist pump*

Anyway, onto the real shizzle…one thing that I have picked up on is the fact that I’ve bought SO MUCH CRAP that simply does not fit. It didn’t fit properly when I bought it, it doesn’t fit now and it will probably never ever fit, unless I fork out loads for a tailor to sort it out and I am not prepared to do that, because I’ll end up penniless and peddling my body for money to fix my clothes. All slightly pointless.

I don’t know why, but I’ve managed to go through life buying things that just aren’t right for me. I’ll do it once, vow never to do it again and before I know it, I’ll find myself saying ‘YES PLEASE’ to a pair of size 5 heels even though:

A) Renie cannot walk in heels properly without dying

b)    B) I'm a size 4 and will never be a size 5 because I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped growing

I am clearly quite a big moron when it comes to buying stuff. I’ve improved – the less rational me once bought a yellow coat because according to Urban Outfitters it was the ‘OMGZMUSTHAVEOFTHESEASON’ even though it made me look like Paddington Bear’s Chinese Counterpart, but I’m nowhere near the other bloggers who seem to get this capsule shit right.

Usually I’m not buying things in the right size because I’m in denial about my blubberous body, but rather they just don’t have my size so I’ll just buy it in a different one, because y’know, that’s what smart kids do.

I’d like to say it’s because I really appreciate the craftsmanship and want to buy it anyway so I can admire the bits of fabric and ornamental details some poor sod’s had to clobber together, but usually it’s just because I want it and am ok with shelling out for second rate stuff that doesn’t fit me. Which frankly, is absolutely retarded.

Talking to my friends, both boys and girls – this affliction doesn’t target a specific sex, y’know, most people seem to be guilty of it to some extent but really, it doesn’t make sense.

Surely if something doesn’t fit well and doesn’t make you look awesome because it is just not your size, you’d be better off NOT having it, rather than having it so tight you actually cannot breathe and look like a strangled sausage…or on the other hand, having something so baggy you look like a wooden spoon in a pillowcase.

One of my friends has the best test for clothes shopping which I constantly try to use every time I feel I am falling off the wagon. According to her ‘if this shit doesn’t make you look good and feel good, then why are you paying for it?’

I’m pretty sure everyone knows what makes them look good or not/whether it’s actually comfortable and you don’t feel like you’re being wedgified or like you’re lost in an ocean of fabric.

So let’s not settle for shitty, ill-fitting stuff, because no one wants to look like a they’re stuck in a fuchsia straitjacket or a wooden spoon in a pillowcase.  Unless of course, you’re into that sort of thing, in which case…don’t let me get in your way ;)

Declutterama: THE CHALLENGE

Desperately trying to wish the crap away and failing.

Hi, my name is Renie and I have a LOT OF STUFF. 

When I say ‘stuff,’ I'm referring to the mountains of unworn clothes, untouched books and unused gadgets that live in my room, invades my life on a daily basis and that seem to follow me around everywhere in a bizarre Hansel and Gretel trail of doom.

I finally realised today why my room is never really tidy or neat like other people’s rooms, despite the fact that I feel like I’m constantly putting stuff back to where it should be, re-arranging piles, sifting through things and sorting them out. It’s nothing to do with me not making an effort; it’s just that there is TOO MUCH. OF EVERYTHING.

I can think of a gazillion things in my wardrobe I've bought on a whim and have never touched (for good reason too…they’re totally minging!) A perfect example of this is a Marc Jacobs cardigan I bought a while back which honestly makes me look a bit like that purple dude who used to hang out with Ronald Mcdonald but got axed because he was a criminal and Mcdonalds figured that glamorising crime wasn’t cool. I’m pretty sure it wouldn't look good on anyone unless they were around 6 feet tall and a size 6. I am never going to fit this criteria and I don’t even know what was going through my MIND when I bought it. Actually, on second thoughts, I think I do. I was probably thinking something along the lines of: ‘OMG IT’S MARC JACOBS, I LOVE MARC JACOBS, I LOVE CARDIGANS AND I LOVE PURPLE. BUY BUY BUY, OH WOW BARGAIN, MEGA BARGAIN!!’ 

There is no-one to blame but me for the fact that I have too much of everything. I’m a rampant, obsessive shopaholic. My friends know it, my family know it. Renie just loves to buy things.  But now I’m almost slightly scared because my constant buying and craving of stuff is defining me as a person and I don’t think I’m entirely comfortable with that.

I guess I had a wakeup call coming. A close friend who I have known since forever told me that she thought I had 'spending problems' and that all I ever really talked about nowadays was that new bag/those new shoes/that new coat I really desperately wanted. She also pointed out that I was just as fun when I used to hang around in battered jeans and stupid t-shirts and thought that Proenza Schouler and Margiela were Italian cheeses/potential STIs and didn't freak out over things like labels and Italian craftsmanship. Owch. 

I knew that she didn't mean it in a horrible way but the truth hurts. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to revert back to the old jeans and t-shirt Renie and I don't want to either. But it has made me realise that I need to curb the mad spending and focus on the important stuff. I've gotten to the point where I'm spending for the sake of it and I'm pretty sure no one actually needs fifty t-shirts, piles of denim, or enough pairs of shoes to crush/spike someone to death. I don’t even really like denim. 

So anyway, the big plan is to declutter – by this I mean ACTUALLY REMOVING STUFF and giving it away to charity, friends and whoever wants it and not buying any more clothes, shoes or accessories for the rest of the year. Eek. 

It’s going to be a crazy experience and the withdrawal symptoms aren’t going to be pretty but it’s really probably for the best before I end up like Billie Jean James, a lovely old lady in America who was a compulsive hoarder and was crushed to death by her own stuff. Yowzers. 

P.S. I’ve just told my mother who a) burst out laughing with scepticism and still hasn’t stopped b) told me to sober up and stop drinking whatever I’m drinking. Encouraging stuff!